Air Fryer Steak
Thick ribeye or New York strip dry-brined, air fried to a perfect medium-rare and finished with a garlic herb butter that melts over the top.
Ingredients
Ingredients for servings
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Original recipe serves 2. Ingredient amounts adjust automatically. Cooking times and pan size may need adjusting separately.
- 2 ribeye or New York strip steaks, 1 to 1.25 inches thick, about 12 oz each
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper, coarse
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
Garlic herb butter
- 3 tbsp butter, softened
- 1 clove garlic, grated
- 1 tsp fresh parsley, minced
- 1/2 tsp fresh thyme or rosemary, minced
- 1 pinch kosher salt
Steps
Step 1: Season the steaks with salt on all sides. For best results, let them sit uncovered on a rack in the fridge for 1 hour up to overnight. Take them out 30 minutes before cooking.
Step 2: Mix the garlic herb butter ingredients and set aside.
Step 3: Pat the steaks dry. Rub with the oil and season with pepper and garlic powder.
Step 4: Heat the air fryer to 400°F for 5 minutes, so the basket is screaming hot.
Step 5: Put the steaks in, not touching. Air fry 6 minutes. Flip and cook 4 to 7 minutes more, until 125 to 130°F for medium-rare (see Tips for other doneness levels).
Step 6: Move to a plate, top each steak with a big spoonful of garlic herb butter, and rest 5 to 8 minutes.
Step 7: Slice against the grain and spoon the melted butter over the slices.
Swaps
- Cut: Sirloin or flat iron work too; they cook a little faster.
- Butter: Add blue cheese, or swap the herbs for a pinch of red pepper flakes.
- Crust: Finish the steaks in a ripping-hot cast iron skillet for 30 seconds per side for a darker crust.
Tips
- Doneness (temperature when you pull it; it climbs about 5°F while resting): rare 120°F, medium-rare 125 to 130°F, medium 135 to 140°F, medium-well 145 to 150°F. The USDA minimum for whole cuts of beef is 145°F with a 3-minute rest.
- Steaks thinner than 1 inch overcook easily in an air fryer. Go thick.
The story
HAM Cooking. Let’s fire it up.
I know what some of you are thinking. Steak in an air fryer? Isn’t that like taking a race car to the grocery store? Stick with me. It’s not going to take the place of a grill or a cast iron skillet, but on a rainy weeknight it makes a seriously good steak with almost no smoke.
The air fryer works like a small, very powerful convection oven. Preheating it until it’s ripping hot gives the steak a quick sear on the outside. The dry brine helps a lot: salting ahead pulls moisture out, which dissolves the salt and gets reabsorbed, so the steak is seasoned deeper. And it leaves the surface drier, so it browns better.
A thermometer is the most important tool here, because every air fryer runs differently. Pull it a few degrees under your target, then let it rest under a melting pat of garlic butter. The resting butter turns into a sauce right on the plate.
HAM out.
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