How to Sear a Steak
Updated August 15, 2026
Pat the steak completely dry, salt it, and lay it in a heavy pan over high heat with a high-smoke-point oil. Leave it alone until it releases on its own (2–3 minutes), flip, add butter and aromatics, baste, and pull 5°F below your target temperature. Dry surface + hot pan is the entire secret.
Browning is a moisture war
The Maillard reaction — the crust — only happens above ~300°F, and water caps a surface at 212°F until it's gone. A wet steak spends its first minutes boiling its own surface instead of browning. So: pat dry aggressively, salt either right before the pan or 45+ minutes ahead (in between, salt pulls moisture to the surface at exactly the wrong time), and don't crowd the pan — two steaks max in a 12-inch skillet, or the steam from one sabotages the other.
The sequence
Heavy pan (cast iron or stainless) over high until the oil shimmers and just wisps smoke. Steak in, press once so it makes full contact, then hands off — it will stick, then release itself when the crust forms. Flip, drop in a knob of butter with garlic and thyme, tilt the pan, and spoon the foaming butter over the top. Pull at 125–130°F for medium-rare (see the steak doneness chart) and rest 5 minutes. Thick steaks (1½"+) prefer the reverse sear: low oven to 115°F first, then a short violent sear.
Quick answers
- What oil should I sear with?
- Something with a high smoke point: avocado, grapeseed, canola, or ghee. Save the olive oil and whole butter for after the flip.
- Why won't my steak get a crust?
- Wet surface, cool pan, or a crowded pan — usually all three. Dry the steak, heat the pan past shimmering, cook fewer things at once.
- When do I flip?
- When the steak releases with an easy lift, 2–3 minutes. Sticking means the crust isn't built. One flip is classic; flipping every 30 seconds also works and cooks more evenly.