You can find a good reference point for each degree of doneness (color, baking time, temperature) below. Depending on your oven, cooking times may vary, so be sure to keep an eye on your steak. The meat should be removed 5° before it reaches the desired temperature. Temperature will continue to rise while resting.
Rare: Sear outsides then bake about 4-6 minutes in oven until temperature is around 125°F and color is red.
Medium-Rare: Sear outsides then bake about 6-8 minutes in oven until temperature is 130°F and color is deep pink.
Medium: Sear outsides then bake about 8-10 minutes in oven until temperature is around 140°F and color is light pink.
Medium-Well: Sear outsides then bake about 10-12 minutes in oven until temperature is around 150°F and color is slightly pink center.
Well-Done: Sear outsides then bake about 12-14 minutes in oven until temperature is around 160°F+ and color is little or no pink.
Note: If you are a visual person, check out this cooking time chart that shows the doneness of each meat.
Types of meat. There are 3 different types of meat: Select, Choice and Prime. I usually end up buying choice and it always has great flavor.
Skillet. While any oven safe skillet will work, I highly recommend using a cast iron skillet. The heat is distributed more evenly and creates the perfect crust on the meat.
Season generously. Don’t skimp on the seasonings! Rub on a generous amount of salt and pepper, or use your favorite steak rub. Some of the seasoning will come off in the skillet as it cooks, so you want the meat to have enough flavor once it’s done.
Keeping it tender. There are a few easy steps you can take to ensure your steak is tender. First, bring the meat to room temperature. This helps it cook more evenly and lessens the chance of overcooking. Second, season with salt. Salt brings out moisture from the meat and helps break down proteins and muscle fibers. The end result is a soft and amazingly tender steak!
Let rest. Letting the meat rest once removed from the oven keeps it nice and juicy. When you allow warm steak to cool, the juices flow back in and create a super moist and delicious meat. I like to let mine rest for about 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Once rested, I’ll add a slab of butter and fresh herbs on top. It really brings the flavor up a notch!
Our favorites are mixed vegetables and potatoes, but there are plenty of other delicious side dishes that go great with steak.
I personally like to bake my steak in the oven. Baking uses convection heat while broiling uses infrared heat. Therefore, baking involves heating food by encircling it with hot air. Using the top elements of the oven, you broil food to heat it from above. Typically, food that is broiled becomes more charred, especially on the top. It has a tendency to cook and brown really fast. I believe that baking the steaks is a little more reliable. :).
For thicker steak I prefer to cook at 450°F. It aids in making the edges crisp while preserving the juicy interior.
It will take roughly 10 minutes to cook to medium at 450. It definitely depends on how you prefer your steak. I usually cook for about 10 minutes, but please refer to the timing chart in the post.
10–12 minutes for medium-rare, 12–15 minutes for medium, and 15–18 minutes for well-done.
You can, but it will take a little longer to cook. You can also place thin steaks under the broiler for one minute to get the seared edges, such as flank steak.
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How to Cook Steak in Oven
Let sit. Bring steaks to room temperature for about 15 to 30 minutes. Trim any excess fat.
Heat. Preheat the oven to 450°F and place large oven-safe skillet in oven while it’s heating. Remove pan from oven and place over high heat on stove.
Season. Pat steaks dry with a paper towel, then rub them with oil and season generously with sea salt (or kosher salt) and pepper. You can also use your favorite steak rub to season steaks.
Sear. When pan is very hot, add the steaks to the hot skillet and sear on each side for 1 minute.
Bake. Then place pan in oven and bake for 4-6 minutes on one side. Flip and cook other side for 4-6 more minutes. Remove the meat 5° before it reaches the desired temperature.
Rest. Remove pan from oven and allow rest steaks for 5 minutes. Top each steak with a slab of herb butter and fresh herbs if desired.
Factors to Consider When Oven-Cooking Steak
The amount of time needed to bake a steak varies depending on a number of factors, such as:
The desired doneness
The thickness of the steak
The size of the steak
The cooking temperature
For many, using the oven is a last resort when grilling isnt an option, but steaks cooked in the oven dont have to be flavorless or uninteresting. Cooking steak in the oven is a balancing act. Youd like a juicy, flavorful steak while still making sure that all the bacteria have been killed so that you arent risking food-borne illnesses.
An excellent method for cooking thin steaks quickly while maintaining the meat’s tenderness is broiling. Thicker steaks respond better to oven roasting than broiling. Steaks that are thicker, between 1-1/2 and 2 inches, should be roasted in the oven.
The steak should be seasoned and left to sit on the counter for 30 to 45 minutes before going into the oven if you’re bringing it to room temperature before cooking it, which is always a good idea. Don’t leave the steak out at room temperature for more than two hours because bacteria may begin to grow there.
