I usually charcoal steaks but yesterday I cooked ‘em in a cast iron inside.
I got little to no sear. I heard the sizzle when I put ‘em on but no bueno.
Your thoughts?

Try a carbon steel pan. The sear is more intense. It's just the way carbon steel heats up.


As for cast iron, you gotta get it hot, really hot. Preheat for ~15mins over a medium flame until the pan starts smoking. Turn the flame up and toss in the steak.

Tip* Throw in a pinch of baking soda. It does something to the grease and encourages browning.

frying in a pan, no matter the material, can never compare to coals or flames for searing in the juicy goodness on a piece of meat... nothing beats char-burnt on the outside and red meat on the inside... Mmmm

Did you pat them as dry as you could get them? If they were too wet or moist, you won't get that sear.

I would recommend purchasing an infrared thermometer for measuring the heat of your pan. They are really cheap and you will KNOW not guess how hot your pan is. I use one and put the steak in when the pan reaches 350 to 375F.

Amazon has them for less than $20. Etekcity is a good brand. I have one.

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I use one. For oil. Sear temps need to be much higher. So as the cool steak lowers the temp of the pan. It should stabilize at 350-375.

It matters a lot of the type of frying pan. I use both carbon steel and cast iron. Cast iron holds heat and cools slower. Carbon steel takes adjustments quickly. Cools faster.

So if you desire that perfect sear. I recommend a carbon steel. The initial heat is intense but the steel cools faster. Something you want on rare steak. You can fine tune carbon steel. Cast iron is another skill set.

I agree..on occasion I will use a cast iron skillet to cook a rib eye over the coal/wood on my PK and it is the best of both worlds....IMO

If you use a little olive oil or avocado oil and get the pan piping hot you’ll get a really nice sear. Cook it wide open, toss in some thyme, garlic cloves that your crush enough to get the flavor out, and rosemary, toss in some butter and baste to finish. Just as good as a grilled steak.