How to cook steak in the oven

Grilled steak is fine, and if you know how to do it, the meat will taste amazing. However, the oven offers a high-quality piece of steak that grilling doesn’t offer: the possibility of choosing different types of searing and a very juicy and flavorful interior.

By only grilling your steak, you won’t be able to choose the degree of doneness, and you will have only partial control over the temperature. But after reading this article, we will solve this problem for you. You will get a step-by-step guide on how to cook steak in the oven and a couple of extra recommendations to make it tasty for your guests.

This is how it will look like after cooking and serving:

Step-by-step on how to cook steak in the oven

Here’s how to cook steak in the oven, and you will find every recommendation you need in this step-by-step. After this recipe section, you will also find a helpful chart with cooking temperatures and the results for each one.

Step 1: Mix fine sea salt, black pepper, and garlic powder in a bowl

First, we need to prepare the spices. This is a very basic mix, and the reason we recommend this one is because everyone has these ingredients in the kitchen. They are one tablespoon of sea salt, half a tablespoon of black pepper, and half a tablespoon of garlic powder. Some pre-made mixes include salted garlic powder, but the taste will differ slightly if you can use fine sea salt.

Step 2: Select good quality steaks and dry the excess moisture

After thawing your steak, select the slices and ensure they are somewhat thick. Take out any excess fat you can spot, and make sure it is a good-quality steak for better results. Take it to a chopping table and dry the excess moisture with a dry and clean cloth. Turn it over and do it on both sides.

Step 3: Soak the steak slices with high-heat oil

Take a cooking brush and start soaking the steak slices with high-heat oil. This oil withstands up to 450ºF, and it is the most appropriate type if you’re planning to grill and then turn the steak to the oven. Turn the steak slice over and soak both sides with high-heat oil.

Step 4: Add the spices to the steak

When step 3 is ready, you can spread the spice mix to the steak. Once again, turn it over and make sure that both sides are covered in spice. You can use your clean hands to mix the spices to make sure that the spread is homogeneous.

Step 5: Prepare a frying pan with high heat oil

After preparing the steak pieces, as we mentioned above, the next thing you need to do is preparing the frying pan. Before taking the steak pieces to the oven, they will go through a frying pan. Spread high-heat oil, and it will be ready to go.

Step 6: Fry the steak on both sides until browned

This step is critical because you’re not frying the steak until it’s done. We want to brown the steak only. To do this, you only want to heat the frying pan and only fry the steak when it reaches very high temperatures. Quickly turn it over and remember that you’re not supposed to complete the cooking process just yet.

Step 7: Take to the oven for up to 5 minutes

When the steak pieces are browned, and the flavors are sealed, take them off the pan and take them to the oven. Adjust the oven to 180 ºF and keep the steak there for 3-5 minutes. For better taste, you can spread rosemary all over.

Step 8: Serve with salad or staple foods

After 5 minutes have passed, you can take the steak off the oven and serve it. We recommend serving this dish with salad (our favorite – Mediterranean Cucumber Tomato Salad) or staple foods such as rice, potatoes, or quinoa, depending on where you live.

What is the best steak seasoning?

It is not only about how to cook steak in the oven, but you also need to know how to use seasonings.

For this steak recipe, you can use the basic seasoning we just described or another type. We have tried the Kansas-style seasoning, which uses black pepper, mustard seeds, paprika, garlic, and brown sugar to caramelize the steak. Another option is using barbeque seasoning, potentially bringing out the natural flavor of a high-quality steak.

However, we recommended a very simple seasoning based on garlic, salt, and pepper because it is a standard for most types of meat in most cuisines. You can use seasoned salt or kosher salt, depending on your taste, and give it a few variations if you wish.

Another option that many people like is preparing the steak on a marinade recipe. There are many variations; they are all tasty but require extra preparation. The good thing about marinades is that such preparation enhances the juicy quality of your steak, which is probably what you want to achieve by taking it to the oven.

