Broiled Steak – How to Cook Steak in the Oven

A broiled steak is the perfect method to cooking a steak in the oven if you don’t want to use a grill. The steaks are charred and crisp on the outside and still juicy on the inside. Don’t miss the delicious flavored butter to serve with the steak.

A perfectly cooked steak can be intimidating to do at home, but it’s actually quite easy if you know a few simple tips. If you have a grill, that makes it much easier; that’s the most common way that steaks are cooked. If you’re looking for a great grilled steak recipe, I’ve got just the one for you.

Why would you want to cook a steak in the oven?

#1 Maybe you don’t have a grill or it’s the middle of winter, your grill is buried in snow and you want to stay in the cozy and warm house instead of trekking out into the cold. I tried this recipe during the years when my husband and I lived in apartments and didn’t have access to a good grill.

#2. You don’t need any fancy equipment – most people have a baking sheet and wire rack.

#3. Cooking a steak in the oven keeps splatters in the oven and not on you, all around the stove, the walls, the counters and the floors. I love getting a good sear on food using a great skillet, but washing the floors is a must after, even if you use a splatter guard.

After seeing a recipe in The Complete Cook’s Country TV Show Cookbook, I was intrigued, even though I was a little bit skeptical too. Broiling steaks? It sounded like an interesting idea. I was ready to try anything to solve the smoky house problem and spraying myself with tiny little oil droplets while I stood next to the stove flipping the steaks.

Yes, folks, this is a wonderful method. If you don’t have the convenience of a grill in your backyard or an exhaust fan that works properly, try this out. Charred and crisp on the outside, juicy on the inside, you only need to know a few secrets to be able to pull it off.

Ingredients

  • steaks
    • Try to choose a steak that is about 2 inches thick, or even thicker. The oven doesn’t usually get as hot as a grill, so it will need a little bit more time to get a sear on the outside. The steaks should be thick enough that they won’t be as dry as leather by the time the steaks get a little color. The best cuts of steak for broiling are strip steaks or rib eye steaks.
  • salt
  • ground black pepper
  • Flavored Butter
    • butter
    • shallot
    • garlic
    • fresh herbs: thyme, parsley
    • lemon zest + lemon juice
    • salt, pepper

Choosing the Best Steak

Choosing the correct cut of meat is the most important thing. If you buy a chuck roast or a shoulder blade, it will be a really leathery, dry and will give your jaws a good workout. Nope. Those are great to cook low and slow until they become tender. (Want to find out more about choosing correct cuts of meat and how to cook them? Check out this post, Cuts of Meat and How To Cook Them – Beef.)

Type of Steak: Look for ribeye, strip steak, porterhouse, T-bone steaks, etc. Those steaks will be juicy and tender when cooked quickly.

  • Marbling: Marbling are the streaks of fat that are dispersed throughout the steak. Those are the white lines across the surface of the steaks. As the meat cooks, the fat will melt and make the steak really juicy and flavorful. The more marbling, the more tender the steak.
  • Thickness: It’s also important to get steaks that are thicker, about 1 1/2 – 2 inches thick. If you can find steaks that are thicker than 2 inches, go for it! If they are too thin, they will also overcook easily in the center by the time you get a sear on the outside. You will have gray steaks that don’t have a sear but are already well done in the center. The thicker the steak, the better chance you have of getting a great sear on the outside without overcooking.
Choosing the best steaks, thick with lots of marbling
(steaks on a plate)

To get a great char on the steaks, you can achieve that by cooking them on the grill or using a good quality skillet, either cast iron or something like my stainless steel All Clad Skillet.

Broiled Steak – How does it work?

Broiling simply means that you use a really intense and high heat to cook something, usually the heating element in the oven is right at the top. Turn it on, some oven just have a “Broil” option and others let you choose the temperature, in that case, turn it on 500 degrees Fahrenheit.

