How Martha Stewart Makes Restaurant-Quality Steak at Home

Left: Arnold Turner / Stringer / Getty Images; Right: Claudia Totir / Getty Images

Martha Stewart can do just about anything—and that's not limited to pan-searing a perfect steak. But this method can prove difficult if you don't have her level of cooking expertise: How do you know when the pan is hot enough? Does the temperature of your meat before cooking it matter? When do you season it? Thankfully, Stewart has the answers—and she’s sharing them with the class.

In a recent Instagram post, which has nearly 12,000 likes now, the lifestyle queen takes you through exactly how to cook a memorable, steakhouse-worthy meal.

“The key to making restaurant-quality steak is to sear the meat first, and then roast it,” she wrote in the description of the post. In the video, she starts by saying it is a “very simple lesson.”

First, choose meat from the middle loin. About an hour before you plan to cook your steak, take it out of the refrigerator and dry it off with a paper towel. According to Stewart, the meat should reach about room temperature.

“The reason that you dry the meat is because we do not want to steam the meat, we want to sear it—so any moisture will tend to collect underneath the meat and cause steam,” she explained.

Heat your cast iron pan over high heat. To make sure it’s hot enough, flick a bit of water on the pan. It should sizzle, but not smoke. Stewart said she prefers a cast iron over any other kind because they’re designed to distribute heat evenly. You don't have to worry about one part of your steak getting burnt while another is raw—it’ll be cooked the same all the way through.

Once the pan is ready, Stewart adds in about a tablespoon of butter for each steak. This is the moment to season the meat with salt