Flip through the glossy pages of a few good cookbooks, and you’ll quickly notice a pattern: the recipes for steak consistently call for using a thick, heavy-bottomed cast iron skillet.

Culinarily, this makes sense. A cast iron skillet is simply better than most other pans at searing meat. This is because it retains and distributes heat evenly, producing that dark, caramelized, highly flavorsome crust no carnivore can get enough of.

That’s all well and good if — if — you own a cast iron skillet. But what if you don’t? Should you cough up the bucks for one online and wait for it to arrive? Or can you cook a steak in another type of pan from your kitchen cabinet?

The give you the short answer: yes, you can. You don’t need cast iron cookware to sear a steak on the stovetop. But you can’t use any type of pan either. If it sounds confusing, don’t worry — I’ve explained below.

How to Make It Happen

Choose Your Cookware

So you don’t have a cast iron skillet. Your next best options are carbon steel or stainless steel pans. Although these pans don’t have the same heat capacity as cast iron, their uncoated surface and heat retention still create a nice sear on meat.

Your worst options are ceramic or non-stick pans. These lightweight pans with their slick coating simply don’t produce as good a crust. But if they’re the only option you have, they’re better than nothing.

Bring the Steak to Room Temperature

Much of steak cooking is about heat transfer: You crank up the heat on your stovetop so your pan can get hot enough to cook in. Then you slap that steak on the pan and let it sizzle away to your desired doneness.

To assist the heat transfer, let your steak come to room temperature before cooking it. You do this by taking it out of the fridge and letting it sit on the kitchen countertop, covered by plastic wrap or tin foil, 15 to 20 minutes ahead of time.

This reduces the temperature gap between the hot pan and the steak, which helps the steak brown better on the surface and cook more evenly on the inside. You should never cook a steak from frozen for the same reasons. Instead, thaw out your steaks by moving them from the freezer to the bottommost shelf of the fridge the night before.

Oil Your Pan

Oil plays three important roles in cooking: it helps transfer heat, brings out the flavors in the food, and prevents the meat from sticking to the pan.

When searing a steak, use 1-2 tablespoons of oil with a high smoke point like avocado oil, canola oil, clarified butter, or rice bran oil. For an even coat, swirl the oil around in the pan or wipe it in with a paper towel.

Preheat the Pan

Preheating your pan is mission-critical. Use medium-high heat for searing. Medium heat won’t create a good sear fast enough, while high heat might burn the crust. 

Different pans warm up at different speeds. Ceramic and non-stick pans, which are usually made of aluminum with a spray-on coating, need only 20-30 seconds to heat up. Stainless steel and carbon steel pans, however, take a good 3 to 5 minutes to get up to heat. Time your preheating accordingly.

Sear the Steak

Before cooking the steak, use kosher salt or flake seas salt to season it liberally on both sides. Place the steak in the pan. You know you did a good job of preheating the pan if the steak starts to hiss, sizzle, and smoke as soon as it comes into contact with the hot metal.

Sear for 1–2 minutes on one side without moving the meat or pressing down on it. Flip and repeat on the other side. This contact time helps form that golden-brown crust.

Cook the Steak Through

After you have a nice, crispy crust on your steak, turn the heat to medium and continue cooking until the inside reaches your desired doneness.

The most accurate way to check is with an instant-read thermometer. Insert it about ½ inch into the thickest part of the steak and wait a couple of seconds for a reading.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the safe temperature for beef is 145°F, with the meat needing to rest for at least 3 minutes afterward.

Rest the Steak

Don’t skip the resting time. When meat cooks, its muscle fibers contract and release moisture. As the meat rests and cools, these fibers relax, allowing the juices to redistribute throughout the meat.

During this rest period, the steak finishes cooking and the juices settle in, so you get a tender, juicy bite every time. Thicker cuts should rest for longer, often as much as 5 to 10 minutes.