How to Broil Round Steak in Electric Oven Medium-Rare

Last Updated on April 17, 2020 by SteakEat

This article explains how to broil round steak in electric oven to medium-rare level of doneness. It also applies to round roasts, so you are in the right place…

We use minimum ingredients and the goal is just that – show, in detail, how to broil steak.

Part 1: Ingredients & Broiling Utensils

We only need 3 ingredients:

• 8oz / 230g thick round steak / roast
• Kosher/flaked salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

And broiling utensils:

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

When you are ready, let’s SteakEat!

Part 2: Cooking Round Roast in Electric Oven – 8 Steps

Before we begin, you need to know this…

Conventional oven is not great for broiling – it often isn’t powerful enough to quickly sear the surface of the steak without overcooking it.

That’s why, if we want to enjoy a tender, juicy and flavorful round steak, we need to use these two tricks.

• Trick #1. Use thick round steak (or roast) – we already mentioned it in our ingredients list.
• Trick #2. Broil the steak right from the fridge – don’t wait to get it to room temperature.

Why do we need these tricks?

Our goal is to give enough time for the steak’s surface to brown (and it will take a while in home broiler), while still not overcooking the inside.

These two tricks help us achieve just that – steak perfection SteakEat-style. 😉

Let’s look into the details now.

1

Heat Up the Broiler

Preheat the broiler to maximum temperature and open the oven door, so the heat can escape.

This is a little trick to circumvent oven’s intellect (a.k.a. thermostat) and will help to keep the broiler red-hot most of the broiling time – just what we need.

Note that, if you haven’t cleaned your oven for a while, there is a good chance of room filling up with smoke…so switch off the fire alarm (I am just kidding – clean the oven first ;))

2

Season Round Steak

While your oven broiler is heating up, have the steak pat dried with paper towels.

The put it right in the center of the oven grill rack.

Generously season one side of it with Kosher/flaked salt – I use 2 pinches per side.

You will also need a drip tray sitting at the lowest level of your oven. It accumulates all the juices, which ooze out during the cooking process.

Use a layer of tin foil on top – it saves the tray from cleaning after the steak is done.

3

Put the Rack Inside

Once the broiler has been heating up for a while, put the rack with the roast on it at the first OR second level (counting from the top).

It depends on how close your roast is to the heating element – we want the browning occur asap, but it doesn’t mean that the roast should touch the broiler.

You will also have the drip tray (with tin foil on it) underneath the rack, so the drippings come right on it.

Leave the oven door semi-opened to have the broiler working for longer (thermostat – remember…).

4

Time It With the Timer

Now it’s all about the right timing. It’s really hard to predict, since our ovens and round roasts are different, but…let’s try?!

Again, the goal is simple – get the browning reaction on the surface, while not overcooking the roast on the inside.

Unlike pan-searing, broiling takes longer, so anything around 10 minutes per side might be the golden point in your case.

Set the timer going so you can actually measure the cooking process. It will help you to get better results this time and you will find it all much easier next time.

As the timer approaches the 10-minute barrier – check the round roast.

Has it browned to your liking?

– Yes? Flip it around, season the second side with Kosher/flaked salt and broil for a similar amount of time once again (please see next step for details).

– No? Keep broiling it for another few minutes. If you see oven thermostat not being lit for too long (it means that the broiler is not powered), consider opening the oven door even more – it will help to bring the temperature down, so the broiler should kick in again.

———-

My Tips

When I was looking at how to broil a steak in oven, I came up with the following time frames:

1. It took me around 13 minutes to broil one side till I saw the browning I liked.
2. The second side would take one minute less – 12 minutes, because it’s already warmed up, once you flip the steak around.
3. So it’s 25 minutes altogether.

———-

5

Check the Doneness Level

Once you are done cooking, take the steak out and check the temperature inside – this is when your meat thermometer comes into play (I highly recommend you get one, if you haven’t got one yet)

Ideally you want it to be approaching, but not too close, to the medium-rare state (i.e. 55C / 130F).

This is a universal guideline, even if you like it well-done – please keep reading.

6

Rest the Steak & Cool Down the Oven

Cover the steak with tin foil and let it rest on a plate.

Meantime switch off the broiler and bring the oven to 130C / 270F with oven fan on (150C / 300F with ovenfan off).

The lower-heat cooking will help to gradually increase the temperature inside the steak, leaving whatever juices remained in it after home-broiling.

7

Finish the Steak in Oven

As soon as the oven reaches the temperature, put the steak inside removing the tin foil.

I also use the plate from resting steak inside the oven – it helps to keep steak warmer, once you take it out, and saves washing liquid.

Check the steak temperature in around 20 minutes. This lower-heat cooking method takes more time, but the result is worth it.

It took me around 30 minutes to bring the thickest part of my steak to 48C / 118F. This is slightly on the rare side, but…my steak’s thickness wasn’t even along the way – it was thicker in some and thinner in other parts.

That way my cut-off temperature allowed me to offer my guests different levels of doneness, depending on their preferences.

If you are looking for well-done, but still intend the meat to be juicier than ever – keep it in oven for another while.

8

Keep It Warm in the Oven

As your steak’s inside temperature is few degrees away, you may want to reduce the oven temperature to 50C / 120F.

This is a trick I use to “cool down” the steak, while keeping it warm at the same time.

It’s especially handy when I have people coming and they are not being late…