The steakhouse doesn’t need another Valentine’s Day reservation, darling. Instead, bring the restaurant home with a perfect New York strip steak dinner. Pan-seared for a gorgeous golden crust and finished in the oven until we have juicy, tender, and perfectly medium-rare steaks.
Then comes the sauce—a steak Diane-inspired mushroom cream sauce with a little Southern flair. Rich and velvety, with smooth bourbon adding warmth, earthy thyme, and fragrant garlic tying it all together. Slice and serve with garlic butter mushrooms, cheesy potatoes au gratin, and a vibrant citrus arugula salad.
This recipe was originally posted in June 2018, but has recently been updated with better quality photography, step-by-step in-post process shots, more helpful content, and clearer recipe instructions. Thanks so much for supporting Sweet Tea + Thyme!
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The Best Pan-Seared Steak at Home
If you’ve been here a while, you know I don’t do Valentine’s Day reservations. Never have, honey. My husband learned real quick after just one attempt—crowded restaurants during flu season, kitchens completely in the weeds all night, and let’s be honest, way too often, the food just doesn’t live up to the hype.
Not only is it not fair to our little moment of romance, but as someone who has worked restaurants on Valentine's Day...well, it's 1000x more unfair to those who got stuck with dinner shift that day.
I want my Valentine’s Day to feel romantic, beautiful, and cozy, and we can have all of that right at home—without the flu risk or a dinner bill bigger than the grocery bill. Enter this pan-seared New York strip steak with a decadent bourbon cream sauce. It’s rich, buttery, packed with umami, and seriously so good you’ll be tempted to lick the plate.
I’ve made steaks in the sous-vide bath, reverse-seared in the oven, you name it, but this pan searing method is all about simplicity. A quick sear in a cast iron skillet gives you that perfect crust, and while the steak rests, we use all that beef fat and fond to make a velvety sauce with mushrooms, butter, bourbon, and thyme. It’s indulgent, effortless, and just the thing to make any date night feel extra special.
Ingredients for our Perfect Steak Dinner
- 2-inch-Thick New York Strip Steaks - Choice or Prime grades are what you'll find at the store, so buy what you can afford! They both will make great results, just make sure they're around 2 inches thick.
- Kosher Salt
- High Heat Oil - this is a vegetable oil, canola oil, or something like grapeseed or avocado if you like. Don't bust out the olive oil or butter, they'll burn.
- Cremini Mushrooms - these can also be found as 'baby bella' mushrooms, and you can swap in white button mushrooms (they're basically the same thing)
- Diced Onion and Minced Garlic
- Fresh Thyme - you can use other fresh herbs like oregano or sage, or omit them all together, but I love the fresh herby flavor of thyme.
- Bourbon - use a bourbon you like drinking. We have Maker's Mark, so in it went!
- Dijon Mustard and Worcestershire Sauce - dijon helps bring the sauce together while the worcestershire sauce brings rich umami.
- Beef Stock and Heavy Cream - these come in at the end and make the sauce, well, saucy!
- Cold Butter - this is a restaurant secret: cold butter whisked in at the end gives us a rich and stable sauce!
How to Cook New York Strip Steak in a Cast Iron Skillet
Make the Perfect Pan-Seared Steak Finished in the Oven
Step 1 | Bring the steak to room temperature and season with kosher salt on all sides while it rests for half an hour.
Step 2 | Get a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat with the high smoke point oil until it's ripping hot, and preheat your oven to 450 degrees F.
Pat the steak dry on all sides with a paper towel, then carefully place the steak into the hot skillet. Sear the steak on each side for 2-3 minutes on each side, you want to get a real good sear before we finish it in the oven for 4 minutes. See? So easy!
How to Make our Bourbon Diane Sauce for Steak
Step 3 | Let's make the sauce. Transfer the steak to a cutting board to rest. Add butter to the pan and set it on the stove at medium heat. Add in the mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes to start the cooking process.
Step 4 | Add the onions and let cook for another 3 minutes, then throw in that garlic and thyme for 1-2 minutes. You want the garlic to smell really fragrant before moving on the the next step.
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Step 5 | Turn the heat off and add the bourbon. We aren't trying to flambé anything, okay? Use the bourbon to deglaze the pan before stirring in the worcestershire sauce, dijon, and beef broth and cook for 3-4 minutes, until the sauce reduces and thickens slightly.
Step 6 | Pour in the cream and let simmer for 3 minutes before turning off the heat and whisking in the cold butter. Taste and season with salt and pepper!
