Pan-frying ribeye: make a good evening of it

Prepare your pan, sides and serving dishes for ribeye steak, with useful advice on space, cooking instructions and a simple supper worth sitting down to.

A pan, a steak and a little attention

There is something very cheering about deciding that tonight is a steak night. Not a celebration requiring balloons. Just a good supper, a favourite plate and the possibility of sitting down before you are too tired to enjoy it.

Ribeye is a lovely candidate if you enjoy visible marbling and a richer steak. Check the particular pack’s thickness, weight and storage instructions first. If it is supplied frozen, plan the thawing rather than hoping determination will have done the job by half past six.

Make room for the important bit

Choose a pan that comfortably holds the steaks. If it does not, cook in batches and plan how to serve them, or save a portion for another evening. A crowded pan makes the job harder and gives you more to juggle when you should be paying attention to the cooking.

Set out tongs, a clean plate for cooked meat and your thermometer. Read the recipe before heating the pan, including its advice on oil, heat and resting. This is also a good moment to check the extractor works. A steak supper should make its presence known by the smell, not the smoke alarm.

Let the sides look after themselves

Have the potatoes well underway and the salad washed before the steak reaches the pan. Mushrooms can be prepared ahead; a simple dressing can wait in a jug. Choose one or two things you enjoy rather than trying to recreate every steakhouse side you have ever ordered.

A little butter or a suitable sauce can be lovely, but follow your chosen recipe for when to add it. Ingredients do not all tolerate the same heat. Keep the final few minutes free for the steak instead of peeling garlic at speed while answering a question about where the plates live.

Cook for this steak, then enjoy it

Use instructions matched to the cut and thickness rather than one fixed number of minutes for every ribeye. Whole intact beef steaks can be served pink when all outside surfaces are properly seared; that advice does not extend to burgers or meat pierced throughout. Follow the pack and the linked FSA guidance.

Rest the steak as your recipe directs, finish the sides and serve while everything is inviting. If sharing, slice on a stable board and bring it to the middle of the table.

There is no need to present it with a speech. Let the browned edges, a spoonful of mushrooms and a hot potato do the talking. You have bought something good and given it your attention. That is quite enough occasion for one evening.

Explore the relevant Malpas range
https://www.malpasfarmshop.co.uk/product-page/8-x-12oz-uk-ribeye-steaks-save-34-90

Read next
Choosing a steak for the meal you have in mind
https://www.malpasfarmshop.co.uk/portfolio/choosing-your-steak

BBQ preparation: before the first guest arrives
https://www.malpasfarmshop.co.uk/portfolio/barbecue-preparation-guide

Further guidance
Food Standards Agency: Cooking your food
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cooking-your-food/cooking-your-food

Food Standards Agency: Chilling, freezing and defrosting
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-chill-freeze-and-defrost-food-safely/how-to-chill-freeze-and-defrost-food-safely

For illustration purposes only.