Beef

Cast Iron Butter-Basted Sirloin Steak

Name: Cast Iron Butter-Basted Sirloin Steak
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 22 min
Yield: Serves 2
Cuisine: Barbecue
Ingredients: 2 grass-fed Nova Scotia sirloin steaks; Grapeseed oil (a small amount); Ted Reader Steak Bone Dust BBQ Seasoning; Butter; Fresh garlic; Fresh rosemary; Fresh thyme

Grass-fed Nova Scotia sirloin steaks seared in a Lodge cast iron pan on a propane stove, flipped repeatedly for an even crust, then basted with butter, garlic, rosemary and thyme and pulled at 132°F.

Time~20 min Prep10 min YieldServes 2 CategoryBeef Watch4:37

Cast Iron Butter-Basted Sirloin Steak — watch on YouTube

Watch the full cook on YouTube

Method

1Get the Lodge cast iron pan hot with a small amount of grapeseed oil.Grapeseed has a high smoke point, which is what you want for a hard sear — olive oil would burn and turn bitter at this temperature. A small amount is right: you are searing, not frying, and excess oil spits and smokes. Give the pan real time to come up; cast iron heats slowly and unevenly, and a pan that is hot in the middle only will sear unevenly.
2Season the steaks with Steak Bone Dust BBQ Seasoning.Pat them dry first — surface moisture has to boil off before browning starts, and on a steak that is time you do not have. Season both faces and the edges. Grass-fed beef is leaner than grain-fed, so it will cook a little faster than you expect.
3Sear the steaks, flipping several times to build the crust.Repeated flipping is not a mistake — it is a legitimate technique. Turning every 30–60 seconds keeps either face from overheating while both build colour, and it cooks the interior more evenly than the traditional once-only flip. It also gets you a crust faster.
4Once a good sear has formed, add plenty of butter with fresh garlic, rosemary and thyme.Butter goes in at the end, not the start — its milk solids burn well below searing temperature, which is why the sear happens in oil first. Once it is foaming, add the smashed garlic and the herb sprigs. Keep the herbs whole so you can lift them out rather than leaving burnt fragments behind.
5Tilt the pan and spoon the foaming butter over the steaks continuously.Basting is heat transfer as much as flavour. The hot butter carries the garlic and herb aromatics onto the meat and cooks the top surface gently while the bottom sits on the pan, which evens out the cook. Tilt the pan toward you so the butter pools at the low edge and keep spooning.
6Pull the steaks at 132°F internal.They climbed to 135°F during the rest here, which is medium-rare. Grass-fed beef is leaner than grain-fed and has less margin, so pulling a few degrees early matters more than it would on a marbled steak. Check the thickest part.
7Rest, then serve — good with a Caesar salad and sweet potato.Rest 5 minutes on a board or rack. Spoon the pan butter over the steaks when you serve; the garlic and herb butter left in the pan is too good to leave behind.

Watch it on YouTube

What each ingredient is doing

Grass-fed sirloin: Leaner than grain-fed with a more mineral, less sweet flavour, and its fat melts at a slightly different temperature. Practically, that means it cooks faster and has less margin — pull it a few degrees earlier than you would an equivalent grain-fed steak.
Grapeseed oil: High smoke point, neutral flavour. That is the whole requirement for a searing oil. Avocado and refined canola work equally well; olive oil and butter both burn well below the temperature you need.
Steak Bone Dust seasoning: A savoury steak blend. On a cook this short there is no time for a rub to mellow into the meat, so a well-balanced seasoning does its work directly on the surface.
Butter: Added after the sear, for basting. Its milk solids burn at searing temperature, which is why oil does the searing and butter does the finishing. The foaming is water cooking out of it — when the foam subsides, it is starting to brown.
Fresh garlic: Smashed cloves rather than minced, so they perfume the butter without burning. Minced garlic in a ripping pan turns black and bitter in seconds.
Rosemary and thyme: Woody herbs that stand up to hot butter, unlike soft herbs which blacken instantly. Keep the sprigs whole so you can lift them out cleanly at the end.

Temperature guide

Stage	Temp	What it means
Pull	132°F / 56°C	A few degrees early, because grass-fed beef is lean and carryover keeps working.
After resting	135°F / 57°C	Medium-rare. Where it lands on the plate.
Too far	145°F+ / 63°C+	A lean grass-fed sirloin firms up noticeably past medium-rare.
Pan	Ripping hot, then lower	Hard heat for the sear, then back it off once the butter goes in.

Pitmaster tips

Give the cast iron real time to preheat. It heats slowly and unevenly, and a pan that is only hot in the middle will sear the middle of your steak and steam the edges.
Use a high smoke point oil for the sear, not butter. Butter's milk solids burn well below searing temperature — it goes in afterwards.
Pat the steaks bone dry. Surface moisture has to boil off before browning starts, and that is time the interior is cooking without a crust forming.
Flip repeatedly rather than once. Turning every 30–60 seconds builds crust faster and cooks the interior more evenly than the traditional single flip.
Smash the garlic rather than mincing it. Minced garlic burns black in a hot pan in seconds; smashed cloves perfume the butter and can be lifted out.
Keep the herb sprigs whole for the same reason — easy to remove, no burnt fragments in the butter.
Tilt the pan toward you when basting so the butter pools at the low edge and you can actually get a spoonful.
Basting is heat transfer, not just flavour. It cooks the top surface gently while the bottom sits on the pan, evening out the cook.
Grass-fed beef cooks faster than grain-fed. Pull a few degrees earlier than you would otherwise.
Spoon the pan butter over the steaks at the table. Leaving garlic and herb butter in the pan is a waste.

