To cook a steak, sear it in a hot skillet, on the grill or under the broiler, and take it off the heat about 5°F before your target doneness. USDA says beef steaks are safe at 145°F (63°C) followed by a 3-minute rest. A 1-inch strip or ribeye takes roughly 12–15 minutes in a skillet.
Key facts
- USDA safe minimum for beef steaks: 145°F (63°C), then rest at least 3 minutes.
- Common doneness targets (Certified Angus Beef): rare 125°F, medium rare 135°F, medium 145°F, medium well 150°F.
- Pull steaks about 5°F below the target; carryover finishes the job while they rest.
- The beef checkoff cooks steaks straight from the fridge and flips them once.
- USDA FSIS times a 3/4-inch steak at 4–5 minutes per side on the grill or broiler.
Steak cooking chart: temperatures for each doneness
Doneness is set by the internal temperature, not the clock, so a thermometer is the only reliable way to hit it. This compact summary uses the final temperatures Certified Angus Beef lists after resting. The full chart, with descriptions of each level, is on our steak temperature page.
| Doneness | Take it off the heat at | Final temp after resting | Final temp at or above USDA's 145°F? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rare | 120°F (49°C) | 125°F (52°C) | No |
| Medium rare | 130°F (54°C) | 135°F (57°C) | No |
| Medium | 140°F (60°C) | 145°F (63°C) | Yes |
| Medium well | 145°F (63°C) | 150°F (66°C) | Yes |
| Well done | 150°F (66°C) | 155°F (68°C) and up | Yes |
USDA FSIS's guidance is to cook beef steaks to at least 145°F, checked with a food thermometer before you take the meat off the heat, then rest them 3 minutes. To follow it strictly, don't pull the steak until it reads 145°F. Rare and medium rare are what many cooks choose, but they fall below that minimum. People who are pregnant, older, very young or have weakened immune systems should follow the USDA number.
Why steak charts don't always agree
Labels vary by source. The beef checkoff (Beef. It's What's For Dinner.) writes its cooking timetables for 145°F, which it calls medium rare, up to 160°F, which it calls medium. The times below come from those timetables, so treat them as a starting point and let the thermometer decide.
When should you take steak off the heat?
Take a steak off the heat when it reads about 5°F below the doneness you want. Certified Angus Beef gives that 5°F rule for steaks, and ThermoWorks says small steaks keep rising at least 3–4°F as they rest. Heat stored near the surface keeps moving toward the center after cooking stops. Our guide to carryover cooking and resting meat explains how size and heat change the rise.
Check with an instant-read thermometer pushed in through the side of the steak, so the tip sits in the center, away from bone and fat. See how to use a meat thermometer for placement tips.
How to cook steak on the stove (pan-seared)
Pan-searing works best for steaks about 3/4 to 1 inch thick: a heavy skillet browns the outside while the center cooks through. The beef checkoff's approach:
- Take the steak straight from the fridge. The checkoff advises against leaving steaks out to warm up, and its times assume cold meat.
- Pat it dry and season it. Most steaks have enough fat that you don't need oil, the checkoff notes.
- Heat a heavy skillet over medium heat (medium-high for lean round and sirloin tip steaks).
- Cook, turning once, and start checking the temperature a couple of minutes before the time in the chart.
- Rest the steak a few minutes, then slice across the grain.
How long to cook steak on the stove
These are the beef checkoff's approximate total skillet times for 145°F to 160°F.
| Cut (boneless unless noted) | 3/4 inch thick | 1 inch thick |
|---|---|---|
| Ribeye | 8–11 min | 12–15 min |
| Strip (New York strip) | 8–11 min | 12–15 min |
| Tenderloin (filet mignon) | 7–10 min | 10–13 min |
| Porterhouse or T-bone | 10–13 min | 14–17 min |
| Top sirloin | 12–15 min | 15–18 min |
How to cook steak in the oven (sear, then roast)
For thick steaks, sear them in an ovenproof skillet and finish them in a 350°F (177°C) oven. That's the beef checkoff's skillet-to-oven method: preheat the oven, heat the skillet over medium heat, sear no more than 2 minutes per side, flip back to the first side and slide the pan into the oven. Take it out as soon as the steak reaches your pull temperature, then tent it loosely with foil and rest it at least 5–7 minutes.
| Steak | Size | Oven | Approx. total time, medium rare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tenderloin (filet mignon) | 4 oz, 3/4 inch | 400°F (204°C) | 15–20 min |
| Tenderloin (filet mignon) | 5–6 oz, 1 1/2 inches | 350°F (177°C) | 15–23 min |
| Ribeye filet | 8 oz, 1 3/4–2 inches | 350°F (177°C) | 24–28 min |
| Strip filet | 8 oz, 1 3/4–2 inches | 350°F (177°C) | 24–28 min |
| Top sirloin filet | 8 oz, 1 3/4–2 inches | 350°F (177°C) | 24–28 min |
How to cook filet mignon in the oven
Filet mignon is cut from the tenderloin, so it's lean and usually thick, which suits sear-then-roast. Follow the tenderloin rows above and check early, because a lean steak overshoots quickly. Doneness temperatures are on our filet mignon temperature page.
