This easy cast-iron Skillet Steak recipe will become a new favorite! The exterior crust and the barbecue-butter sauce will have you day-dreaming about it all day. So simple, yet so fantastic!
Don’t miss all the helpful tips below for cooking times and internal temperatures to achieve the best tasting steak.
Cast Iron Skillet Steak Recipe
A good grilled or skillet steak is by far one of my families favorite foods, right up there with baby back ribs and hamburgers. If I made them choose, they would have a really hard time.
I use sliced sirloin a lot for stir fry recipes, which are requested often, but there’s just nothing quite like serving a whole pan-seared New York Strip steak with that crispy exterior and juicy center. Topped with a luscious barbecue-butter sauce and forget about it!
Cooking steak in a skillet is also a wonderful way to satisfy that craving all year round, especially if you live in a climate where snow in the winter makes grilling outside impossible, or at least undesirable.
Ingredients Needed
You only need New York strip steaks and simple seasonings for this skillet steak recipe, then it’s served with an incredibly easy, but fantastic sauce.
(Scroll below to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.)
For the steaks
- Steaks – 4, 1-inch thick New York Strip Steaks, fat trimmed.
- Seasonings – Just simple kosher salt and pepper season the steaks.
- Vegetable oil – For the skillet.
For the Sauce
- Beef broth – I use low-sodium to keep the saltiness at a reasonable level.
- Barbecue sauce – We love our homemade BBQ sauce or Sweet Baby Rays is a favorite, but use whatever brand you prefer.
- Worcestershire sauce – Adds depth of flavor.
- Hot sauce – Provides a bit of heat.
- Unsalted butter – Adds richness to the sauce.
How to Cook a Steak in a Cast Iron Skillet
Cast-iron skillet steak is so easy to make! The success is in the details. Here are some tips to make sure your steak cooks perfectly.
(To make this recipe, scroll below to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.)
- Buy a really good quality steak. Forego your Starbucks for a week to save up. It’s worth it! Ribeye or New York Strip are my recommendations, and I prefer boneless because it cooks more evenly, which IMHO outweighs the importance of that tiny meat portion being flavored by the bone.
- Blot the steaks dry. Using paper towels, blot both sides of the steak dry. This helps get that cooked crispy exterior.
- Let rest at room temperature before cooking. Let the raw steaks rest at room temperature for 30 minutes, which helps them cook more evenly.
- Don’t fear the salt. Salt draws out the moisture in the steak. The salt then dissolves in this moisture, creating a brine that is then re-absorbed back into the steak, which results in a juicier more tender steak.
- Use a 12-inch cast iron skillet. This heavy pan holds heat so well, produces that nice brown crust, and cooks the steaks evenly.
- Utilize the largest stovetop burner and heat your oil over medium-high. Let it get super hot to the point where it’s shimmering and almost smoking. This gives the steak that beautiful sear.
- Rely on an instant read thermometer to check for doneness. This prevents you from having to cut into the steak to check. (See the guide below for cooking times.)
- Let the cooked steak rest for 5 minutes before slicing. This allows the juices to redistribute, lending more flavor.
Temperatures for Steak Doneness
Get out your instant read thermometer and use this guide to reach desired doneness. (And if you need a visual, check out this chart from Certified Angus Beef. And for cooking times, you can check out this chart from Omaha Steaks)
- Rare (cool red center) – 125°F (not recommended)
- Medium rare (warm red center) – 135°F
- Medium (warm pink center) – 145°F (this is perfection IMHO!)
- Medium well (slightly pink center) – 150°F
- Well done (little or no pink) – 160 degrees (Gordon Ramsay would not approve. Lol.)
For safety the FDA recommends cooking to at least 145°F, but I’ll leave that up to you. I’m not going to tell you how to live your life. HA.
It’s also important to note that steaks will cook another 5° after you remove them from the heat and are resting, so pull them a little earlier than your desired temperature.
Serving Suggestions
What side dishes go with this skillet steak? Rice, potatoes, and vegetables are all great side dishes for steak. You simply cannot go wrong with roasted broccoli or sautéed mushrooms. And of course what would a steak be without sitting next to a baked potato! An air fryer baked potato is our new favorite way to make them. Another favorite of ours is creamy rice pilaf.
Proper Storage
- Storing leftovers. Any leftover steak should be wrapped tightly in foil or placed in an airtight container and stored in the refrigerator, then eaten within 3 days. Ideally leave it whole, don’t slice it up.
- Reheat. While you certainly can reheat cooked steak in the microwave, for best results low and slow in the oven is best. Place the whole (unsliced) steak on an oven-safe rack set over a baking sheet. Depending on the size of your steak, reheat the meat for about 25 minutes at 250F or until the internal temperature registers 110 degrees on a meat thermometer.
More Steak Recipes:
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Skillet Steak with Barbecue-Butter Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 New York Strip Steaks 1-inch thick, fat trimmed
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 cups low-sodium beef broth
- 6 tablespoons barbecue sauce
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
- 1 & 1/2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Instructions
- Blot steaks dry with a paper towel and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper on both sides.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the beef broth, barbecue sauce, Worcestershire, and hot sauce. Drop in the butter; set aside.
- Add oil to a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat; swirl to coat. When it just begins to smoke, add steaks.
- Sear steaks (in batches, depending on how they fit), for 5 minutes, then flip and cook for another 4 minutes (for medium and an internal temperature of 140°F)
- Transfer to a plate; cover loosely with foil. (Steaks will continue to cook slightly as they rest.)
- Pour broth mixture into the skillet and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the skillet, until liquid has thickened slightly and reduced to about 1 & 1/4 cups, 5 minutes or so. Add any accumulated meat juices from the plate; stir to combine. Remove from the heat.
- Serve steaks (whole or cut across the grain into thin slices) with the sauce and your favorite green vegetable. Swoon!NOTE: For tips and questions about cooking times and temperatures, please refer to the full article.
