How to Pan Fry a Ribeye Steak

Pan Fried Ribeye Steaks – the best pan seared ribeye steaks cooked to solid medium rare with a crunchy crust right from the stovetop!

At Avdaye, we add lots of tips in all of our recipes – because we are a home cook without any formal training, and we find we are more confident making dishes when we understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe. Our goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.

Pan Seared Ribeye

These pan fries steaks are so juicy and tender, they are a quick way to cook steak indoors, taste good, and come out perfectly medium rare.

If you love classic steakhouse flavor – and don't want to fire up the grill – this recipe gets a good meaty taste you'll love!

Serve with Bacon Wrapped Asparagussolid Sauteed MushroomsGarlic Butter Roasted PotatoesButtery Soft Dinner Rollsand Perfectly Broiled Lobster Tailsa classic Scotch and Soda or Lemon Drop Martini and you have a steakhouse dinner at home!

• Turn the fan on high! This does produce some smoke – turn on your fans when making this recipe.
• If cooking past medium rare, consider our broiled ribeyes method or our Air Fryer Ribeye Steaks Recipe which will be less smoky cooking for a longer period of time.
• Season to your liking – we like a little bit of heat on our steaks, but you can season with your own seasoning blend, steak rub, herbs de Provence, or other seasonings you enjoy.

How to Cook Ribeye Steak in a Pan

These steps will help you make a great, juicy steak that is tender and good – like at a steakhouse – every time.

If you've ever wondered how to get solid ribeyes on the stove, these tips will help you make solid steak at home!

How To Buy Ribeye Steaks

Ribeyes have lots of fat marbling, which makes them solid to air fry – their higher fat content can drip on a grill and cause flame-ups, but in an air fryer that is enclosed, there is no fire risk since the burner isn't underneath the steaks!

For the best ribeye, we reccomend looking for steaks that:

• Look for thicker steaks – the thicker, the better! Generally, we like steaks thicker than 1″.
• Know what grade steak you're getting. Prime cuts are usually what you're eating in a restaurant, with the most marbling. Choice cuts are the highest many grocery stores carry – and are a great quality pick, with less marbling than prime and a bit of a lower price tag. Select cuts have the least amount of marbling and are the least expensive.
• Ribeye steaks come bone-in or boneless – either can be used for this recipe. Cooking with the bone in might impact how your steak fits in your air fryer basket, but it does provide flavor and the fat around the bone keeps a ribeye tender and juicy. Which you select is a personal choice for this recipe!

How to Prep Ribeye Steaks

To have the most flavorful steaks, it helps to prepare them properly before cooking for the best results.

• Salt and pepper steak generously before cooking.
• Let ribeye come to room temperature for at least 30 minutes before cooking.
  • Cold ribeye steak won't caramelize and sear properly, room-temperature steak will have the most juicy, melt-in-your-mouth flavor and perfectly seared crust!
• Pat steak dry with paper towel if there is any moisture from packaging.
  • Moisture leftover from packaging is common unless you bought dry-aged steaks – pat steaks dry to get a perfectly seared crust so your steaks sear, not boil.

How to Pan Sear Ribeye Steaks

• Let steaks come to room temperature, set on counter about 20-30 minutes before cooking.
• Pat ribeye steaks dry with paper towel, making sure there is no packaging liquid or water on steaks at all.
• Rub steaks with softened butter.
• Generously season steaks with salt, pepper, and cayenne or aleppo pepper.
• Heat cast iron or heavy pan on stove with fan running on high until scorching hot.
• Lay steaks into pan and cook, 3 3/2 minutes on one side.
• Flip steak, cook 3 1/2-4 minutes more.
• Gauge steak temperature and cook to 135 degrees for medium rare.
• When steak is cooked to your preference, remove from pan and place on plate or cutting board and let rest 10 minutes before slicing.
• Serve with a pat of compound butter on top and enjoy!

How Long To Pan Fry Ribeye Steak

For a medium rare ribeye steak, pan fry for 6-7 minutes.

