I cook steak in a frying pan all the time. It is an easy way to cook a steak inside when there is a bunch of blowing cold snow outside.
You can cook steak in a frying pan and if done right the steak will come out tender and delicious. It is an easy and simple way to cook steak indoors.
Cooking a steak in a frying pan is a lot different than grilling a steak or cooking it any other way. There are some things you should know first.
Should I pan-fry steak with butter or oil?
You should use oil to pan-fry a steak. Oil has a higher smoking point than butter. Butter will likely burn when using it to pan-fry a steak.
I am creating a table of popular cooking oils below and their smoking points, according to wikepedia.org.
| Oil | Smoking Point |
| Beef Tallow | 480 F |
| Butter | 302 F |
| Ghee (Clarified Butter) | 482 F |
| Olive Oil (Virgin) | 410 F |
| Olive Oil (Extra Virgin) | 374 F |
| Coconut Oil (Refined) | 400 F |
| Coconut Oil (Unrefined) | 350 F |
These are the only oils I would use when cooking because the other oils are very high in omega-6s. I talk about how they are bad for you in this post here.
As you can see in the table, beef tallow and clarified butter have some of the highest smoking points and you can also see how low of a smoking point that butter has. So, butter is not good for pan-frying a steak but ghee and beef tallow are excellent choices.
What steak is best to pan-fry?
Steaks that are thick, fatty, and boneless are best for pan-frying. Thickness causes them to not overcook. Fattiness causes them to stay juicy. Having no bone causes them to cook evenly.
I talk about how fatty steaks taste better in this post here, and about how to not overcook steaks in this post here.
Here are a few steaks that are best to fry in a pan:
- Boneless ribeye
- New York strip
- Filet mignon
- Flat iron
Boneless steaks are best because the bone can get in the way of how the steak lays against the pan. Steaks like t-bone or porterhouse will tend to cook unevenly in a pan because of the bone.
If you want to read more about t-bone and porterhouse steaks, I made a post about them here.
Should I put salt on steak before frying?
You should put salt on a steak before frying. This allows it to “dry brine.” The more time you let the salt sit the more it will absorb into the steak and the more flavor it will have.
I wrote about everything that you need to know about salting a steak in this post here.
I suggest salting both sides of a steak and letting it sit on there for an hour before cooking. This enables the salt to absorb really well into the steak to give it an extra boost of flavor.
How much oil do you put in a pan when frying steak?
Put in about 2 teaspoons or enough to coat the bottom of the pan. You don’t want too little because you may burn the steak and you don’t want too much because you may not be able to sear the steak.
A lot of times it can depend on the steak. For fatty steaks, you don’t need much oil because the oil will come out of the fat. Lean steaks need a good amount of oil because there is little oil from the minimal fat.
When I cook a ribeye or New York strip steak in a pan I use no oil. These steaks have plenty of oil that comes out of the fat to prevent them from burning. If I cook something like a sirloin then I am gonna put oil because it is lean.
Can you cook a steak in a frying pan without butter or oil?
You can cook a steak in a frying pan without butter or oil if it is a fatty steak. Fatty steaks such as ribeye, t-bone, porterhouse, or New York strip have enough fat to prevent them from burning in a pan.
I often cook fatty steaks all of the time in a pan without any added oil or butter. There is definitely a lot of oil that comes out of the fat on these steaks. If I added any oil or butter then there would be way too much in the pan.
How long to pan-fry steak?
You should pan-fry a steak for about 10 minutes on each side. This will depend on the type of steak, whether it is fatty or lean, the thickness of the steak, and how done you want your steak.
Fattier steaks, thicker steaks, and steaks that are well done will take the longest time to cook in a pan.
I wrote about the inside temperature of a steak that it should be for each level of doneness in this article here. You can gauge the temperature with a thermometer used for cooking meat.
The different doneness levels for steak are rare, medium rare, medium, medium well, and well done.
What pan is best for steak?
Cast iron pans are best to cook steak in because they can withstand the high heat needed to sear a steak. They also retain heat well or maintain the same heat in the pan for a longer time.
You can use a nonstick or stainless steel pan as well. A nonstick pan will not handle the high heat well and can burn off the nonstick coating which may be harmful to you. Stainless steel handles high heat well but does not retain it as cast iron does.
Conclusion
Cooking steak in a pan is a simple and easy way to cook steak indoors. Whether it is cold outside or you just don’t want to deal with the hassle of a grill, cooking steak in a pan can be a good alternative.
You don’t have to use oil or butter in a pan with a fatty steak but I do recommend it with a lean steak. The boneless ribeye and New York strip are two of the best steaks to cook in a pan.