Cooking Duration

Not everyone prefers a medium rare or well-done piece of meat. People prefer some other levels of doneness as well, so it important to know how long a steak should be cooked on a side before turning it over to deliver the desired doneness level.

Each method of cooking has different times due to the temperature of the materials in direct contact with the piece of meat. Refer to the chart below for the times based on how thick the meat is. For each additional 0.25” of thickness, increase the times by 2 minutes on first side and 1 minute on the other side.

1. Grills and Ovens
   Only use these for pieces at 1.5” or above.
   Refer to the chart (courtesy of Omaha Steaks) below for the times based on how thick the meat is. For each additional 0.25” of thickness, increase the times by 2 minutes on first side and 1 minute on the other side. The oven should be preheated to 400F.

2. Pans

It is always recommend that you cook at Medium, to Medium+ Heat (which is 7/12 on my stove). Even though someplaces state to cook at high heats for specific cuts, I personally believe at the amateur level, they will likely ruin your steak. Also it is recommended that one only cooks 1.25” or below in pans to ensure that the meat is not ruined using the standard timing procedures.

There is General Rule of Thumb which can be used to check how done the steak is:
— Check the thumb muscle’s stiffness when the thumb touches the finger, and compare the stiffness to how stiff the steak is —

1. Thumb To Little Finger — Welldone

2. Thumb to Ring Finger — Medium Well

3. Thumb to Middle Finger Top — Medium+

4. Thumb to Middle Finger Mid — Medium

5. Thumb to Reading Finger — Medium Rare

6. Just thumb — Rare

Refer the chart (courtesy of Omaha Steaks) below for timings.

To ensure there is enough crust, let the steak sit in pan without moving it on the two sides till you see golden, dark brown-ish colouring appearing at the edges.