Steak Cook Time Calculator
Get exact steak cooking times based on thickness, doneness preference, and cooking method — cast iron skillet, grill, or reverse sear. The calculator gives you time per side, rest time, and the internal temperature target so you always hit the right doneness.
Thickness unit
in
Desired doneness
Cooking method
Steak starting temperature
8 min active cooking + 5 min rest
- 1
Minutes per side
1 × 4 + 0 = 4Thickness × 4 is the baseline for medium-rare; each doneness step adds or subtracts 1 min/side. - 2
Active cook time
4 × 2 sides = 8 - 3
Total (cook + rest)
8 + 5 rest = 13
How does this calculator work?
For a high-heat sear, cook roughly 4 minutes per side per inch of thickness for medium-rare, add or subtract 1 min/side per doneness step, then rest 5–10 minutes. Reverse sear uses a low oven until 10°F below target, then a 90-second sear per side. Always pull 5°F early for carry-over cooking.
Formula
How this is calculated
For high-heat searing on a cast iron pan or grill, cooking time scales approximately linearly with steak thickness: a rule of thumb used by professional kitchens is roughly 4 minutes per side per inch of thickness for medium-rare, with each doneness step adding or subtracting about 1 minute per side. Cold steaks straight from the fridge need slightly longer because the interior starts further from the target temperature.
Reverse searing is different: the steak spends most of its time in a low oven (~250°F / 120°C) until the interior reaches about 10°F below the target, then gets a very quick, intense sear to build the crust. The low-and-slow oven phase takes longer but gives far more even doneness edge-to-edge and a better crust.
Resting is critical regardless of method: as the steak cooks, juices are driven toward the centre; resting lets them redistribute so they stay in the meat when you cut, not on the board. A thin steak needs 5 minutes; a thick one benefits from up to 10. The displayed internal temperature targets are standard culinary benchmarks — pull the steak 5°F before target because carry-over cooking from residual heat will raise it the rest of the way.
Frequently asked questions
Heat diffuses inward from the surface, so time scales roughly linearly with thickness for thin steaks in a hot pan. Very thick steaks, however, run the risk of overcooking the exterior before the centre reaches temperature. Reverse searing solves this by using a low oven where the temperature differential is small, letting the interior catch up gently before the final sear.
For high-heat methods the total cooking time is roughly the same whether you flip once per side or frequently. Flipping frequently (every 30–60 seconds) can marginally reduce cook time and promote more even browning, but the difference is small. The calculator assumes two flips (one rest per side) which is the most common technique.
Pull it 5°F below the target temperature shown in the calculator. Carry-over cooking — residual heat from the surface continuing to cook the centre during the rest — typically adds 5–10°F, depending on the size and starting surface temperature of the steak. The displayed target is the final serving temperature, not the pull temperature.
Also known as
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team. (2026). Steak Cook Time Calculator [Online calculator]. TG we-Calculate. https://we-calculate.com/calculator/steak-cook-time-calculator
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team. "Steak Cook Time Calculator." TG we-Calculate. 2026. https://we-calculate.com/calculator/steak-cook-time-calculator.
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team, "Steak Cook Time Calculator," TG we-Calculate, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://we-calculate.com/calculator/steak-cook-time-calculator
@misc{wecalculate_steak_cook_time_calculator, title = {Steak Cook Time Calculator}, author = {{TG we-Calculate Editorial Team}}, howpublished = {\url{https://we-calculate.com/calculator/steak-cook-time-calculator}}, year = {2026}, note = {TG we-Calculate} }
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