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?
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!
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:
- 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. 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.
Let me know if you make this recipe! I’d love to hear what you think about it.
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The best and easiest recipe to cook a perfect steak! See notes for all my tricks.
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
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.
Notes
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. 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
This steak looks delicious!
This taste so great! Love the flavor and how easy it is to make!
★★★★★
What a robust recipe! I know what I will be having for dinner tonight! Looks amazing!
★★★★★
This recipe reminds me of how my mom prepared steak as a kid. Great tips for the home chef who wants to prepare their steak to perfection!
★★★★★
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!
★★★★★
I love that you added rosemary to this dish – it’s one of my absolute favor herbs! Thank you for all the wonderful tips!
★★★★★
Thanks so much, these are such great, easy to follow tips for doneness and great tasting steak!
★★★★★
This recipe makes the most perfect steak! All your tips make it so easy and it comes out perfect every time!
★★★★★
I am a star after following your recipe Paula! Finally, I mastered making steak at home. Thank you for the tips, they are spot-on!
★★★★★
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
SO glad you succeeded Nadia! Have a good weekend.
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.
Salt not saw, sorry.
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.
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.
You’ll do fine following the tips. Enjoy the process of cooking, that’s important! Let me know if you need help.
my rosemary butter burn on both sides even i add litlle oil. i had burn outsides ut bloody inside, what's wrong?
Hi, the heat was probably too high, so the outside burned before the inside had a chance to be cooked properly.
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?
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!