How to Cook Strip Steak

Here is the best way to prepare and cook reverse sear Strip steak:

• Preheat oven to 275°F and place steaks on a wire rack over a baking sheet.
• Place baking sheet on the center rack of the hot oven. Cook until internal temperature reaches 10°F lower than the desired final temperature. View ourMeasuring Doneness Chart and Cooking Times Charts below for reference.
• Remove and let steaks rest for 5 minutes, covering lightly with foil.
• Preheat a heavy skillet or cast iron skillet over high heat until very hot, about 5 minutes. A hot skillet delivers the best sear.
• Add some butter or a high smoke point oil such as avocado oil, canola oil, or grapeseed oil and sear steaks for 1 minute on each side. The final internal temperature of your steak should be 135°F for medium-rare and 145°F for medium.
• The sear will give your steaks the rich golden-brown color and enhanced flavor that is typically associated with grilled steaks.
• Serve immediately. Unlike other methods of cooking steak, the low heat of the oven used in reverse searing does not draw the juices of the meat to the surface so additional resting time is not needed.

Cooking a Kansas City Strip Steak using sous vide will eliminate any fear of over or undercooking and allow each steak to be cooked to perfection while maintaining natural flavors and providing a moist and tender eating experience.

Note: Steaks cooked under 130°F should not be cooked longer than 2½ hours at a time due to food safety concerns.

Here are the steps to follow when using the sous vide method:

Prepare It

• Preheat your water bath: Fill your sous vide container up with warm water and set the sous vide device to the appropriate temperature for the desired doneness. The sous vide device should be set as follows:
• Rare: 122°F
• Medium-Rare: 129°F
• Medium: 135°F
• Medium-Well: 145°F
• Repackage your steaks into sous vide heat-stable bags. We recommend seasoning your steaks with Kansas City Steaks Original Steak Seasoning for an enhanced flavor, prior to cooking in the sous vide. Another option is to add fresh herbs and a Kansas City Steak Finishing Butter, along with your raw steak, into the heat-stable vacuum seal bag before sealing.

Cook It

• Make sure the water bath has fully reached the desired temperature for cooking before adding in the steak.
• Place the packaged steak in the water bath and allow it to cook for the recommended amount of time, based on your desired degree of doneness.
• Rare: 45 minutes (1-inch steak) and 1–2½ hours (1½ inch steak)
• Medium-Rare: 45 minutes (1-inch steak) and 1–4 hours (1½ inch steak)
• Medium: 45 minutes (1-inch steak) and 1–4 hours (1½ inch steak)
• Medium-Well: 45 minutes (1-inch steak) and 1–4 hours (1½ inch steak)
• Once your steaks are finished cooking, remove them from the sous vide and take them out of the packaging.
• Preheat a skillet over high heat for about 5 minutes (this can be done on a grill or in your kitchen). A hot skillet delivers the best sear.
• Lightly coat the bottom of your skillet with high smoke point oil such as avocado oil, canola oil, or grapeseed oil. Place your steaks on the skillet and sear for approximately 2 minutes on each side. Sear until the steaks reach the final desired internal temperature, according to the Measuring Doneness Chart below.
• The sear will give your steaks the rich golden-brown color and enhanced flavor that is typically associated with grilled steaks.
• Serve immediately. Unlike other methods of cooking steak, the low heat used in sous vide does not draw the juices of the meat to the surface so additional resting time is not needed.
• We recommend adding an additional savory flavor by topping your strip steak with with Kansas City Steak Finishing Butter (even if you added butter during the sous vide).

Air fryer Strip steak may sound a bit unconventional, but it is a great alternative method for those who want to prepare their meat quickly and for those who may not have a grill or who have weather restrictions.

Here’s how to cook Strip Steak in an air fryer:

• Preheat your air fryer. Set temperature to 400°F. Allow your air fryer to preheat for approximately 2–3 minutes.
• Place your steak in the center of the air flyer and begin frying. We recommend using the grill rack option if available.
• Flip your steak halfway through your cooking time, listed in the Cooking Times Chart below.
• Remove the steak from the air fryer and allow it to rest for 5 minutes. The temperature of the meat will continue to rise about 5°F during this time (this is called "carryover cooking").
• Resting steak is important because the heat of cooking pulls the juices in the meat toward the surface; if you slice into it immediately after cooking, those flavorful juices will end up on your plate, not in your steak. Allowing your steak to rest will give the juices time to sink back in and throughout the meat, keeping it moist and flavorful. To check the degree of doneness, use a meat thermometer to measure the internal temperature of the steak.
• Prior to serving, apply Kansas City Steak Finishing Butter for an additional flavor-filled experience.

A wonderfully smoked Kansas City Strip steak provides a unique flavor for your cut of meat. Smoking time varies greatly depending on the cut of meat, thickness of the cut, quality of smoker, smoke and smoke retention, wind, etc. It is best to use a meat thermometer and base doneness off internal temperature.

Note: Steaks cooked under 130°F should not be cooked longer than 2½ hours at a time due to food safety concerns.

To begin, fire up your smoker and preheat it to 225°F.

• Place your well-seasoned steak onto the grates of your smoker, close the lid, and smoke the meat until the steaks reach about 10°F below the desired internal doneness temperature (see recommendations, on our Measuring Doneness Chart below.)
• You can check for smoking doneness by internal temperature. Temperatures are as follows:
  • Rare: 115°F
  • Medium-Rare: 125°F
  • Medium: 135°F
  • Medium-Well: 145°F
• Next, preheat a skillet over high heat (this can be done on a grill or in your kitchen). Once hot, lightly coat the bottom of your skillet with a high smoke point oil such as avocado oil, canola oil, or grapeseed oil.
• Place the steaks in the skillet and sear them for approximately 2 minutes on each side. Cook until the steaks reach approximately 5°F less than your final desired internal temperature.
• Remove steaks from the skillet and allow them to rest for 5 minutes, covering lightly with foil. The temperature of the meat will continue to rise about 5°F during this time (this is called "carryover cooking").
• Resting steak is important because the heat of cooking pulls the juices in the meat toward the surface; if you slice into it immediately after cooking, those flavorful juices will end up on your plate, not in your steak. Allowing your steak to rest will give the juices time to sink back in and throughout the meat, keeping it moist and flavorful.
• To check the final degree of doneness, use a meat thermometer to measure the internal temperature of your steak.
• Prior to serving, expand upon the delicious taste by topping with Kansas City Steak Finishing Butters for full flavor.