This method allows you to get some really good browning and a sear on your food, but don’t walk away – your food could turn from golden to burned to a crisp black in just a few minutes or even seconds! Stay right near the oven when using the broiler.

How to broil steak in the oven

How To Broil Steak

  1. Prep the steaks.
    • Bring the steak to room temperature for about 20-30 minutes, then pat them dry on both sides.
    • Season the steaks generously with salt and ground black pepper on both sides.
  2. Set the oven rack to right below the broiling unit, the heating element on the top of the oven.
  3. Using a large rimmed baking sheet, spread out 2-3 cups of salt evenly over the surface of the baking sheet. (The amount of salt depends on the size of the baking sheet that you are using. It should completely cover the bottom of the baking pan, but the meat should not be resting on the salt underneath the wire rack.) The salt is used just to catch all the meat drippings, so use a container of cheap salt here, not an expensive, special salt.
  4. Place a wire rack on top of the salt for the steaks to cook on. This elevates the steaks and gets the hot air circulating all around the steaks. If you put the steaks right on the baking pan, they would steam on the bottom. When you put the steak on the rack, make sure the meat isn’t touching the salt.
  5. Broil for 2-4 minutes, flip the steak over and broil for another 2-4 minutes. If the steaks are thinner than 2 inches, broil for 2 minutes per side, if the steaks are 2 inches or thicker, broil for 4 minutes. Continue broiling for 2-4 minutes per side, until the meat is 125 degrees on an instant read thermometer for a medium rare steak, 130 degrees for medium well, and 140 for well done. Using a meat thermometer will give you the perfectly cooked steak without guessing.
  6. Remove the steaks from the oven and let them rest for about 10-15 minutes before serving.
Broiled Steak

This is such a brilliant idea. The salt lines the bottom of the pan and catches the drippings from the steaks and conveniently soaks them all up and prevents all those drippings from smoking up your oven as the steaks cook at such a high temperature.

Serving the Steaks

Resting meat is really important to give the meat a chance to rest and the juices to redistribute. If you cut into them right away, all of the juices will pour out and your steak won’t be as tender. Discard the salt.

Flavored butter takes these steaks up a notch and makes them “steakhouse worthy”.

Broiled Steak with flavored butter

Serve the steaks with flavored butter. After the steaks rest but while they are still hot, slice the flavored butter into coins, the size and thickness that you prefer, and place it on top of your steaks.

Flavored Butter Recipe (I included the recipe in the recipe card below too, but if you want more details, I have a separate recipe too.)

As the butter melts and seeps into the meat, you will wonder how such a burst of flavor is even possible. It is SO delicious.

More Restaurant Worthy Recipes To Try

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Broiled Steaks

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A broiled steak is the perfect method to cooking a steak in the oven, charred and crisp on the outside and still juicy on the inside. Don’t miss the delicious flavored butter to serve with the steak.

  • Author: Olga’s Flavor Factory
  • Prep Time: 15 min
  • Cook Time: 15 mins
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4-6 1x
  • Category: Entree

Ingredients

Scale
  • 4 steaks , 1 1/2 – 2 1/2 inches, strip or ribeye (preferably at least 2 inches)
  • salt, ground black pepper, to season the steaks on both sides
  • 23 cups salt, to line the bottom of the baking sheet

Flavored Butter – Lemon Herb:

  • 1 stick (8 Tablespoons butter) softened to room temperature
  • 1 small shallot, minced
  • 1 small garlic clove, minced
  • 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
  • 1/2 Tablespoon minced fresh parsley
  • 1/21 teaspoon lemon zest and 1/2 Tablespoon juice from 1 small lemon
  • salt, pepper, to taste

