Pan Seared Steak

a ribeye steak cut in half and stacked with a spoon drizzling some browned butter over it

4.41 from 10 votes

This Pan-Seared Steak with herbed brown butter is about to be your favorite way to enjoy a perfect cut of steak. You might just prefer this method over your grill! Perfect crust on the meat, infused with flavors of fresh herbs, this recipe will teleport you straight to a high end steakhouse.

Prep Time5

Cook Time15

Total Time20

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Keyword: pan-seared steak, skillet steak

Servings:

Calories: 911kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

2 rib-eye steaks (around 8 oz each)
½ teaspoon salt or to taste
½ teaspoon pepper or to taste
8 tablespoon butter unsalted, 1 stick
1 sprig rosemary
3 sprigs fresh thyme

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Prep: Let the steak sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes before cooking. Season it generously with salt and pepper.
Make brown butter: Add the butter, salt, pepper, herbs to a saucepan over medium heat. Stir the butter the entire time. Once the butter has melted, you'll notice it starts to sizzle. Continue stirring for another 3 to 5 minutes, or until the butter turns golden brown. Remove the saucepan from heat.
Sear Steak: Add a couple tbsp of the browned butter to a skillet over medium-high heat, I used a grill skillet, but a regular skillet works as well. Once the butter is hot, add the steaks. Let them sear for 3-4 minutes on one side, then flip. Let the steaks cook for another 2 minutes, then drizzle some more browned butter over the steaks.
Baste: Carefully tilt the pan to let the butter pool to the side. Use a tablespoon to scoop the butter and baste it over the steaks. Continue this step for a minute or two, then remove the steaks from the skillet.
Rest: Let the steaks rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Notes

You can also use the same skillet as the one you'll pan sear the steak in, to make the browned butter, you'll just have to remove most of the browned butter from the skillet while pan searing the steak.
Transfer the steak to an airtight container and keep it in the fridge for 3-4 days. You can eat the steak cold sliced up and tossed into a salad. You can also reheat it, but keep in mind the internal temperature of the steak will increase during the reheating process and reduce the pinkness in the middle.

Nutrition