How to Cook Round Steak on Stove Top

Last Updated on April 17, 2020 by SteakEat

In this article I show you how to cook round steak on stove top in 8 simple steps.

If you follow these steps as I describe, then you are almost guaranteed to cook a perfect steak.

Before we start…you can also get this guide in PDF!

Ready?

Let’s do it…

• Part 1: Required Ingredients & Tools
• Part 2: How to Cook Round Steak on Stove Top

Part 1: Required Ingredients & Tools

To cook a delicious round steak we need the following ingredients:

• 1 round steak
• 1 tbsp ghee/coconut oil (I would buy this)
• Pack of kosher/flaked salt (this is good)
• Freshly ground pepper (try this for extra flavor)

And the following tools:

• Thick-walled heavy skillet (I use Le Creuset)
• Tongs for flipping the steak (good option)
• Instant meat thermometer (this simple one is what you need)

Ready?

Let’s SteakEat!

Best steaks need best ingredients and tools…

Here is MY recommended list of all the tools you might need – check it out. 😎

Part 2: How to Cook Round Steak on Stove Top

Again, right steak is a tricky cut.

Cook it for too short – it will be very chewy.
Cook it for too long – it will be pretty hard to chew! 😉

Follow these instructions closely and ask me questions in the comments below (if you need to).

Step 1: Bring the Steak to Room Temperature

Before you even start cooking steak on stove, you need to bring it to room temperature.

Getting meat to room temperature helps for two reasons:

1. The skillet doesn’t cool down dramatically, when you put steak inside, so you can actually sear it to develop that beautiful browning.
2. It takes less time to prepare and it’s not cold on the inside, when you start eating it (especially true for rare level of doneness steaks).

Step 2: Pat Dry Steak

Use paper towels and dry the steak’s surface as much as possible using light tapping – it will help with browning in a couple of minutes.

Avoid using toilet paper, since its layers stick to meat fairly well and it’s hard to get them off afterwards.

Step 3: Add Coconut Oil & Heat Up the Skillet

Add coconut oil or ghee and switch the stove top on to maximum.

How do we know when it’s heated to the right temperature?

It really depends on the cooker and the skillet.

I recommend you wait for a considerable while.

Remember that electric stove top will take more time to heat up than the gas one.

That’s totally fine – be patient, some old stove tops might need up to 10 minutes to heat up the skillet.

Step 4: Season With Salt

While your skillet is heating up, season both sides of steak with kosher salt.

How much salt to put? I recommend you start with two 3-finger pinches (thumb, forefinger and middle finger) per side of 400g / 14oz steak.

Then, when you cook your perfect round steak on stove next time, you can adjust this amount according to your personal preference/requirements.

Remember that Kosher salt has lower density (i.e. it’s less salty per gram than table salt), which gives us a margin of error when it comes to oversalting – it’s harder to overshoot the mark using Kosher salt.

We are going to spare freshly ground pepper till when you finish cooking, as it can burn at high temperature, causing charred flavor.

Step 5: Put the Steak Inside the Skillet

Remember light smoke coming off the skillet? It means it’s time to start cooking.

Wait for another 10 seconds and gently put your round steak inside the pan.

Sizzling sound should follow right after – that’s boiling water quickly evaporating.

Step 6: Flip the Steak

As a rule of thumb, I recommend you sear a standard round steak for some minutes to achieve medium-rare level of doneness.

Please note that the cooking time depends on many factors, so you will probably find yourself adjusting it according to your personal taste in future, but a few minutes total is a good place to start.

To keep things simple we will only flip the steak once, which makes it a few minutes of searing per side.

So, after you placed the steak seasoned with salt inside the skillet, set your timer to a few minutes.

Once time runs out, flip it using tongs and sear for another few minutes.

Step 7: Rest the Steak

Once the time runs out, transfer the steak to the plate.

Now is the time for freshly ground black pepper – season your steak with it.

Now cover the whole thing with tin foil and let it rest for a minute or two.

Resting helps to “calm down” the steak, so it won’t burst with juices, when you cut it.

It’s a great way to preserve most of the flavor we developed while cooking.

Step 8: Cut & Serve

Cut the steak across the grain (i.e. perpendicular to the ‘lines’ (a.k.a. muscle fibers) on the steak) and serve on its own or with some healthy garnish. Enjoy!

This is the end of the steak cooking part, but there are few pro tips I want to share, so that you can really bring your steak to the ultimate level of deliciousness.

Find them on the next page along with some recipes to try.