How-To Guides

How to Cook Minute Steak

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Four raw minute steaks on a wooden board, thinly sliced with visible marbling

What Is Minute Steak?

How to Cook Minute Steak: A minute steak, as the name suggests, is a quick-cooking cut that can go from pan to plate in just a few minutes. It’s expertly butchered from the top rump, located on the hind quarter of the animal, and is known for being thinly sliced and lean. This makes it ideal for high-heat, flash cooking, perfect for quick weekday meals or steak sandwiches.

Traditionally, minute steak contains little marbling and can be prone to drying out. However, our heritage breed, grass-fed cattle produce meat with naturally higher fat content and deeper flavour, even in leaner cuts like this. The result is a minute steak that stays juicy, tender and full of beefy character, especially when cooked quickly and served medium-rare.

Whether you’re pan-frying, grilling or cooking minute steak on the barbecue, this versatile cut is ideal for fast, flavourful meals.

Minute Steak Cooking Time

Thanks to its thin cut, usually around a quarter of an inch thick, minute steak cooks extremely quickly. The key is to use high heat and keep the cooking time short, as overcooking can make the meat tough.

For a medium rare finish, which we recommend to preserve tenderness and flavour, cook the steak for 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Total cooking time should be no more than 4 to 6 minutes. Let it rest briefly before serving to allow the juices to settle. Minute steak is ideal for quick meals where full flavour and minimal fuss are essential.

The Best Way to Cook Minute Steak

  1. Take your minute steaks out of the refrigerator. Remove them from the vacuum packaging and pat dry to remove any surface moisture. Allow the steaks to come up to room temperature before cooking.
  2. Heat a griddle or heavy-based frying pan until smoking hot.
  3. Just before cooking, rub olive oil over both sides of the steaks and season with salt and pepper.
  4. Place the minute steaks in the pan and cook for one minute on each side. They will naturally release from the surface once a crust has formed, so if they stick at all, give them a moment before trying to turn them. You’re aiming for a rich, golden crust.
  5. Continue flipping the steaks every 30 seconds until they reach your preferred doneness. For medium rare, total cooking time should be around 4 to 6 minutes.
  6. Remove the steaks from the pan and leave them to rest in a warm place for at least 6 minutes before serving.

Top Tips for Cooking Minute Steak

  • To check how done your steak is while cooking, use the finger test. Gently press the tip of your middle finger to the tip of your thumb. The fleshy part of your palm just below the thumb should feel like a medium rare steak, soft but slightly springy.
  • Always cook minute steak over high heat to quickly sear the surface and develop a flavourful crust while keeping the inside tender.
  • Avoid salting the meat too early. Season just before cooking to prevent drawing out moisture and drying the steak.
  • Don’t overcrowd the pan. Cook in batches if needed to maintain a high temperature and ensure proper searing.
  • Rest the steak after cooking, even if just for a few minutes. This allows the juices to redistribute and ensures a more succulent result.
  • Slice against the grain when serving to maximise tenderness.
  • For extra flavour, add a knob of butter and a few thyme sprigs to the pan during the final minute of cooking and baste the steak before resting.

Minute Steak Recipe

Try chef Valentine Warner’s version of crispy chilli beef recipe, his take on a Western favourite that nods to Sichuan flavours without claiming full authenticity. Using thin strips of Swaledale minute steak, quickly fried until crisp and tossed in a sticky, aromatic sauce, this recipe is perfect for a speedy midweek meal or as part of a larger spread.

Order meat online

Brent, a proud New Zealander, was lucky to grow up in Hawke's Bay, often referred to as the Fruit Bowl of New Zealand, and famed for its wineries. As a third generation farmer, agriculture and livestock management are in his blood.

Enthused by the wholesome food production scene, Brent began his 16-year career in hospitality at a local winery, and then gained experience at some world class hotels; Huka Lodge beside the Waikato River NZ, and Hayman Island within the heart of Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Having met his future wife Dawn, Brent moved to England in 2007 where he then spent 4 years as Head Chef at Hipping Hall, gaining multiple awards during his tenure.

Brent is passionate about native breeds and the conservation and enhancement of natural biodiversity in rural landscapes; so his 2013 appointment as the General Manager of Swaledale Butchers was the perfect match.

