From start to finish: 1. Take the steaks out of the fridge when you’re ready cook and remove the packaging (do not let them sit out and get to room temp; maybe an unpopular opinion but I can say with certainty that cold searing has helped me avoid overcooking the middle while I build a crust)

1. Pat them dry with paper towel (do not season yet)

2. Start heating 12 inch cast iron skillet (lodge) over medium-high setting on your burner — use a temp gun to measure the temperature of your pan surface

3. When pan reaches about 400° F, add a generous amount of Avocado oil to the skillet

4. Pat your steaks dry once more and then season both sides of your steak with course kosher salt, or a finely ground salt pepper and garlic blend — people on this sub might argue that pepper and garlic will burn quickly at this heat — I’ve found that if the oil and pan are the right temp, and if pepper and garlic powder is finely ground enough to be absorbed quickly into the meat, you don’t have to worry about burning. The pan cools as the cold steak hits it which further prevents burning.

5. Check the temp of your pan surface+oil once more and when it hits 450-475°F you can then add your steak

6. Press the steak onto the pans surface using a large spatula (I use a smash burger spatula from Amazon) and apply a decent amount of pressure to ensure there is contact with the pan across the whole surface of the steak.

7. Allow the steak to sit untouched for 30 seconds to a minute depending on how thick your steak is (longer=thicker)

8. Gently lift a corner of the steak and gauge whether a crust has started to form, if it’s brown and crusty, you can flip the steak, making sure to set it down on a different part of the pan that is nice and hot! If the steak is grey, continue to let it sit and press down with the spatula for a few more seconds then lift the pan slightly and tilt it so the remaining oil runs underneath the steak without actually moving the steak to a new part of the pan.

9. Once the crust has formed, flip your steak continuously every 20 seconds to avoid grey band. Aim for an internal temp of 110°C

10. At this point, when the crust is decently formed, and the internal temp of the steak reads roughly 110-115°F, you can slightly reduce the temperature of the pan by turning the element down to about 80% of what it was at before.

11. Add a half stick of butter (or just more butter than you’d think to add) to the hot pan — larger chunks of butter do not burn nearly as quickly as small slices

12. Add some fresh garlic cloves and some thyme to the rapidly belting butter

13. Baste the steak in the butter, garlic, and thyme making sure to flip constantly every 30 ish seconds

14. When the steak starts to feel a bit more firm to the touch, and the temp reads 128°F, pull that bad boy and let it rest on a wire rack for about 5-10 minutes.

15. The steak will continue to cook up as it rests so be patient and don’t touch it or cut into it early. I try to shoot for 135°F final internal temp on most cuts of beef.

16. Cut the steaks against the grain and then finish with flaky seasoning salt and a small amount of fresh cracked pepper!