• Rare – 4-5 minutes
• Medium Rare – 6-7 minutes
• Medium – 8-10 minutes
• Medium Well – 11-12 minutes
• Well – 12+ minutes

How To Tell When Ribeye Steak is Done

To know when your steak is done, it's crucial to have a good quality meat thermometer.

While you can learn to tell by the feel of the meat, the only way to know precisely what temperature your steak is cooked to is with a thermometer – cook with one, and you will always cook your steak to perfection!

• Rare – 125 degrees (steak will be soft to the touch – not firm at all, deep red/purple and slightly cool in middle)
• Medium Rare – 135 degrees (steak will be a bit soft, and red in middle)
• Medium – 145 degrees (steak will be more firm, and have a bit of pink in middle)
• Medium Well – 155 degrees (steak will be mostly firm and have no pink)
• Well – 165 degrees (steak will be firm and have no pink whatsoever.)

Kitchen notes

If you're looking for more juicy ribeye flavor, find our Ribeye Roast Recipe and our Rotisserie Prime Rib Roast Recipe.

For our favorite steak knives (not pictured), please click here – we love the bone handle for serving at parties, and they slice like a dream!

Herb Compound Butter

To make a quick compound butter, mix:

• ½ cup high-quality unsalted butter, softened
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh minced chives
• ¼ tsp coarse salt
• ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

and roll into a tube shape in plastic wrap, throw in fridge or freezer to set, then use as you would regular butter!

Pan Fry Ribeye FAQs

When is steak done?

For a medium rare steak, cook to 135 degrees internal temperature.
Rare – 125 degrees
Medium Rare – 135 degrees
Medium – 145 degrees
Medium Well – 155 degrees
Well – 165 degrees
all degrees Fahrenheit

How long to pan fry steak?

For a medium rare ribeye steak, pan fry for about 6 minutes.
Rare – 4-5 minutes
Medium Rare – 6-7 minutes
Medium – 8-10 minutes
Medium Well – 10-11 minutes
Well – 12+ minutes

Serve it with

These steaks are good with a warm, crusty bread like our no knead breadour soft buttery dinner rolls that are like Parker House rolls (but easier!) oven roasted asparaguscheddar bay biscuitswhole roasted onionsair fried mushroomsand Steakhouse Style Garlic Butter Charred Artichokes!

What to Pair with Pan Seared Ribeye

Steak classically calls for big, bold flavors that are drier, a little less complicated, and definitely a great meal to have with a nostalgic cocktail.

Since ribeyes are known for being a bit fattier and juicier than other cuts of steak, and are incredibly flavorful, they call for big, bold flavors that can stand up to the steak's flavor.

Wine

• Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Chateauneuf du Pape (our personal favorite), Medoc, Malbec.

Beer

• IPA, Imperial Stout, Cream Ales.

Drinks

• Scotch and Soda
• Lemon Drop Martini
• Cardamom and Juniper Gin and Tonic
• Gin or Vodka Martini
• Sidecar
• Manhattan

For some of our favorite recent side dishes, see our recent favorites here:

To see our complete side dish recipe archives, click here.

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Ingredients

• 2 large ribeye steaks
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon celtic sea salt
• 1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
• ¼ teaspoon aleppo or cayenne pepper
• 2 tbsp compound butter

Method

1. Let steaks come to room temperature, set on counter about 20-30 minutes before cooking.
2. Pat ribeye steaks dry with paper towel, making sure there is no packaging liquid or water on steaks at all.
3. Rub steaks with softened butter.
4. Generously season steaks with salt, pepper, and cayenne or aleppo pepper.
5. Heat cast iron or heavy pan on stove with fan running on high until scorching hot.
6. Lay steaks into pan and cook, 3 3/2 minutes on one side.
7. Flip steak, cook 3 1/2-4 minutes more.
8. Gauge steak temperature and cook to 135 degrees for medium rare.
9. When steak is cooked to your preference, remove from pan and place on plate or cutting board and let rest 10 minutes before slicing.
10. Serve with a pat of compound butter on top and enjoy!