Pan Seared T-bone Steak
Simple T-bone steak in a cast iron skillet
Ingredients
- High smoke point oil I use grapeseed oil
- 2 tbsp Unsalted butter for basting with
- Kosher salt to dry brine with
- Freshly cracked peppercorns
Instructions
Dry Brine T-bone Steak
- The day before making your t-bone steak, dry brine with kosher salt. To do this, simply take some kosher salt and apply it to both sides and edges of the t-bone steak. Then put in your refrigerator to dry brine for 1-2 hours or overnight.Kosher salt
Searing Your T-bone Steak
- The next day when it's time to cook the steak, get your work station ready. You will need a heavy skillet - like cast iron, a high smoke point oil - like grapeseed, unsalted butter, peppercorns, tongs, basting spoon, probe thermometer, and paper towels.
- With your paper towel, pat dry all sides of the steak.
- Apply cracked peppercorns to the steak. I like the way the peppercorns taste when they're seared in the pan. Some people think they taste bitter - it's totally your preference.Freshly cracked peppercorns
- Set your heat to around medium-high..It should take around 3-6 minutes for the pan to be hot enough.
- With your hot pan, add your cold oil. You then want to wait for the surface of the oil to shimmer (see my photos above). For t-bone steak, I typically use a tad more oil simply because of the bone. This helps to compensate for when the meat shrinks and allows for better browning.High smoke point oil
- Once the oil is shimmering and you see a slight smoke, use your tongs to place the steak away from you and into the pan.
- Allow the steak to sear for 90 seconds and then flip the steak to a new section of the pan for another 90 seconds. Then repeat this process 1 more time (total of 3 minutes on each side).The goal here is to build a crust while undershooting your internal temperature target by about 10F. My goal is 125F so 125-10F = 115F. At 115F, I took the skillet off the heat; This took 6 minutes and 40 seconds.
- Once the skillet is off the heat, grab 2 tbsp of unsalted butter and add it to the pan. You want the steak on one side of the pan and the butter on the other. The butter will begin to froth.You then want to tilt the pan towards yourself at roughly a 15-20 degree angle. This way the steak is in the air and your butter is towards the edge of the pan. With your spoon you want to begin basting the steak with the frothed butter. Baste for 30 seconds, flip the steak, and then baste for another 30 seconds. I repeated this for 2 minutes total (30s x 2 on each side).2 tbsp Unsalted butter
- Take the steak off the skillet and place on a cutting board to rest for 5 minutes.
- Once rested, slice the steak against the grain and enjoy!
Notes
You could also opt to add things like garlic cloves and aromatics like thyme when you go to baste; I didn't have any so I didn't use them.