Instructions

  1. Pat the steaks dry on paper towels on both sides.
  2. Season generously with salt and pepper on both sides. Set aside for at least 30 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, make the flavored butter. In a medium skillet, heat about 1/2 Tablespoon of the butter, then add the shallots and garlic, season with salt and cook for just a few minutes, until tender and starting to turn golden. Cool slightly. Add the cooked shallots and garlic, along with the lemon juice, lemon zest, parsley and thyme to the remaining butter. Season to taste with salt and pepper and mix to combine. Shape the butter into a log and wrap in parchment paper, plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Chill. Store in the refrigerator for up to a week and in the freezer for up to 3 months.
  4. Preheat the oven to broil, 500 degrees Fahrenheit. Set the oven rack to be right below the broiling unit or the one just below it.
  5. Spread out 2-3 cups of salt on the bottom of a large rimmed baking sheet. Set a rack on top of the layer of salt and place the steaks on top of the rack. The steaks should not be touching the salt.
  6. Broil for 2-4 minutes, flip the steak over and broil for another 2-4 minutes. If you are using steaks that are thinner than 2 inches, broil for 2 minutes, if you are using thicker steaks than 2 inches, broil for 4 minutes.
  7. Continue broiling for 2-4 minutes per side, flipping the steaks over, until the meat is 125 degrees on an instant read thermometer for a medium rare steak, 130 degrees for medium well, and 140 for well done.
  8. Let the steaks rest for at least 10-15 minutes before serving. Top the steaks with flavored butter.

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This recipe was originally published on June 24, 2013. I updated the photos and clarified the instructions, to make this recipe even better. 

21 Comments

  • Dina

    Wow Olga, This is such a brilliant idea. I will have to make this soon… Thanks for sharing this recipe with us.

  • Natalka

    Olga gde tu pokypala eti rewotki, y menya est tolko oni mne kazhetsya tolko chobu ostuvalo. . . ili mozna ispolzuvat tozhe ? thanks a lot

    • olgak7

      Natalka, I bought mine a few years ago, so I don’t remember where exactly I got it, but I think it was at Publix, believe it or not.
      This is considered a cooling rack, but most of them can be used in the oven as well. As long as the rack doesn’t have a coating on it that will melt in the oven.

  • tatyana

    this looks delicious !!! what are you side dishes in the picture!!! Will be making this tonight for dinner!!

  • Vika

    Olga, should I use the meat pounder (or what does that tenderizing tool called?) to tenderize the steak before marinading? Thank you!

  • Ali

    Hi Olga, I really want to try this recipe, but I don’t have a meat thermometer. Do you know approximately how long I should cook the meat or how many times I should turn it until it’s done?

    • olgak7

      Hi Ali,
      The timing for cooking meat is very different depending on your oven and the thickness of your meat. I definitely recommend buying a meat thermometer – they are very inexpensive and I use mine all the time. This way, you’ll have the best results.

  • Robbie Green

    Hi Olga! Id just like to say that, your recipes are completely to the point and very understandable. With so many other Chefs/Cooks who are featured on YouTube or their own sites; they are so busy being all about themselves, until, they leave out important information about their recipes! Many times, The Recipes just doesn’t make any sense! Coming across your site was indeed by accident, but, at the same time, I’m really glad I found your recipes. Thank you for making it easy to understand! That’s all I am trying to say! Take Care and God Bless!

  • Michael Alogna

    You forgot or I missed it :
    Assuming I prepared the “ log” of flavored butter days ahead of time :
    How thick do I slice the butter Pattie’s ?
    When do I put them on top of the steaks ?
    While they are resting post- oven or BEFORE they go into oven OR ? or when ?

    • olgak7

      Hi Michael,
      I add the butter right before serving them. After resting them, put the pats of butter on top of the steaks while they are still hot so the butter melts and can be enjoyed with your steak.
      If you add the butter while they’re in the oven, the butter will melt and leak all over the place.
      You can cut them into whatever size you like – it adds flavor, but how much butter you want is up to your preference. Hope that helps.

    • olgak7

      The salt is used just to catch all the meat drippings. Since we are using the broiling method in the oven, the temperature is really hot and if you don’t use salt, the drippings will pool in the bottom of the baking pan and smoke.

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