Can you pan fry a steak? Will it be tender and tasty?

Do you like your own cooking?

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I LOVE my own cooking. 😉 But if you buy top sirloin, it has to be marinated or tenderized before cooking...because it is naturally tough, as are hanger steaks, skirt steaks, and so on.

I don't have a BBQ grill anymore, since my divorce, so I purchased a cast iron grill pan, with ridges, so that I can "fry" meats and poultry and sear them nicely.

The very best pan fried steaks are seasoned with salt and pepper first, seared quickly on both sides on cast iron, and then the pan is place inside a preheated 350F oven for seven to 10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the steak.
Thin steaks, or pounded steaks, are never put into the oven. The searing is enough.

I like to finish with garlic butter, melted over the top of the steak, and the steak must be allowed to rest or relax for 10 minutes, otherwise the meat will be tough and not juicy.

MistyCee

@4meAndyou Thanks for bring up resting. You can do all kinds of stuff wrong and still get a decent steak, but if it doesn't rest, you're in trouble.

4meAndyou · F

@MistyCee You are SO right! I watched Robert Irvine demonstrate that to a couple of line cooks in a failing restaurant using a closed fist and an open fist...the meat of the steak is like a closed fist when it first comes off the heat. It is tough and tight. When we stop torturing and burning that flesh, it relaxes, like an open fist, and all the juices emerge.

Peapod · 61-69, F

@MistyCee that little bit of resting period before serving was always my mistake. It really does make a difference in taste and tenderness when eating.