How to grill steak
Grill steak over medium heat, flip it once and pull it a few degrees early. The beef checkoff's steps: clean the grate, set a gas grill to medium or let charcoal burn down per the package directions, put the steak on straight from the fridge, and turn it once. If flare-ups or charring start, lower the heat or move the steak to a cooler part of the grill. Rest most grilled steaks about 5 minutes, then slice across the grain.
How long to grill steak
The checkoff's total grilling times, for 145°F to 160°F:
| Cut | 1 inch, charcoal | 1 inch, gas | 1 1/2 inches, charcoal | 1 1/2 inches, gas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ribeye, boneless | 10–14 min | 9–14 min | 16–20 min | 15–19 min |
| Ribeye, bone-in | 9–11 min | 9–12 min | 19–24 min | 20–25 min |
| Porterhouse or T-bone | 11–16 min | 15–19 min | 19–24 min | 20–25 min |
| Tenderloin (filet mignon) | 10–14 min | 11–15 min | 14–18 min | 16–20 min |
| Top sirloin | 11–15 min | 13–16 min | 22–26 min | 24–30 min |
| Strip, boneless | 11–14 min | 11–15 min | Not listed | Not listed |
Because you flip once, roughly half the time goes on each side. USDA FSIS gives a simpler figure for thinner steaks: 4–5 minutes per side for a 3/4-inch steak on the grill or broiler.
How to broil steak
Broil steak 2–4 inches from the heat on a broiler pan and turn it once halfway through. The beef checkoff says flat steaks of even thickness broil best, and to check the temperature a couple of minutes before the suggested time. Rest the steak at least 5 minutes, loosely covered. Its approximate total broiling times for 1-inch steaks, 3–4 inches from the heat: boneless ribeye 14–18 minutes, strip 13–17, T-bone 15–20 and top sirloin 16–21. A 1-inch tenderloin steak goes 2–3 inches from the heat for 13–16 minutes.
How to reverse sear a steak
Reverse searing flips the usual order: cook the steak gently first, then sear it hard at the end. ThermoWorks' method sets up a two-zone grill, holds the cool side near 220°F (104°C) and cooks the steak there until it is about 15°F below the pull temperature. Then the steak goes over the hot side, turned every 2–3 minutes, until the coolest reading is about 5°F below target. ThermoWorks rests it 5–10 minutes under foil.
The payoff is even doneness. Slow cooking keeps the difference between surface and center small, so the quick sear browns the outside with little or no gray band under the crust. It's most useful for thick steaks, where a straight sear would overcook the outer layer before the middle catches up. For a reverse-sear steak in the oven, a low oven stands in for the cool side of the grill and a very hot skillet for the sear; the thermometer readings stay the same.
Steak cuts: which to grill and which to pan-sear
Tender cuts from the rib, loin and sirloin work with any dry-heat method; thin, lean cuts from the flank and plate are best marinated and cooked fast and hot. This table lists the methods the beef checkoff gives timetables for:
| Cut | Methods with checkoff timetables | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ribeye | Grill, skillet, broil, skillet-to-oven | Well marbled; bone-in and boneless |
| New York strip | Grill, skillet, broil, skillet-to-oven | Listed as strip steak, boneless |
| Filet mignon | Grill, skillet, broil, skillet-to-oven | Tenderloin steak; lean, so watch it closely |
| Top sirloin | Grill, skillet, broil, skillet-to-oven | Thick cuts take longer on the grill |
| T-bone and porterhouse | Grill, skillet, broil | Bone-in strip plus tenderloin |
| Flank | Broil | Marinate; slice thinly across the grain |
| Skirt | Grill, broil | Marinate for grilling; cut into 4–6 inch portions |
Thick, bone-in steaks such as porterhouse do well on the grill, where you can move them to a cooler zone. Thinner boneless steaks are easy to manage in a skillet. If you're cooking a larger piece, such as a whole tenderloin or tri-tip, see our beef roast cooking times and tri-tip temperature page. Frozen steak? Thaw it first using one of the methods on our steak thawing page.
Questions people ask
Should you let steak come to room temperature before cooking?
The beef checkoff says no: take steaks straight from the fridge, and its timetables assume cold meat. Perishable food shouldn't sit out more than 2 hours anyway (see how long food can sit out).
Is beef tenderloin the same as filet mignon?
Filet mignon is a steak cut from the beef tenderloin. The whole tenderloin is cooked as a roast; slices of it are cooked as filet mignon steaks.
How long should steak rest?
At least 3 minutes, per USDA. The beef checkoff rests grilled and broiled steaks about 5 minutes and oven-finished steaks 5–7 minutes.
Is medium rare steak safe?
Medium rare (about 135°F after resting) is below USDA's 145°F minimum with a 3-minute rest, so it carries more risk, especially for higher-risk people.
How long does cooked steak keep?
Refrigerate it within 2 hours and use it within 3–4 days. Storage details are on our cooked steak page.
Sources
- USDA FSIS: Beef from farm to table
- Certified Angus Beef: Degree of doneness
- Beef. It's What's For Dinner.: Grilling basics
- Beef. It's What's For Dinner.: Skillet cooking time guidelines
- Beef. It's What's For Dinner.: Skillet-to-oven basics
- Beef. It's What's For Dinner.: Skillet-to-oven time guidelines
- Beef. It's What's For Dinner.: Broiling time guidelines
- ThermoWorks: Grilled rib eye steak: reverse sear and thermal principles
