This is one of my star dishes, rosemary garlic butter steak, one I’ve been making forever, and that just never fails. It uses few ingredients and can be ready in 20-25 minutes. Just follow the tips below and become a master steak cook.
Originally posted in 2012, the text and images in this post have been updated to serve you better. The recipe remains the same, of course!
About steak
Now, I live in Argentina, where meat is officially our national food (looking for an authentic chimichurri sauce anyone?). It is a serious business.
Barbecue has become the number one choice here, our favorite thing.
And while our grilling would be considered plain for most of you - no marinades, rubs or additions of any kind while being grilled, except for salt and pepper - the fat in the meat does the flavor trick, and making a great piece of barbecue meat is no beginner's luck, no matter how many condiments you pile afterward.
The meat here is very fresh, no fourteen or twenty-one days waiting for it to age. Why wait? Slap that piece of red on the grill or skillet and eat it! Make mine medium rare, please.
That said, I change it up a bit when I'm grilling meat indoors. So today's recipe comes with add-ons.
Few ingredients
- Steak: of course this is the star so buy the best you can afford, always.
- Rosemary: fresh is better, but in a hurry dried will certainly do.
- Garlic: fresh is the way because it can be chopped with the herb and salt.
- Butter: it gives the meat a great flavor, but oil can also be used.
- White wine: it's used to lift the bits that stick to the pan when the meat is cooked. It adds a great flavor, but use water if you want to, by all means.
Why Rosemary and garlic?
Rubbing garlic, rosemary and salt (image below) has been my easy way of adding extra flavor to steak without a lot of work. Or time.
It adds SO MUCH to the end product, it's one of those simple secrets that you'll be forever grateful for.
I discovered it almost by accident and it's become a staple. It takes just a few minutes to prepare and the results are extraordinary!
What type of meat should you use?
I have two cuts I swear by when making this garlic butter steak:
Sirloin strip steak:
Lean but flavorful and perfect for grilling indoors or out.
This is what I'm using today, and I stripped away most of the outside fat since I was making it in a skillet. When using the outdoor barbecue, I like to leave the layer of fat (see the second image here) so it chars slowly and adds even more flavor to the meat.
I don't know where you live, but here you can buy the whole piece of sirloin, a 5-6 kg (11-13 pounds) piece of meat that you throw directly on the barbecue and let it cook for a few hours. So amazing.
Rib-eye steak:
My favorite cut of meat when barbecuing outside.
It has two types of meat, lean and tender on one side, flavorful and chewier on the other.
This steak cut is amazing for marinating before cooking. It is a crowd-pleasing type of meat, at least in my experience.
I don't know where you live, but here you can buy the whole piece of sirloin, a 5-6 kg (11-13 pounds) piece of meat that you throw directly on the barbecue and let it cook for a few hours. So amazing.
How to cook it
They are few and simple, but make sure you use the right amount of heat so the steak doesn't burn. And read the tips below before.
First step
Rub the room temperature steak with the rosemary, garlic and salt mixture. Melt the butter on a skillet. Do so on a medium/high heat and add the steak when it foams.
Turn over
The steak must be turned over half way to cook evenly. This will depend on how thick it is, so it might take a few more or less minutes. See below how the bottom half is still red as opposed to the upper half.
Add liquid to deglaze
A splash of wine or water is added at the end to lift up the bits that are stuck to the bottom (deglazing). You can skip it, but it will add a small amount of 'sauce' for the steak.
Resting time
Take the steak from the pan and let rest for 4-5 minutes before cutting. This allows the juices that have gone to the edges during cooking to rearrange themselves, so that when you cut you will have a consistently juicy piece of meat. Otherwise, the liquid drips from the meat and onto the plate the moment you cut it. For me, this is a crucial step.
You just have to try this amazing steak. Let it be known that you can make amazing Steak and Chimichurri Sliders with this recipe also.
