How to Slow Cook Rib Eye Steak in the Oven to Medium-Rare

Last Updated on September 9, 2015 by SteakEat

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This guide shows how to slow cook rib eye steak in the oven to medium-rare or medium doneness level.

How to keep most of the juices, tenderness and flavor inside your delicious rib eye while baking it in the oven?

Use low temperature!

It’s amazing how easy it is to bake a perfect steak in the oven without any risk of overcooking and drying it out.

Here you will find:

• Why Use ‘Low & Slow’ Method for Rib Eye & The Main Idea Behind
• Slow Cook Rib Eye in the Oven to Medium-rare in 6 Steps

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Why Use ‘Low & Slow’ Method for Rib Eye & The Main Idea Behind

The main working principle of the ‘low & slow’ method is the temperature threshold we’ll be using – no more than 130C / 270F (with the oven fan off).

Going a bit forward I’d like to point that this threshold is not carved in stone and is more like a guideline for a perfectly baked rib eye every time.

So, why this temperature makes all the difference?

As soon as we start cooking any steak (not just rib eye) the moisture, naturally present inside any muscle (steak is a muscle), starts escaping from it.

The hotter is the cooking temperature, the higher is the rate of this process.

If the temperature is too high for too long (i.e. longer than necessary for the surface browning to develop), then you will end up with a burnt, dried rib eye.

Gentler heat, used in the ‘low & slow’ approach, gradually increases the steak’s temperature cooking it at a lower rate.

This is how most of the juices actually stay inside, keeping the steak tender and succulent.

The bonus of this method is that slow oven cooking will also tenderize your rib eye a bit further, because slow moist cooking breaks down muscle collagen (present in any steak), also releasing even more flavor.

Let’s see how it works step by step…

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Slow Cook Rib Eye in the Oven to Medium-rare in 6 Steps

The beauty of the ‘low & slow’ method is that it’s really simple.

Heat up the oven, place your steak inside until it reaches the medium-rare temperature and quickly sear its sides on the stove right after to develop the surface browning…that’s it.

To illustrate the method and show how to slow cook rib eye steak in the oven I will be using a simple, no-thrills recipe:

• 8oz / 230g 1-inch rib eye steak
• 1 tbsp of ghee/coconut oil
• Kosher/flaked salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Add tools for oven:

• Dripping pan
• Oven grill rack
• Meat temperature probe
• Tin foil
• Meat tongs
• Skillet

Got these? Let’s SteakEat!

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Step 1: Warm Up the Steak

Everything starts with bringing your rib eye to the room temperature.

I recommend taking it out from the fridge 40 minutes before starting the actual cooking.

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SteakEat Tip:

If you have no time (or desire to wait), then you can use…microwave!

Set its power to the lowest setting (not the defrost option though) and run it for 3-5 seconds.

Flip the steak and repeat the cycle for 4-6 times for it to warm up in less than 1 minute!

I recommend using ceramic plate for that.

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Step 2: Preheat the Oven

Easy peasy…get the oven to 130C / 270F (with fan off).

Also insert the dripping tray covered with tin foil inside – it will be right below oven grill rack with steak on it (collecting a few drops during the cooking process).

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SteakEat Tip:

Once again…the 130C / 270F is not a law and may be played with.

I often increase it to 150C / 300F to speed up the cooking process without massive negative impact of drying out my rib eye.

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Step 3: Steak…Inside!

All you need now is placing your rib eye on to the oven grill rack and putting it into the oven, right above the dripping tray.

We are not using any salt or pepper now, because salt will dry the steak out and pepper will burn later, when we’ll be browning our rib eye on the stove to develop browning.

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Step 4: Cook Until Desired Doneness Level

How long to bake rib eye inside the oven at 130C / 270F?

Until it reaches medium-rare (55C / 130F) or medium (60C / 140F) doneness level.

How to check for it?

I use and recommend using a meat thermometer.

It’s one single tool that makes the whole difference between an overcooked piece of beef…and a delicious mouth-watering rib eye.

If you haven’t got it yet, try these cooking times guidelines as an approximation (also see how to check steak doneness).

So, once the temperature inside your rib eye shows medium-rare (or medium), move on to the next step.

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Step 5: Time for Resting your Rib Eye

Nothing else to add here…as soon as your steak is ready, take it out from the oven and transfer it on a plate (or a cutting board).

Move to the next step, while resting it for 5 minutes.

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Step 6: Brown the Rib Eye in Skillet

No cooking method is perfect and the disadvantage of this ‘low & slow’ approach is that surface browning that any steak lover adores just doesn’t develop at such a low temperature.

We’ll be fixing it with a quick sear using a pan and stove top.

Add the ghee/coconut oil inside the skillet and start heating it up at high stove top heat.

Do it until you see gentle smoke taking off the surface; wait for another 20 seconds to make sure the pan temperature is hot enough for searing the rib eye.

Meantime add 2-3 pinches of flaked/Kosher salt to both sides of your steak.

Once the skillet is ready, place the rib eye inside and sear it for 1 minute per side (it should be enough for browning to develop).

Be careful to not overcook it, because high heat will quickly transfer from the steak’s surface right to its middle, cooking it even more.

Once that’s done, rest the steak for another 5 minutes and add freshly ground black pepper to develop more aroma and flavor.

Cut, serve, enjoy!

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This is how to slow cook rib eye steak in the oven to medium-rare or medium doneness level.

See All the Ways of Developing Surface Browning after Slow Oven Cooking

• Stove-oven method. See how I sear rib eye steak on stove and finish it in oven.
• Broiling rib eye in oven. This method only works well with bigger chunks of steak – roasts – but still is good to try out.
• Quick sear on stove. See how to sear rib eye steak in skillet for more details.

Happy Steaks! 😉

SteakEat

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