How do you pan-sear strip or rib eye without making a grease-splattered mess and setting off your smoke alarm? First, forget everything you know about steak cookery. Pan-searing strip or rib-eye steaks usually leads to a smoky, grease-splattered kitchen—but it doesn't have to. To devise a fast, mess-free method for achieving deeply seared, rosy meat, we started the steaks in a “cold” (not preheated) nonstick skillet over high heat and flipped them every 2 minutes; that way, the meat's temperature increased gradually, allowing a crust to build up on the outside without overcooking the interior.Because we were cooking in a nonstick skillet, it wasn't necessary to lubricate the skillet with oil; plus, the well-marbled meat exuded enough fat to achieve a good sear, and adding more simply encouraged splatter. We started cooking over high heat to burn off moisture and prevent the steaks from steaming but quickly lowered the heat to medium; at this temperature, the meat kept sizzling, but there was no risk of the fat smoking. Before serving, we sliced the steaks and sprinkled them with coarse sea salt so that every bite was well seasoned.
Notes
This recipe also works with boneless rib-eye steaks of a similar thickness.
Ingredients
- 2 12- to 16-ounce boneless strip steaks - 1½ inches thick, trimmed
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
Pre-season the steaks:
- Sprinkle each of the steaks with 1 teaspoon of kosher salt.
- Refrigerate the steaks uncovered on a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet for at least 45 minutes or up to 24 hours.
Start the steaks in a cold pan over high heat:
- Pat the steaks dry with paper towels and sprinkle both sides with pepper.
- Place the steaks 1 inch apart in a cold 12-inch nonstick skillet.
- Place the skillet over high heat and cook the steaks for 2 minutes.
- Flip the steaks and cook on the second side for 2 minutes. (Neither side of steaks will be browned at this point.)
Finish the steaks over medium heat:
- Flip the steaks, reduce the heat to medium, and continue to cook, flipping the steaks every 2 minutes, until browned and the meat registers 120 to 125 degrees (for medium-rare), 4 to 10 minutes longer. (The steaks should be sizzling gently; if not, increase the heat slightly. Reduce the heat if the skillet starts to smoke.)
Finish and serve
- Transfer the steaks to a carving board and let them rest for 5 minutes.
- Slice the steaks, season with coarse or flake sea salt to taste, and serve.