The best Rosemary Garlic Steak

This is one of my star dishes,  rosemary garlic butter steak, one I’ve been making forever and that just never fails. 
It will make a master steak cook out of you. Just follow the tips below!

The text in this post has been updated to serve you better. Recipe and images are still the same as the original 2012 post.

About steak in Argentina

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 (image below).

Why Rosemary and garlic?

You just have to try this amazing steak, cooked in butter with a splash of white wine at the end. A little reduction, and voilà, the best steak is served.

What type of meat should you use?

• 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.

My tips for cooking the best steak:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Doneness: Never pierce or cut a steak to check for doneness. 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!) is quite accurate when testing steaks?

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.

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Rosemary Garlic Butter Steak + Tips for Cooking a Great Steak

★★★★★ 5 from 8 reviews

• Author: Paula Montenegro
• Prep Time: 15
• Cook Time: 10
• Total Time: 25 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings 1x
• Category: main dish
• Method: Grilling
• Cuisine: Argentinian

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Description

The best and easiest recipe to cook a perfect steak! See notes for all my tricks.

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Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

• 4 sirloin strip steaks, about 7-0z each (1 to 1.5-inches thick, room tº)
• 2 or 3 garlic cloves
• 2 Tbs  fresh rosemary leaves
• 3 Tbs  butter
• 1 Tbs  olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• A splash of white or red wine

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Instructions

1. Mince garlic and rosemary.
2. Add 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste) and mince it a little longer. You can also do this with a mortar and pestle.
3. Rub the paste over both sides of each steak.
4. Heat a skillet over medium/high heat and melt butter. Add oil to prevent it from burning too much.
5. Add steaks, season them with pepper and cook 1 or 2 minutes on each side.
6. 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.
7. Cook the steak 2 or 3 additional minutes for medium rare, remove steaks and let rest for 5 minutes.
8. Meanwhile, cook the wine until reduced and a kind of sauce if formed.
9. Slice the steaks and serve them with the sauce.

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Notes

My tips for cooking the best steak:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Doneness: Never pierce or cut a steak to check for doneness. 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.

Keywords: steak, steak dinner, meat

 

Paula Montenegro

A baker for more than 30 years, I love testing recipes and sharing the best of what I find. I'm mostly self-taught with some time spent in baking school. I believe we can all be bakers and cooks with the right instructions and simple ingredients. If you're craving easy recipes with amazing results, you're in the right place. Let's get into the kitchen!