How long to cook a steak
Skill level
Easy
Equipment you will need for this technique
A heavy-based (preferably cast iron) frying pan
The cooking time for every steak (and the taste of every cook) will vary, making it difficult to say for certain how long to cook a steak to perfection.
As a rough guide, a 2cm/¾in thick steak will take 3 minutes in total for rare, 4–5 minutes in total for medium and 7–8 minutes for well done.
There is a quick trick, using the palm of your hand, to get the feel of how cooked your steak is, shown in the video above.
A digital probe thermometer is a great tool for being sure all the meat you cook is just right, especially if you cook a big piece of steak for sharing, or a thick steak. Internal temperatures are a more reliable test for how well done or rare the steak is.
The middle of the steak should be around 50C for rare, 55C for medium-rare, 60C for medium and 70C for well done.
