Perfect Steak in a Cast-Iron Skillet

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

2 steaks - cut of your choice 

Coarse sea salt & coarsely ground black pepper, to taste

1/4 cup cooking oil

2 tablespoons of butter

Directions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees. Add the 2 tbsp of cooking oil to a seasoned cast-iron skillet and place it in the oven to preheat too. 
2. Remove steaks from the fridge and season both sides with coarse sea salt (or kosher salt) and coarsely ground black pepper, to taste. Just eyeball the spices, but make sure you use enough to form a nice crust. If you have a favorite meat seasoning blend, you can also use that. Let the steaks rest 30-45 minutes on the counter prior to cooking so the meat comes closer to room temperature. 
3. Remove the pan from the oven on completion of preheat. Use an oven mitt as the pan will be VERY HOT. 
4. Place preheated skillet on a burner set at medium high. This evenly heated skillet is required in order to create a proper sear on both sides of the steak. You may want to remove the batteries from your smoke alarm temporarily, turn on a ceiling fan and/or open a few windows. 
5. Place steaks into the hot pan (it should sizzle). Make sure not to crowd the pan. If you're cooking more than 2 or 3 steaks you may need to use two pans. 
6. Let the steaks cook for 3 minutes. Flip the steaks over, then let them cook another 3 minutes. I recommend using a timer here. 
7. If you want to sear the sides, cook them for about 30 seconds on each side using your tongs to hold up each steak. 
8. Using an oven mitt, again, transfer the pan into the oven and let it cook for 5 more minutes. This will create a medium center. If you want it medium rare or rare, try 4 minutes. IMPORTANT: For smaller, leaner steaks you'll want to keep it in the oven no longer than 2 minutes, even less if you want to achieve medium rare. For a larger, fattier cuts, 4-6 minutes will achieve a pink center. 
9. Remove pan from the oven. Using tongs, place the steaks on a cutting board or plate, cover loosely with aluminum foil or a dish towel and let rest for 7-10 minutes without cutting into it.
10. A few minutes before serving, when you plate the meat, top each steak with a tablespoon of butter. Give it a minute to melt over the steak, then serve.
11. Optionally, before serving, you can sprinkle fleur de sel (it's a top-quality French finishing salt) over the buttery steak.