How to Cook Round Steak on Stove & Finish It In Oven

Last Updated on April 16, 2020 by SteakEat

Today I am going to show you how to prepare round steak on stove and then…Finish it in oven!

I am super excited because I LOVE this cooking method for 2 reasons:

• It’s really “gentle” on naturally lean and tough round steak
• It’s really easy to get great results cooking this way

Before we get in…you can download this guide in PDF here.

Part 1: Required Ingredients & Tools

My goal for this guide is to help you get a grip of the actual cooking method.

This is why the ingredient list is very short…

Here is what I bought:

• 1 top round steak
• 1 tsp ghee/coconut oil
• Kosher/flaked salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

And these are the tools I use:

• Le Creuset’s thick-walled heavy skillet
• Paper towel
• Tongs
• Instant-read meat probe
• Oven tray (optional, if you have an oven-safe frying pan)
• Tin foil (optional)

Got these ready?

Let’s SteakEat!

Part 2: How to Cook Round Steak on Stove & Finish It in Oven

Even though this technique is not hard at all, I’d like to warn you – it might take a bit of practice to nail it.

This is why you shouldn’t get disappointed in your cooking skills in case you first (second or even third) top/eye round steak will not get cooked the way you wanted it. ????

Step 1: Top/Eye Round Steak Room Temperature

The easy step – take your top/eye round steak out from the fridge 40 minutes before cooking.

Warmer, room temperature steak will not decrease the skillet’s surface by a lot, which means that the temperature will actually be high enough to sear it.

Step 2: Pat Dry The Surface

Another easy step – pat dry the round’s surface using paper towels.

Dry surface will sear and brown much easier.

We want more of it, so really try to remove as much surface moisture as necessary!

Warning! Avoid using toilet paper or multi-layered tissues, because they will stick to the steak’s surface.

Step 3: Get the Oven Running

If you frying skillet is not oven-safe (e.g. has a handle made of plastic), you would need to prepare oven tray by covering it with tin foil to help the afterward cleaning process.

Set the oven to  130C / 265F with the fan option (or 150C / 300F without the fan).

It might seem like a low temperature, but that is how we are actually going to preserve the juices and tenderness inside the steak.

The slower we cook it, the more flavorful it stays!

Step 4: Salt + Steak

Time to get the steak seasoned – add 2 pinches of kosher/flaked salt per side.

I recommend using this type of salt (instead of standard table salt) for one main reason – its density is much lower, so you can use more of it without over-salting your top/eye round steak.

The more salt particles, the better for flavor!

By the way, I don’t add pepper at this stage, because I dislike the charred, burnt flavor it produces after high-heat searing on stove.

Step 5: Put the Skillet on Fire!

Now, we are about to start searing…

Add the tablespoon of ghee/coconut oil inside your frying skillet and place it over your stove top set to maximum power.

Heat it until you notice gentle smoke lifting off the surface of the skillet.

Then count 20 seconds – you skillet is now ready to for steak searing.

Step 6: Sear Top/Eye Round Steak

Our sole objective now is to sear the sides at high heat so that they develop the browning (flavor).

That’s why 1 minute per side is my recommended searing time (of course it will depend for steak size, skillet, stove etc…)

The quicker we brown the steak, the more juices (read – tenderness) will stay inside and that’s just what we want.

This is another reason to really heat up your skillet before searing the steak (some electric stoves and skillets, like cast iron, take 10-15 minutes(!!!)).

Total searing time is then 2 minutes.

Step 7: Finish Round Steak in Oven

As soon as you are done searing, transfer the steak using either, your oven-proof skillet (use the same one) or the oven tray you prepared earlier), inside the preheated oven.

Now it is time to finish your top/eye round steak.

How long to cook it for though?

It depends…

This is when the meat probe is vital – check the temperature inside the steak before placing it in oven.

It will give you an idea of how much time it needs inside.

In my case I require around 20-30 minutes to finish top/eye round steak in oven, but I’m not the person to trust (use your thermometer!) ????

Step 8: Rest & Cut

Steak ready? Take it out!

Before you ‘jump into it’, season it with freshly ground black pepper and cover with a piece of tin foil.

We do this to rest it and let the inside juices stabilize, so that they stay in your top/eye round steak when you cut into it.

Talking of cutting…3-5 minutes after the steak rested, cut it with a sharp knife against the grain (i.e. perpendicular to muscle fibers).

This is a small trick to help chewing and make the steak appear even more tender.

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SteakEat Tip: While steak is being finished in oven, insert the serving plates inside as well. Hot plates will help to keep the steak warm for longer.

SteakEat Tip #2: Guests are late and you don’t want the steak to cool down? Set the oven to 50C / 120F and insert the plate with the steak on it right inside – it will stay nice and warm, so you don’t need to worry anymore.

P.S. Download this guide in PDF here.