My tips for cooking the best steak:
- Temperature: always have the meat at room temperature. That way it’ll be more tender. If it’s frozen, defrost it overnight in the fridge. The less change in temperature while defrosting, the better.
- Salting: add salt right before it goes into the skillet. If you want to infuse some garlic and rosemary, rub them on the steaks, leave them at room tº for twenty minutes, and salt them at the last moment.
- Thickness: a steak should be two or three fingers (1.5 to 2 inches) thick if you want it medium rare with a good crust.
- Preheating: Make sure the skillet or steak iron griddle is preheated.
- Searing: the steak must be first seared - cooking it quickly over very high heat to seal in the juices - on both sides over high heat, but finished over medium/low (unless you like it very rare inside, almost raw). Otherwise, it will become flushed, as we say here, which means the outside is too dark before the inside gets a chance to cook properly.
- Resting: Always let it rest for 5 minutes after you remove it from the heat source. The juices go to the outer part of the meat piece while cooking, and resting redistributes them.
- Doneness: Never pierce or cut a steak to check for doneness because the juices will start to drip. To test them, lightly press them down with a fork or kitchen tongs. The more it gives, or the flabbier it feels, the rarer it's still is. When it's very cooked, the meat will hardly yield when you press it. I know many use a thermometer, and it's fine as long as the needle is thin.
Extra tip: did you know that the area below your thumb (yes, in your hand!), that thick mound that forms in the palm, is quite accurate when testing steaks? It's not perfect, of course, but it can help you start to feel when your steak is done instead of relying on a thermometer.
Rare: lightly join the tips of your thumb and index finger forming a circle with both fingers and press that area below the thumb (image above). It means that if you lightly press the steak while it's cooking (with a tong is fine), the pressure should be similar.
Medium rare: join the middle finger and thumb it gets a little tighter.
Medium well: touch the tip of your thumb with the ring finger
Well done: use your pinky finger.
Let me know
If you made this recipe and loved it, you can comment below and leave a five-star ⭐️ review. Also, if you had issues, let me know so we can troubleshoot together. I appreciate honest feedback and suggestions.
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Rosemary Garlic Butter Steak
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Ingredients
- 4 sirloin strip steaks, about 7-0z each (1 to 1.5-inches thick, room temperature)
- 2 or 3 garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- A splash of white or red wine
Instructions
- Mince garlic and rosemary.
- Add 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste) and mince it a little longer. You can also do this with a mortar and pestle.
- Rub the paste over both sides of each steak.
- Heat a skillet over medium/high heat and melt butter. Add oil to prevent it from burning too much.
- Add steaks, season them with pepper and cook 1 or 2 minutes on each side.
- Turn it over, cook it 2 or 3 more minutes and add the wine (you can add extra garlic and rosemary now too to the skillet). It will steam furiously.
- Cook the steak 2 or 3 additional minutes for medium rare, remove steaks and let rest for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook the wine until reduced and a kind of sauce if formed.
- Slice the steaks and serve them with the sauce.
Marilyn Kavanagh says
Love, love this recipe, the sauce is to die for
As I am on the Lion diet it is crucial that you enjoy your steak
Michael Rutherford says
I love bbqing my steaks. I can use the rosemary/garlic/salt mix, but is there any way, short of putting a skillet on the bbq, that I can get that butter incotporated?
Paula Montenegro says
Hi Michael, I don't think there is as any grease that drips into the coals will lit up a fire and burn the steak. That is my experience.
Mikaela Garner says
My husband and I LOVE this recipe. It is our go to for steak. We are savory people through and through and the rosemary is perfect with it. My husband is usually the one who cooks the steak so learning not to burn mine and make it well done is something he’s still working on but the instructions are definitely helpful for him! Thank you for sharing!!
Paula Montenegro says
So happy you love it Mikaela and thanks for letting me know! Have a great week.
Kim says
Your dry marinade will taste even better if you add lemon zest to the garlic, rosemary and salt. Been my go to dry marinade for years.
