When it comes to cooking, I’m no Food Channel star.  However, my roommate recently gave me a recipe for “the perfect steak” – and boy, was it perfect.

The first bite of my rib-eye made the handsome fella I was feeding actually pause, put down his fork, and look at me in disbelief before stating, “Whoa. This is REALLY good.”

Trust me, this recipe can make an average chef look like an Iron Chef – and it’s simple! Here’s what you need to do:

 

1. Buy a steak with lots of marbling (white fat), because the meat will be more juicy and tender.

2. Defrost your steak. It should be at room temperature for about 30 minutes before cooking.

3. Stick a pan on the stove over medium high heat. You want the pan to be hot before you start cooking!

4. Season the steak with seasoning salt and lemon pepper. You can be generous, because the meat will soak up the spice.

5. Rub about 1/4 stick of butter onto the hot pan. This is good for one steak, so make sure to butter up the pan again if you’re making more than one.

6. When the pan is really hot (it will start to smoke a little), add the steak.

7. Cook the steak for 3 minutes on each side: this will give you a medium rare steak. If you want the steak to be more well done, add more time on each side. I chose to cook mine for 4 minutes on each side.

8. Take the steak off the pan, and let it cool down before you dig in.

 

There you have it! Now sit back and enjoy the disbelief that ensues after that first bite.

-Shalyn Tharayil