There are several possible ways to prepare a delicious steak and one of them involves using an oven. While the oven may not be your first thought when thinking about cooking a steak, if done correctly it can be a simple yet very efficient way to prepare a delicious meal.

To be able to do this, one of the most important things is knowing how long it takes to cook steak in an oven. While there is not one uniform answer to this question, as there are several factors that come into this calculation, this article will try to offer some advice for the most common situations with regards to temperature, steak thickness, desired doneness, etc. While many people prefer grilling overcooking the steak in the oven, it turns out that oven cooking can produce some very nice results, provided you know exactly what you are doing. It is a balancing act and you will need to get things done just right to come out ahead, but it is well worth the effort, especially if grilling is simply not an option for whatever reasons.

So How Long To Cook Steak?

There are two main options you can use to prepare your steak in an oven: broiling and roasting. Which one you will choose will depend on how much control over the steak you want and what works better for your palate. This article will describe both procedures and the rest is up to your culinary imagination.

• Broiling the steak in the oven

If you are reading this article, you have probably already obtained or know where to obtain a good piece of steak. This can also be a tricky business on its own, but it might be a topic for a different article. The broiling procedure will take about 15 minutes overall to complete once everything is ready.

Once you take the steak out of your freezer, heat your broiler to the highest possible temperature. Simultaneously while the broiler is heating up, warm up a cast-iron skillet on your stove. If you have selected a nice piece of meat and have a well-seasoned skillet, you probably won’t need to use any oil.

Once everything heats up, sprinkle the steak with salt and place it in the skillet or pan and then place the pan on the top rack beneath the broiler. You should let it boil for about four minutes before flipping it to the other side. After four more minutes of boiling, it should be ready to eat.

You can use a knife and make a small cut near the center of the steak to make sure that your steak is done to your liking. If it seems like it could use some more broiling, place it back and let it boil for another minute or so.

That is all there is to it. Once you are happy with how done your steak is, take it out of the pan and serve immediately to make sure all the juices are preserved.

• Roasting the steak in the oven

The roasting procedure is somewhat longer and will take about 20-25 minutes to complete. Once you have your steak out and ready to go, preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Season the steak per your taste and sear it in a hot skillet for one minute on each side.

After you have seared each side of the stake slightly, move it to a wire rack and place it in a preheated oven. Let it roast for about 20 – 25 minutes until it achieves the desired doneness.

Using a digital thermometer is the best way to go about checking the doneness of your steak. Insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the steak and check the temperature. The below numbers should provide a good guideline.

• 120 degrees – rare
• 126 degrees – medium rare
• 135 degrees – medium
• 145 degrees – medium well
• 150+ degrees – well-done

When it comes to doneness, there is really not the one-fits-all answer to what is best. Medium rare is where the steak reaches the best tenderness and the best flavor, but it is really a matter of personal taste.

These explanations should help answer any questions you had about how long to cook steak in the oven. As you can see, there are two main ways to go about it, and both work pretty well, so it is once again a question of which one you prefer better.

Preparing Cube Steak In Oven

Cube steak often referred to as “minute steak” is a cut of beef that is simple and quick to prepare, making it the very popular choice of food in the U.S. and around the globe. Preparing cube steak in the oven is fairly straightforward and you should have no problems with it.

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
• Season the steak
• Fill your baking dish with water and place the steak pieces inside
• Add vegetables, garlic, and whatever else you like on top of and around the steak pieces
• Put it in the oven and let it bake for about 25 minutes until the steak is medium-rare.

Preparing Skirt Steak In Oven

Skirt steak is a cut of beef from the short plate of a cow. This is a long, flat piece of meat that has a very good reputation because of its flavor. It can be prepared in an oven following a few simple steps to achieve the best taste.

• First, pound the skirt steak with a meat mallet to give it a more uniform shape. Continue the process until the steak is about 1/4 of an inch thick. This process also helps tenderize the meat.
• Skirt steak needs to be well tenderized. You can do this further by scoring the meat, but be advised that in doing so you might lose some of the juices from your steak.
• Season the steak to your flavor.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and place an empty skillet in the oven.
• Use the second pan on your stove, spray it with olive oil, and heat it up. Add mushrooms (and possibly other ingredients) and toss them around the pan until they turn brown. Add more olive oil and onion, butter, salt, and pepper. Let it cook for three or four minutes and then remove it from the stove. This is not a required step, but it is a great addition to your steak.
• Take the skillet out of the oven and spray it with olive oil. Place your skirt steak in the pan and return it to the oven for six to nine minutes, depending on how done you prefer your steak to be. Flip it over and leave it for about half the time you used for the first side.
• Place the steak on a plate and add the mushrooms over it.

Bon Appetit!

Image Credit

Images used via the creative commons version 2.0 license – https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Image One by MoMo – https://www.flickr.com/photos/kudumomo/5886800854/

Image Two by Jeniffer – https://www.flickr.com/photos/23126594@N00/395308700/

Image Three by Benjamine Horn – https://www.flickr.com/photos/beije/16756892436/