Mary Ann says
So how do you cook with dried rosemary? That’s what I currently have.
Paula Montenegro says
Hi Mary Ann, mix it with the garlic as you would the fresh. Use 1 teaspoon.
James Yeh says
Greata tasty simple recipe - does exactly as it promised. We really enjoyed it this for our dinner. Thank you Paula!
Paula Montenegro says
So happy to hear that James!
Vin says
This was phenomenal! It is definitely our go to steak preparation from now on.
Paula Montenegro says
SO happy to know that, Vin! Have a great week.
Nicole Jones says
This is the best steak recipe I’ve ever made! We enjoyed it very much and I doubt I’ll ever make steak another way, again.
Thank you so much!
Paula Montenegro says
Thanks for letting me know Nicole! Have a great week!
CLK says
What does this mean?????
"Now, lightly join the tips of your thumb and index finger (you will form a circle with both fingers) and press that area below the thumb; that is rare steak.
If you join the middle finger and thumb it gets a little tighter; that's medium-rare.
The ring finger is cooked and the pinky is very cooked."
My fingers are not a steak. A steak is a steak. My fingers are my fingers.
Dawn Winning says
If you follow Paula's instructions, she is trying to teach you how a steak feels by pressing down on it to judge what stage it is cooked at. Rare to ---------> well done.
Dawn Winning says
Never making steak another way again. I used 3 small top sirloin filets. This was fabulous!!! Thank you.
Paula Montenegro says
So glad you liked it! I love it with sirloin too.
Dawn Winning says
So glad I remembered to save this recipe from 4 years ago when I first made it. I'm trying it tonight w/ loin lamb chops and I'm sure it will be just as fabulous as it was w/the steak.
Paula Montenegro says
Yes, I agree! Rosemary and garlic pair incredibly well with lamb.
Andrew Wilder says
This steak looks delicious!
Suzy says
This taste so great! Love the flavor and how easy it is to make!
David says
This steak is right up my alley! I often use similar ingredients except use thyme more than rosemary. And you have mentioned my two favorite cuts for grilling!
Nicole says
Thanks so much, these are such great, easy to follow tips for doneness and great tasting steak!
Pam Greer says
This recipe makes the most perfect steak! All your tips make it so easy and it comes out perfect every time!
Nadia says
Thank you for this, I finally made good steaks! Fof context: Hubby is a bit of a whiz in the kitchen (I'm good at my fair share though) and has been trying to teach me to make the steaks the right way for a few years now hahaha...thanks again
Paula Montenegro says
SO glad you succeeded Nadia! Have a good weekend.
Don says
I love the idea. But for one you should never saw your steak before you cook it. And you should never use white wine on red meat. Otherwise a pretty tasty dish.
Don says
Salt not saw, sorry.
Paula Montenegro says
Hi Don. I do like to salt my steak right before cooking it. And white wine, though I don't use it always, was a great addition. We all have our own ways, and many times, there are no absolutes, just different ways of doing things.
juliana De Souza says
Classy answer!
Front Porch Bliss says
Thanks for the tips! I plan to try this recipe out with our ribeye tonight. I'm not the best griller so I need all the help I can get.
Paula Montenegro says
You'll do fine following the tips. Enjoy the process of cooking, that's important! Let me know if you need help.
Anonymous says
my rosemary butter burn on both sides even i add litlle oil. i had burn outsides ut bloody inside, what's wrong?
wp_vknotes_admin says
Hi, the heat was probably too high, so the outside burned before the inside had a chance to be cooked properly.
Elle-e-pie says
Just cooked this and it was amazing... PERFECTION! I forgot the wine, but it was still divine (that rhymed). I let it rest for 5 min but it still lost some of the juices, any tips for keeping more of the juices inside?
wp_vknotes_admin says
SO glad it worked! 5 min is enough. It depends on the type of meat you used, how it was treated, etc. Whatever juices are left are meant to be lost. Otherwise you will eat a warm steak!