Step 7 | Slice up that rested steak, serve it with the mushroom cream sauce and your favorite steakhouse sides!
My Fave Pairings for a Steakhouse-Worthy Meal
A NY strip steak is such a staple at fancy restaurants, so let's whip up some steakhouse classics to go along with it: some bread, a salad, mashed potatoes, and of course, an old fashioned cocktail!
Recipe Variations
- Stir in a dollop of crème fraîche or sour cream to make the sauce extra rich and tangy.
- Use your favorite steak cut. This recipe works beautifully with ribeye, filet mignon, or even pork chops for a fun variation.
- I used bourbon to give this recipe a slightly southern twist, but a classic diane sauce uses cognac or brandy. Any of these will give your sauce delicious flavor!
- Season with Cajun steak seasoning for a bold, spicy twist before searing.
- Cooking the bourbon burns off the alcohol, but for a completely non-alcoholic version, use apple cider or chicken broth instead.
Pro Steak Tips
- Always bring your steak to room temperature so they cook more evenly and stay tender.
- Make sure that cast iron pan is smokin' hot before the steak hits it. A properly hot pan ensures that golden restaurant steak sear we all love.
- Always render the fat cap by searing the steaks on their sides in the pan, white fat is not tasty!
- Scrape up every last bit of those browned bits from the pan when making the sauce. They’re packed with flavor and bring that steakhouse quality to your sauce.
- Don't overcrowd the pan. Use a skillet large enough to have a wide space for the steaks to sear and release water.
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Pan Seared New York Strip Steaks with Mushroom Cream Sauce
Ingredients
Pan Seared NY Strip Steaks
- 2 (12 ounce) New York strip steaks, 1.5 to 2 inches thick
- 2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil, or other high smoke point oil like canola, grapeseed, or avocado oil
Mushroom Cream Sauce
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
- ¼ cup yellow onion, diced (about ½ large onion)
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, or ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ ounce good bourbon, or cognac or brandy
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½ cup beef stock, low sodium
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon butter, very cold
- kosher salt, to taste
- black pepper, freshly ground; to taste
Instructions
Pan Searing the NY Strip Steaks
- Let steaks rest at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour on a wire rack (preferably) or on a plate, seasoned on all sides with salt. While the steaks are warming up, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Before cooking, pat the steaks dry on all sides with paper towel so they can get a great sear in the skillet.2 (12 ounce) New York strip steaks, 2 teaspoon kosher salt
- Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat with 2 tablespoon grapeseed oil or vegetable oil. When the pan begins creating wisps of smoke, lay the steaks into the pan away from you, and leave the steak alone for 2-3 minutes, or until a golden brown crust forms.2 tablespoon vegetable oil
- Flip the steak with tongs and carefully sear the other side for 2 minutes. Once that side has a brown crust, use the tongs to lift the steaks onto the fat cap side to brown and render the fat for 1 minute.
- Carefully take the pan to the preheated oven to finish cooking for 4-5 minutes, or until an instant read thermometer reads 130℉-133℉ (54℃-57℃). Remove the pan from the oven, then remove the steak to rest on a plate. The temperature will continue to rise as it rests so a little under how you like it will work out perfectly.
Make the Bourbon Steak Diane Sauce
- In the same pan, carefully remove any excess hot oil with a paper towel leaving about 2 tablespoons in the pan. Put the pan back on the stove at medium heat and melt the butter. Add in the mushrooms, season with a pinch of salt, and let them cook for 5-7 minutes, around when they start releasing their water and turn brown.2 tablespoon butter, 8 ounces cremini mushrooms
- Stir in the diced onions and cook for 3-5 minutes, until they are golden brown around the edges and translucent in color.¼ cup yellow onion
- Add the minced garlic and thyme to the pan and let sizzle for 1-2 minutes, until the garlic is very fragrant.1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, 1 tablespoon garlic
- Turn off the heat then pour the cognac into the pan and stir with your wooden spoon to deglaze the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Turn the heat back on to medium after!½ ounce good bourbon
- Stir in the worcestershire sauce, dijon mustard, and beef stock. Let this come to a simmer and reduce the sauce for 3-5 minutes.1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, ½ cup beef stock, ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- Add in the cream and cook for another 2 minutes.¼ cup heavy cream
- Stir in the cold butter until full melted and mixed in. Give the sauce a taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.1 tablespoon butter, kosher salt, black pepper
- Slice the rested steak and serve the sauce over it with your favorite sides.
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