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Rosemary Butter Steak

This is the restaurant method for a perfect pan-seared steak — a hot cast-iron skillet, a quick sear, then basted relentlessly with foaming rosemary-garlic butter until the meat is a perfect medium-rare. The butter, infused with rosemary and garlic as it foams, creates a fragrant, rich crust that elevates the steak to something genuinely extraordinary. A classic that never gets old.

20 min (5 min prep, 15 min cook)Serves 2mediumMainsgluten-free

Ingredients

  • 3 fresh rosemary sprigs
  • 2 steaks ribeye or NY strip steak, about 1 inch thick, at room temperature
  • 3 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 4 cloves garlic, smashed
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1½ tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper, coarsely ground
  • ½ tsp flaky sea salt, for finishing

Contains: milk.

Method

  1. Bring steaks to room temperature 30 minutes before cooking. Pat completely dry with paper towels and season aggressively on both sides with kosher salt and pepper.About 5 min
  2. Heat a cast-iron skillet over very high heat until smoking. Add vegetable oil. Sear steaks for 2-3 minutes without moving until a deep crust forms. Flip and sear the other side for 2-3 minutes.About 8 min
  3. Reduce heat to medium. Add butter, smashed garlic, and rosemary sprigs to the pan. As the butter foams and turns golden, tilt the pan and use a large spoon to continuously baste the steaks with the foaming herb butter for 1-2 minutes.About 5 min
  4. Remove steaks to a warm plate when they register 125-130°F for medium-rare. Rest for 5 minutes before serving. Finish with flaky sea salt.About 5 min

Tips

  • The pan must be extremely hot before the steak goes in — a smoking cast-iron is ideal.
  • Basting with rosemary butter is what takes this from a pan-seared steak to a restaurant-quality dish.
  • Let the steak rest — cutting into it immediately loses all the juices onto the plate.

Ring the changes

  • Add a tablespoon of finely chopped shallot to the butter for a shallot-rosemary steak.
  • Deglaze the pan with red wine after removing the steaks for a simple pan sauce.

Keeping it

Best eaten immediately. Leftover steak keeps in the fridge for 2 days — slice cold for salads or sandwiches.

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A beautifully golden, herb-scented roast chicken is one of the most satisfying things you can make in a home kitchen, and this rosemary-garlic version is the definitive recipe. A simple rub of butter, fresh rosemary, garlic, and lemon zest under and over the skin yields crackling, fragrant skin and juicy, flavorful meat throughout. This is Sunday dinner at its finest.

1 h 30 min · medium · Rosemary
Tony C Smith
Tony C Smith

Allotment keeper in the North East of England, the voice behind the Tony C Smith YouTube channel, and the gardener who built GrowMore CookMore. Club numbers on this page update as members log their plots. Last updated 5 April 2026.