Rib Eye Steak
intro
Juicy, deeply crusted rib eye steak basted with garlic-herb butter, cooked to tender medium-rare for a restaurant-quality date night meal at home.
Ingredients
Steps
Prep and season steaks
Remove boneless rib eye steaks from the refrigerator 40 minutes before cooking to bring them to a consistent room temperature (18-20°C/65-68°F surface temp). Pat all surfaces (including the fat cap) completely dry with paper towels, then season every side evenly with 2 teaspoons kosher salt and 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, pressing the seasoning gently to adhere to the meat.
Preheat cast iron skillet
Place a heavy 12-inch cast iron skillet on the stovetop over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of avocado oil, and heat for 3-4 minutes until the oil shimmers across the pan surface and releases thin, faint wisps of smoke. Do not leave the pan unattended to prevent oil overheating or burning.
Sear first steak side
Carefully lower the steaks into the hot pan one at a time, laying them away from your body to avoid hot oil splatters. Cook in 2 batches if your pan is too small to hold all 4 steaks with 2cm of space between each (overcrowding causes steaming instead of a crisp sear). Sear undisturbed for 3 full minutes on medium-high heat, until a deep, golden-brown, crispy crust forms across the entire bottom surface.
Sear edges and reverse side
Use long-handled tongs to flip each steak, then hold each steak upright on its fatty edge to render the fat cap for 1 minute per edge. Lay the steaks flat again and sear the reverse side for 2.5 minutes, until a matching dark crust forms, and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part reads 46°C/115°F (for final medium-rare doneness).
Butter baste with aromatics
Reduce stovetop heat to medium-low. Add 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, 4 crushed garlic cloves, 2 rosemary sprigs, and 4 thyme sprigs to the pan. Tilt the pan slightly to pool the melted, foaming herb butter on one side, then use a large metal spoon to continuously scoop the hot butter over the top of the steaks for 2 minutes, until the internal steak temperature reaches 52°C/125°F.
Rest steaks before serving
Transfer the cooked steaks to a wire rack set over a wooden cutting board, tent loosely with a small sheet of aluminum foil, and let rest for 8 full minutes. This allows the muscle fibers to relax and redistribute juices, so every bite is juicy instead of having juices run out onto the plate when cut.
Tips
2.Use an instant-read meat thermometer for perfect doneness every time: carryover cooking will raise the steak’s internal temperature by 3-5°C/5-9°F while resting, so pull steaks just before they hit your target final temp (54-57°C/130-135°F final for medium-rare).
3.Avoid pressing down on the steaks with tongs or a spatula while searing, as this squeezes out flavorful fat and juices from the meat, leading to dry, less tasty results.
OMG, this recipe was a total game changer for our Sunday family dinner! I’ve always messed up ribeyes by overcooking them or not getting that perfect crispy, browned crust, but following these steps exactly gave me that restaurant-level sear every single time. My husband and two kids devoured their steaks in 10 minutes flat, even my super picky 8 year old who only eats chicken nuggets asked for seconds! SO good, I’ll never pay $50 for a steakhouse ribeye again when I can make it better at home.
Made this last night for my date night with my partner, and wow—flavor was perfect, cook time was way shorter than I expected for a medium-done ribeye. Only thing I did different was throw in a little extra homegrown rosemary when basting, because we’ve had a huge rosemary bush on our windowsill for months that I never get to use. Definitely adding this to our regular weeknight rotation, even with the medium difficulty rating it felt totally doable for a casual home cook who mostly makes pasta and frozen veggies.
I was skeptical pan-seared steak could hold up for meal prep, but this worked so well! I cooked three ribeyes on Sunday, sliced them up against the grain, and stored portions for salads and steak bowls throughout the work week. The crust didn’t get soggy at all when I reheated them quick in the air fryer, and the meat stayed perfectly juicy. Total win for my weekly meal prep grind, no sad dry desk lunch steak here!
Followed the recipe to a T, but my steak came out a little more well-done than I wanted (I aimed for medium rare). Flavor was still fire though, that garlic butter baste is unreal, I could drink that stuff tbh. Any tips for nailing the temp next time? I don’t have a meat thermometer so I was doing the finger test, clearly I messed that part up.
Made this for our neighborhood potluck last weekend, I was so nervous cooking steak for a crowd but I pre-seared them, finished them low and slow in the oven quick, sliced them up against the grain and served with a side of creamy horseradish sauce. People were coming up to me all night asking for the recipe! Total hit, I felt like an actual professional chef, not someone who usually burns burgers on the grill.
Bro, I’m a broke college student who’s never cooked steak before in his life, and I somehow didn’t mess this up? I used a cheaper thin-cut ribeye from the campus grocery store, followed the steps as close as I could (forgot to buy thyme oops), and it came out so juicy I almost cried. Way better than the sad overcooked steak I had at the dining hall last week. 10/10 would make again, even if I set off my dorm smoke alarm a little when the pan got too hot lmao.
Tried this for my dad’s birthday dinner since he’s a total steak snob, and he said it was better than the ribeye we got at that fancy downtown steakhouse for his 60th last year! I was low-key stressed the whole time cooking it but the clear, step-by-step instructions made it impossible to mess up. The butter baste with thyme and garlic smelled so good the whole house smelled like a high-end restaurant for hours after we finished eating. 10/10, definitely earned me major favorite kid points with my dad.