If you think that great steaks are available only at restaurants, think again. This garlic butter steak recipe transforms budget-cut steaks like flat iron and top sirloin, making the meat as tender and flavorful as any steakhouse entree. The secret ingredient: butter.
Steaks like ribeye and New York strip are highly marbled with fat, which helps tenderize the meat as it melts. Our garlic butter steak recipe uses butter to achieve a similar goal with leaner steaks (but you can use the technique to improve any steak recipe). The rich, creamy butter enhances the meat’s texture by keeping the meat moist as it cooks. Meanwhile, the milk solids in the butter brown and caramelize, giving the pan-seared steak an incredible crust and a toffee-like flavor.
After the steak is cooked, butter comes to the rescue once again. Almost every restaurant where I’ve worked has finished its steaks with a pat of compound butter or a ladleful of clarified butter. (It’s one of those steakhouse secrets the chef might not want you to know.) A dollop of garlic butter for steak gives a glossy sheen and releases an intoxicating aroma. There’s no way this steak won’t taste as good as it looks (and smells!).
What is butter steak?
Butter steak refers to the method of cooking steak in butter, and it’s also another name for flat iron steak or top blade steak. This steak comes from the top shoulder blade muscle of the chuck, or the front shoulder of the cow. Chuck is known for being a tough cut that’s usually braised, but the top blade muscle is tender enough to pan-sear or grill.
Flat iron steaks have less intramuscular fat (or marbling) than expensive steaks, so they can dry out more easily. For the best eating experience, we recommend cooking these steaks to a medium-rare steak temperature.
How to Pan-Sear a Steak with Butter
Pan-seared steak shares a lot of the same steps as cast-iron steak. First, let the steak come to room temperature for at least 45 minutes. Just before cooking, pat the steak dry with a paper towel. These steps ensure the steak will sear properly and achieve a gorgeous crust.
Next, preheat the pan—preferably a seasoned cast-iron skillet for even heating. Butter has a low smoke point (the temperature at which oil begins to smoke and burn), so keep the dial lower than you would for a seared steak. Butter steak should be cooked over medium heat, and temperatures above 350°F can impart off-flavors into the meat.
Once the steak is cooked to the desired level of doneness, let it rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing. You want the juices to reabsorb into the meat, not spill out onto the cutting board. Finally, slice the steak against the grain, and add a pat of garlic butter for the steak’s signature finish.
Ingredients for Butter Steak
- Steak: Look for a 3/4- to 1-inch thick steak with good marbling. Flat iron steak and boneless top sirloin steak are great options for butter steak. These cuts are leaner than ribeye or New York strip steaks but have a beefier taste. It doesn’t hurt that they’re usually significantly less expensive too.
- Salt and pepper: The steak gets plenty of flavor from the garlic butter, so we limit the seasoning to salt and pepper. If you want to fancy up the flavor profile, use a steak seasoning blend instead.
- Garlic butter: A compound butter gives pan-seared steak the steakhouse treatment. The combination of creamy butter, aromatic garlic, umami-rich soy sauce and herbaceous parsley pairs perfectly with beef.
Directions
Step 1: Prepare the garlic butter for steak
Mix 1 tablespoon butter with parsley, garlic and soy sauce. Set aside.
Editor’s Tip: You can make the garlic butter in advance. Compound butter lasts up to a week in the fridge (or up to three months in the freezer).
Step 2: Season the steak
Sprinkle the steak with salt and pepper.
Editor’s Tip: Coating the steak with an even layer of salt brings out the meat’s beefy flavors. For even cooking, let the steak sit, salted, at room temperature for at least 45 minutes.
Step 3: Sear the steak in a skillet
In a large skillet, heat the remaining butter over medium heat. Add the steak, and cook until the meat reaches desired doneness, four to seven minutes per side. For medium-rare, a thermometer should read 135°; for medium, 140°; and for medium-well, 145°.
Editor’s Tip: A meat thermometer is the best way to know—not guess—when your steak reaches the perfect temperature. The temperature will continue to rise after the steak is removed from the skillet, so aim for a few degrees shy of your desired temperature.
Step 4: Finish the steak with garlic butter
Top the steak with the garlic butter.
Editor’s Tip: Let the steak rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing.
Recipe Variations
- Use another flavored butter: There are so many great flavored butter recipes, and you can use most of them with steak. Experiment with roasted garlic, prepared horseradish, blue cheese, Worcestershire sauce, or fresh herbs like rosemary or thyme.
- Make butter steak in the air fryer: Looking for an excuse to use your air fryer? Cook air-fryer steak in a 400° air fryer for 8 to 10 minutes, flipping halfway through.
- Turn steak into steak bites: If you don’t want to mess with cooking a whole steak, turn this recipe into steak bites. Cut the steak into bite-sized pieces, and sear them in batches until they reach the desired doneness. Melt the garlic butter and serve it as a dipping sauce for the tasty bites.
How to Store Butter Steak
Garlic butter steak tastes best just after it’s cooked, but leftovers will keep for up to four days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You don’t want the meat to overcook as you reheat it, so use one of these steak reheating methods to ensure it stays nice and juicy.
Butter Steak Tips
What are the best types of steak to cook in a skillet?
Boneless, quick-cooking steaks are the best types of steak to cook in a skillet. Ribeye or New York strip steaks are popular because their high-fat content keeps the meat rich and juicy. However, we like tender filet mignon steaks (cut from the beef tenderloin), top sirloin or flat iron steak for this garlic butter steak recipe. The butter adds fat to keep the lean meat nice and juicy as it cooks.
How do you season the perfect steak?
When it comes to seasoning meat like steak, we keep it simple with salt and pepper. Salt pulls out moisture through a process called osmosis, tenderizing the muscle fibers and enhancing the meat’s flavor. Just make sure to let the meat stand for at least 45 minutes (or as long as overnight in the fridge) so it has time to absorb the seasoning. These secret ingredients will take your steak to the next level too.
How do you make pan-seared steak juicy and tender?
When learning how to pan-sear a steak to ensure it turns out juicy and tender, you’ll need to evenly sear the steak to seal the juices inside. To do this, avoid moving or turning the meat until halfway through cooking time. Then, let the meat rest after cooking to redistribute the juices throughout the meat. If your steak isn’t tender, you may have made a common steak-cooking mistake like using the wrong cut of meat.