If it goes wrong

The kitchen filled with smoke: Too much oil, or oil with too low a smoke point. Use a thin film of grapeseed or another high smoke point oil. This is also why the video cooks outside on a propane stove — cast iron searing indoors sets off smoke alarms.
The butter burnt black: It went in too early or the pan was still at full sear temperature. Add butter after the crust has formed and back the heat off — it should foam, not smoke.
The crust is grey and patchy: A wet steak or an underheated pan. Pat the steaks properly dry and give the cast iron several minutes to come fully up to temperature before anything goes in.
The garlic burnt and turned bitter: It was minced rather than smashed, or it went in too early. Whole smashed cloves, added with the butter at the end, perfume without burning.
The steak is overcooked: Grass-fed beef is leaner and cooks faster than grain-fed. Pull at 132°F and account for carryover — a thin steak in a screaming pan can climb several degrees after it leaves.
The steaks steamed instead of searing: The pan was crowded or not hot enough. Two steaks in one pan is often one too many — cook them one at a time if the pan is small.

Ways to change it up

Reverse sear: Bring the steaks to about 115°F in a low oven first, then sear hard and baste. More even interior, better for thick steaks.
Different herbs: Sage and garlic, or thyme and shallot. Any woody herb works; avoid soft herbs like basil or parsley, which blacken instantly in hot butter.
Compound butter instead: Sear without basting and finish with a slice of cold herb butter on the rested steak. Less pan work, similar result.
Finish on the grill: Sear in the pan, then move to a hot grill for the last minute for a little smoke and char alongside the crust.
Other cuts: The same technique suits ribeye, striploin and flat iron. A fattier cut like ribeye needs less butter, since it renders plenty of its own.

What to serve it with

Caesar salad and sweet potato, as served in the video.
The pan butter spooned over at the table — do not leave it behind.
Something sharp: a green salad with vinaigrette, or pickled onions, against all that butter.
Crusty bread to mop the board.
A bold red wine, or a cold beer against the richness.

Storage & reheating

Cooked steak keeps 3–4 days refrigerated. Store it whole and unsliced — a sliced steak dries out fast. Because it was pulled at medium-rare, any real reheat pushes it past where it should be, so slicing it cold for salads and sandwiches is genuinely the better option.

If you do want it warm, sear the slices for seconds in a very hot pan, or warm them gently in the leftover pan butter. Both are far better than a microwave, which turns a medium-rare steak grey and rubbery.

Raw steaks freeze well for 6–12 months wrapped airtight, though grass-fed fat oxidizes slightly faster than grain-fed, so vacuum-sealing is worth the effort past a couple of months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and pat very dry before seasoning — a wet thawed steak will not take a crust.

FAQ

Should I flip a steak once or many times?

Many times is fine, and arguably better. Flipping every 30–60 seconds keeps either face from overheating while both build colour, and it cooks the interior more evenly than a single flip. The idea that a steak must only be turned once is a myth — repeated flipping produces a good crust faster.

Why add butter at the end instead of cooking in it?

Butter's milk solids burn well below the temperature you need for a hard sear, so cooking in it from the start gives you a bitter, blackened pan. Sear in a high smoke point oil, then add butter once the crust has formed and back the heat off — it should foam rather than smoke.

What is butter basting actually doing?

Two things. It carries garlic and herb aromatics onto the meat, and — more importantly — the hot butter spooned over the top cooks that surface gently while the bottom sits on the pan. That evens out the cook, which is why basted steaks have a more uniform interior.

Does grass-fed beef cook differently?

Yes. It is leaner and its fat has a slightly different melting point, so it cooks faster and has less margin for error. Pull it a few degrees earlier than you would a grain-fed steak of the same thickness. The flavour is more mineral and less sweet, which suits simple seasoning.

What oil should I use for searing steak?

Anything with a high smoke point and a neutral flavour — grapeseed, avocado or refined canola. Olive oil and butter both burn at searing temperature and will make the pan and the steak taste bitter. Use a thin film, not a pool.

Why cook steak on a propane stove outside?

Because searing cast iron produces a great deal of smoke, and most kitchen extraction cannot cope with it. An outdoor burner lets you get the pan genuinely hot without filling the house or setting off smoke alarms — and it usually puts out more heat than a domestic hob.

Know your cook

More information, cause recipe back stories are stupid

No 500-word life story — just the good-to-know stuff on what’s actually in this cook. Here’s the rundown on every real ingredient, health and nutrition wise.

Beef: Beef is a complete protein and one of the best food sources of highly absorbable heme iron, zinc, and vitamin B12 — key for energy, immunity, and healthy blood. Fattier BBQ cuts are calorie-dense, so lean trimming and sensible portions keep it balanced.
Garlic: Garlic adds big flavour for almost no calories and contains sulphur compounds (like allicin) long studied for heart and immune benefits. It's one of the healthiest ways to season a cook.
Butter: Butter adds richness and helps carry sauce into the meat, but it's high in saturated fat and calories, so it works best as a finishing touch rather than by the cupful.
Fresh herbs: Fresh herbs add aroma and flavour with virtually no calories, sodium, or fat, plus a small dose of antioxidants. They're one of the easiest ways to season without reaching for salt.

General nutrition info only, not medical or dietary advice — portions, brands and add-ons change the numbers.

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