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@swaledalebutchers
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Ask yourself this. When did you last have a really good pork chop? This is why we keep coming back to it. Native, rare breed pork. Dry aged on the bone. Proper depth of flavour. Nothing like the pale, wet stuff you see elsewhere. These are our Pork Chops with Rosemary and Anchovy Butter. Two thick, rindless chops. Two discs of handmade compound butter. Anchovy, rosemary, lemon zest, a little shallot. Old friends. It works.
@swaledalebutchers
@swaledalebutchers
•
Follow
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@swaledalebutchers
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@swaledalebutchers
@swaledalebutchers
•
Follow
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Burns Night, 25 January. Two pastry wrapped tributes to Robert Burns. Made with chef Josh Whitehead of @finer_pleasures. A haggis sausage roll with coarse cut native breed pork. A hot water crust pie of mutton and lamb haggis, oats, onions and spice. Food for a cold night.
Burns Night, 25 January. Two pastry wrapped tributes to Robert Burns. Made with chef Josh Whitehead of @finer_pleasures. A haggis sausage roll with coarse cut native breed pork. A hot water crust pie of mutton and lamb haggis, oats, onions and spice. Food for a cold night.
Burns Night, 25 January. Two pastry wrapped tributes to Robert Burns. Made with chef Josh Whitehead of @finer_pleasures. A haggis sausage roll with coarse cut native breed pork. A hot water crust pie of mutton and lamb haggis, oats, onions and spice. Food for a cold night.
Burns Night, 25 January. Two pastry wrapped tributes to Robert Burns. Made with chef Josh Whitehead of @finer_pleasures. A haggis sausage roll with coarse cut native breed pork. A hot water crust pie of mutton and lamb haggis, oats, onions and spice. Food for a cold night.
Burns Night, 25 January. Two pastry wrapped tributes to Robert Burns. Made with chef Josh Whitehead of @finer_pleasures. A haggis sausage roll with coarse cut native breed pork. A hot water crust pie of mutton and lamb haggis, oats, onions and spice. Food for a cold night.
@swaledalebutchers
@swaledalebutchers
•
Follow
Burns Night, 25 January. Two pastry wrapped tributes to Robert Burns. Made with chef Josh Whitehead of @finer_pleasures. A haggis sausage roll with coarse cut native breed pork. A hot water crust pie of mutton and lamb haggis, oats, onions and spice. Food for a cold night.
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@swaledalebutchers
@swaledalebutchers
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On many a recipe, the instruction ‘brown your mince’ is set out plainly enough. And yet, deep into January, when slow cooking is very much back on the table and recipes keep asking for the same thing, it feels worth saying that this is meant quite literally. Brown your mince. It does not say grey it. Browning is a process, not a gesture. It takes time, heat, and a little patience, and what you are doing is building flavour, not simply warming meat through. When mince is rushed, crowded into the pan, stirred too soon, it stews. It turns grey. The moisture stays put and the flavour never quite arrives. So here is @grylos , taking a moment to explain the difference, and to remind you that if you want the most from good produce, you have to let it work. Give it space. Leave it alone long enough to colour properly. Let it smell right before you move on. Because this is slow food month, after all. There is no need to hurry. Take your time, do it properly, and you will taste the difference in the finished dish.
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View on Instagram |
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Winter. It felt strange being in Yorkshire, watching the news from the south where snow lay thick and sudden, while here January had arrived quietly, cold and wet, but not yet truly winter as we know it. Up here the season has always moved at a slower pace, and there is something steadying in remembering that. The idea that we should charge straight on after Christmas is a modern one, and it sits awkwardly with bodies and minds that are still tuned to pause, to take stock, to look back at the year just gone. Out on the farms, there is no rush but plenty to do. Some are already lambing, others preparing for it, working with the land rather than against it as the days begin, almost imperceptibly, to lengthen. The fields are still subdued, but there are signs, if you look closely, that life is beginning to stir again. And so, it feels right, now and then, to slow everything down and simply notice Yorkshire in January, not as something to be endured, but as a quiet and beautiful part of the year in its own right.
Winter. It felt strange being in Yorkshire, watching the news from the south where snow lay thick and sudden, while here January had arrived quietly, cold and wet, but not yet truly winter as we know it. Up here the season has always moved at a slower pace, and there is something steadying in remembering that. The idea that we should charge straight on after Christmas is a modern one, and it sits awkwardly with bodies and minds that are still tuned to pause, to take stock, to look back at the year just gone. Out on the farms, there is no rush but plenty to do. Some are already lambing, others preparing for it, working with the land rather than against it as the days begin, almost imperceptibly, to lengthen. The fields are still subdued, but there are signs, if you look closely, that life is beginning to stir again. And so, it feels right, now and then, to slow everything down and simply notice Yorkshire in January, not as something to be endured, but as a quiet and beautiful part of the year in its own right.
@swaledalebutchers
@swaledalebutchers
•
Follow
Winter. It felt strange being in Yorkshire, watching the news from the south where snow lay thick and sudden, while here January had arrived quietly, cold and wet, but not yet truly winter as we know it. Up here the season has always moved at a slower pace, and there is something steadying in remembering that. The idea that we should charge straight on after Christmas is a modern one, and it sits awkwardly with bodies and minds that are still tuned to pause, to take stock, to look back at the year just gone. Out on the farms, there is no rush but plenty to do. Some are already lambing, others preparing for it, working with the land rather than against it as the days begin, almost imperceptibly, to lengthen. The fields are still subdued, but there are signs, if you look closely, that life is beginning to stir again. And so, it feels right, now and then, to slow everything down and simply notice Yorkshire in January, not as something to be endured, but as a quiet and beautiful part of the year in its own right.
4 weeks ago
712
View on Instagram |
7/8
@swaledalebutchers
@swaledalebutchers
•
Follow
Now the depths of winter descend. The excitement of Christmas has passed, but do not let that fool you. These months are still some of the best for eating roasted meats and leaning into deeper, newer flavour profiles. Here is a traditional, and not so traditional, approach to our pork middle. We send a lot of our pork middles out to chefs, ready for them to stuff and roast in their own way, using both the loin and the belly. You will see plenty of porchetta on the market that uses just the belly. This is different. Using both cuts gives balance, structure, and allows the flavour of the pork itself to shine. For our website, we also offer a less traditional version, stuffed simply with our fennel sausage meat. That brings seasoning right through the joint, and a little extra fat to help keep everything moist during a long, slow roast. It is a brilliant cut to have, either as a roast or the following day, sliced cold for sandwiches.
1 month ago
1401
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8/8