Here’s a list of marinade ideas:

• Balsamic herbs marinade: This one is made with Italian and balsamic herbs and gives a fantastic taste to the steak. It is made basically with balsamic vinegar, rosemary, onion powder, black pepper, garlic powder, Dijon mustard, olive oil, and Worcestershire sauce.
• Korean marinade: This type feels savory and sweet. It is an excellent blend with an Asian feel. The ingredients include Asian pear juice, soy sauce, ground ginger, garlic powder, brown sugar, sesame oil, and peanut oil.
• Fajita marinade: It enhances the flavor with a mixture of spicy and citric tastes. You only need some pineapple juice, lime juice, olive oil, cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

You can prepare one of the marinades above and drown your steak in the marinade using a Ziploc bag. It should stay in the fridge for one day, but if you’re in a hurry, you should give it a minimum of 30 minutes.

Recommended cuts

There are various cuts to choose from, and you can have the one you like the most for this recipe. However, we recommend prime cuts because they taste much better and do not require excess seasoning.

To learn how to cook steak in the oven, start by choosing one of these cuts:

• Ribeye steak: This cut is very tender and juicy by nature. It comes from the rib section and contains enough marbling throughout to make the meat flavorful and tender. Look for fine fat lines instead of a thick and considerable amount only found sparingly.
• Rib steak: This cut also comes from the rib section and has the exact nature and feel of a ribeye steak. The only difference is that it still has the rib bone attached to it. You may also find it under the name “bone-in ribeye.”
• Top sirloin: You probably know this cut as sirloin, and it comes from the loin section of the cow. This section is in the middle part and is also very juicy. Top sirloin cuts can be cooked in pieces or as a whole cut. It has a reduced amount of fat as compared to ribeye cuts. Thus, it is also not as tender. It is not to be confused with bottom sirloin.
• New York strip: This cut comes from below the backbone area and is a very tender piece. It is similar to other cuts such as Porterhouse steak and tenderloin, but this one is larger. You may also find it under the name “strip steak.”
• Filet mignon: This cut is similar to strip steak and comes from the same area. Another name is tenderloin steak, but an actual filet mignon is cut from the end section of the tenderloin. Compared to other cuts, filet mignon is the leanest type and one of the most tender. It is also very expensive.

A word on steak temperature and doneness

Doneness is the word used to describe how cooked the steak is. For example, you can have a well-done steak made at a very high temperature. This type is 100% cooked but loses moisture and that juicy character that most people enjoy. But a medium-cooked steak will preserve a lot of its moisture and turn out juicy and very tasty, but not all people want to see that reddish tone in the slice.

The higher the temperature, the closest your steak will be to well done.

Here’s a helpful chart you can turn to when choosing your degree of doneness:

Doneness	Maximum inner temperature	When to remove from the oven	What to expect
Rare	125 ºF or 52 ºC	120 ºF or 49 ºC	It feels near to raw, and it is the least cooked doneness available. The meat is soft and juicy.
Medium-Rare	135 ºF or 57 ºC	130 ºF or 54 ºC	Here, the surface is browned and firm, but the center of the steak looks pinkish with hints of red.
Medium	145 ºF or 63 ºC	140 ºF or 60 ºC	Most people are pleased with medium doneness. This type has a thick band of pinkish meat covered in brown. The sides are dark brown.
Medium-Well	150 ºF or 66 ºC	145 ºF or 63 ºC	This level of doneness has the tiniest hint of pink. It mostly looks brown and may not be as juicy.
Well done	160 ºF or 71 ºC	155 ºF or 68 ºC	It is the easiest to cook because you don’t need to care much about moisture. This type of meat has no pink. It is browned through and preserves little to no moisture.

As you can see, to control the level of doneness precisely, you need to be precise with the temperature and not the oven temperature. We’re talking about the steak temperature, and this is done by using an instant-read thermometer. It should preferably be an oven-safe thermometer you can trace while the steak is cooking.