Recipes / Mains / American Mains Pan-Seared Ribeye with Garlic Butter Salted an hour ahead, seared dry and hard, then basted in foaming butter. A meat thermometer does more for a steak than any amount of confidence.
Time 45 min
Serves 2
Difficulty Medium Ingredients Servings
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Quantities for 2 servings
2 ribeye steaks, 3 cm thick (about 350 g each) 1 tbsp neutral oil with a high smoke point 50 g unsalted butter 4 garlic cloves, lightly crushed, skins on 3 sprigs of thyme 2 sprigs of rosemary Flaky sea salt and coarsely ground black pepper
Treat this list as a starting point rather than a shopping order. Swap what you haven't got, leave out what you dislike, add what you love — this is exactly the kind of dish that rewards poking around in the fridge.
Method 1 Take the steaks out of the fridge at least 45 minutes before cooking. Salt them generously on both sides and leave them uncovered on a rack. The salt draws out moisture, which then reabsorbs seasoned — and the dry surface it leaves behind is what lets you build a crust. 2 Just before cooking, blot the steaks thoroughly with kitchen paper and grind over plenty of pepper. 3 Heat a heavy cast-iron pan over high heat with the oil until it is just beginning to smoke. A pan that isn't hot enough will grey the meat instead of browning it. 4 Lay the steaks away from you and leave them completely alone for 2–3 minutes. Don't poke or shift them; a crust forms only where meat stays in contact with hot metal. 5 Flip and sear the second side for 2 minutes, then stand each steak on its fat edge with tongs for 30 seconds so the fat renders and crisps. 6 Drop in the butter, garlic and herbs. As the butter foams, tilt the pan and spoon it continuously over the steaks for 60–90 seconds. Foaming butter is around 130°C, so this bastes and flavours without overcooking the inside. 7 Check the thickest part with a thermometer: 50°C for rare, 54°C for medium-rare, 60°C for medium. Pull them 2–3°C below your target, because they keep cooking as they rest. 8 Rest on a warm plate for a full 10 minutes — cut early and the juices run out onto the board instead of staying in the meat. Slice against the grain, spoon over the pan butter and finish with flaky salt. Tap a step to cross it off. Your place is saved on this device.
Cook’s notes Thickness matters more than weight. A 3 cm steak gives you time to build a crust before the middle overcooks; thin steaks are better cooked fast and hard with no basting at all.
The garlic is left in its skin on purpose — peeled cloves burn and turn acrid in the time the butter needs.
How it should look Photos of the finished dish, so you know what you’re aiming for.
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