Why Butter Belongs At The End Of Cooking Steak - Not The Beginning - Tasting Table

Butter pairs well with lean beef cuts like ribeye or New York strip, adding richness without needing complex additions. Butter should be added only toward the very end of cooking. After cooking, steak should rest for five to ten minutes so it finishes cooking and retains juices. Place the steak on a wire rack to help maintain a crispy crust, then add a couple of tablespoons of salted butter on top. The butter melts from the steak’s heat and runs onto the exposed meat when sliced, creating glistening slices. Cooking with butter earlier can ruin the sear because butter burns quickly due to its low smoke point, producing unpleasant exterior flavor.

"Butter and steak are an incredible combination - especially when it comes to those leaner cuts of beef that need a boost of fat. For instance, perfectly cooked ribeye or New York strip doesn't need anything other than a bit of butter and copious amounts of salt. But there are various ways to add butter to any steak, some of which are better than others - and you should only be using butter towards the very end of cooking a steak."

"Once the steak is removed from the heat, set it on a wire rack to help maintain the crispy crust, and add a couple of tablespoons of salted butter on top to finish. The butter will melt from the heat of the steak. While some argue that the butter will affect the crust, in my experience, it only very slightly affects the outer texture and is still worth doing. Once the steak has rested for five to ten minutes, you can slice it, and the melted butter will begin to run onto the exposed meat."

""Butter at the beginning is terrible," said Thomas. "In order to get a great sear on steaks, the temp of the grill or pan need to be around 500 [degrees Fahrenheit] or higher. Butter has a smoke point much, much lower than that," Thomas warned. Due to butter's low smoke point, you mustn't cook your steak using butter as extra fat in the pan, as it will burn quickly and lead to an unpleasant taste on the exterior."

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