The Butter Tip For Better Reheated Steak

Of all the foods that get left over from dinner, one of the hardest things to reheat properly is steak. If you like your meat cooked to anywhere less than well done, you know it takes preparation, patience, and heat control to get it right the first time. So when it comes time to take a leftover steak out of the fridge, you can't exactly pop it in the microwave and hope for the best. Reheating steak in the microwave is not a great idea because it'll likely come out overcooked and rubbery. You don't have to sacrifice a good steak, however, you just need a skillet and a pat of butter.

Reheating steak takes a little more work than your average chicken leg, but it's totally worth the effort. First, you'll need to heat the meat in the oven. Then simply sear it in a skillet with the butter and it will taste almost as good as when it was first cooked.

The first step in reheating a steak is to get the internal temperature to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. While it might seem faster to skip the oven and go straight for the skillet, this step is important. The skillet will heat the outside of your steak, but the inside will stay cold unless you leave it in the pan for a long time. Remember that your steak is already cooked, and you just want to heat it to a serving temperature, not a cooking temperature, otherwise, you'll end up with well-done meat and possibly a burnt crust.

Place the steak on a small sheet pan, or in a cast iron skillet, and put it in a 250-degree oven until it comes up to temperature. This is a job for your quick-read meat thermometer, so be sure to keep it handy. Once you reach 100 degrees, take the steak out of the oven and get ready to sear.

Start heating a skillet on the stove over medium heat when the steak is getting close to 100 degrees. You don't want it to drop in temperature, so have your hot pan ready to go. When the meat comes out of the oven, drop a pat of butter into the pan and let it melt. Then, place your piece of steak in the pan and give it a good sear on both sides. Butter is the perfect cooking fat to give your reheated steak some much-needed browning that can be lost when the steak is refrigerated overnight. Plus it adds delicious flavor. Butter has a lower smoke point than oil so be mindful of that when using this reheating method.

Once you have your steak seared nicely on both sides, let it rest for a few minutes just like you would with a fresh steak. Then it's ready to serve on its own or be used in a steak-centric recipe like classic steak and eggs.