Pan Seared Ribeye with Crispy Smashed Potatoes – Cooking With Fire

This pan seared ribeye is a 12 ounce steak seasoned, pressed into a hot pan for a hard crust, then basted in half a stick of butter with smashed garlic, rosemary and thyme until it reads 135°F. It rests on a rack with the butter and herbs on top while parboiled golden potatoes go into the same pan, get smashed flat with a cup and crisp up in the steak drippings with a little more butter. One pan, one steak, one pile of potatoes. My Garlic Butter filets and Crispy Mashed Potatoes are the same idea on the griddle with filet. This is the ribeye version on the stove.

The order matters. Steak first, because the potatoes want the fat and the fond it leaves behind. The steak rests while the potatoes sear, so both hit the plate at the same time. I do it this way every time and the timing works itself out.

This is steak night. One pan, no grill, done in about 40 minutes.

Quick Look: Pan Seared Ribeye with Crispy Smashed Potatoes

If you want the steak over fire instead of in a pan, my Grilled Picanha Recipe is the grill version of a hard sear and a rest.

Why This Recipe

• One pan. The steak seasons the pan and the potatoes finish in it. Nothing gets wasted and there is one thing to wash.
• The press. A steak weight or a spatula pressed on top keeps the whole surface of the ribeye on the pan. Ribeyes curl and lift as the fat renders. Pressing is how you get an even crust edge to edge.
• Butter after the sear, not during. Butter burns at searing heat. The crust goes on in oil, then the heat drops, then the butter, garlic and herbs go in. The steak comes back for the baste once the butter has melted.
• Rest on a rack with the butter on top. The steak rests on a wire rack so the bottom does not steam, and the pan butter with the garlic and herbs goes over it. The rest is when it soaks that in.
• Smashed, not roasted. Parboiled potatoes flattened in the pan have more surface than a roasted potato. More surface, more crust. They finish in steak drippings and butter.

I cook most of my steaks over fire. This is the one for a weeknight when the grill is not getting lit and I still want a real steak dinner.

Key Ingredients

For the Steak

• Ribeye. One 12 ounce steak, about an inch thick. Out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before it cooks. I seasoned two in the photos. If you cook two, sear them one at a time so the pan stays hot.
• Steak seasoning. Your favorite. Enough to coat both sides. I keep it simple on a ribeye since the butter is bringing the garlic and herbs.
• Unsalted butter. Half a stick, 4 tablespoons. Unsalted because the seasoning already has salt and the butter reduces in the pan.
• Garlic. Three cloves, smashed with the side of a knife. Smashed cloves flavor the butter without burning the way minced garlic does.
• Rosemary. One sprig.
• Thyme. About three sprigs.
• Oil. A little, for the sear. Something with a high smoke point.

For the Crispy Smashed Potatoes

• Small golden potatoes. About 8. The small ones, two bites each. They parboil fast and smash clean. My pan fits about 8 without crowding, which is why that is the number.
• Unsalted butter. 2 tablespoons, added after the potatoes have crisped.
• Potato seasoning. Your favorite. Goes on with the butter at the end.
• Oil. A drizzle in the pan before the potatoes go in. There is butter left from the steak, but oil keeps it from burning at sear heat.
• Ice and salted water. For the parboil and the ice bath.

The butter in the potatoes is the same butter that was in the steak, plus two more tablespoons. My Steak Bites with Mashed Potatoes and Chimichurri are the other direction, steak cut small and potatoes mashed.

Substitutions or Additions

• New York strip or sirloin. Same method. Strip is leaner, so watch the baste. Sirloin needs less time per side.
• Thicker ribeye. Over an inch and a half, add a minute per side in the butter and go by the thermometer, not the clock. My Tomahawk Steak Recipe is what that cut needs.
• Cast iron. If you have it, use it. It holds heat through the sear and the press works better on a heavy pan. I used stainless here and it worked fine, cast iron just holds the heat longer.
• Red potatoes. Same size, same method. Russets are too starchy to smash clean and fall apart under the cup.
• Parmesan on the potatoes. A handful over the top in the last minute with the butter.
• Chimichurri. A spoon over the sliced steak if you want something green against all that butter. My Santa Maria Tri Tip has the one I use.
• Make it two steaks. Double the butter and herbs and sear the steaks one at a time so the pan stays hot. Baste them together once the butter is in.

How to Make Pan Seared Ribeye with Crispy Smashed Potatoes (Step by Step)

The USDA minimum for whole cuts of beef is 145°F with a 3 minute rest. Medium rare at 135°F is below that, which is how most people eat a ribeye, and that is your call. Either way, go by the thermometer. If you want more steak and potato on one plate, my Grilled Tomahawk Steak and Crispy Fries is the big version.

Tips From Miguel

Storage and Reheating

• Fridge: Sliced steak keeps 3 days in an airtight container. Potatoes keep 3 to 4 days.
• Freezer: Not for the steak. The potatoes freeze, but they will not be as crisp.
• Reheat: Steak in a skillet over low with a spoon of the butter, just until warm. Potatoes in a hot skillet or a 400°F oven until crisp again. Skip the microwave on both.
• Make ahead: Parboil, ice and dry the potatoes a day ahead and keep them in the fridge. The butter and herbs can be measured out. The steak is cooked to order.

Leftover potatoes from this one go into my Taco Potatoes the next day. Crisp them back up in the skillet and load them.

More Beef Recipes to Try

Pan Seared Ribeye with Crispy Smashed Potatoes FAQs

What temperature do you pull a pan seared ribeye?

135°F for medium rare, checked in the thickest part with an instant read thermometer. It climbs a few degrees while it rests. The USDA minimum for whole cuts of beef is 145°F with a 3 minute rest.

Why does the butter go in after the sear?

Butter burns at the heat you need for a crust. Sear in oil, drop the heat, then add the butter, garlic and herbs. The steak goes back in for the baste once the butter has melted.

Why do you parboil potatoes before smashing?

A raw potato will not smash and will not cook through in the pan. Parboiled until fork tender, cooled and dried, they flatten under a cup and crisp in a couple of minutes per side.

Can I make this in cast iron?

Yes, and it is the best pan for it. Cast iron holds heat through the sear and gives the potatoes a harder crust. Lower the heat a little further before the butter goes in because the pan holds more heat.

Latest Beef Recipes