Grilled Top Sirloin Steak with Garlic Butter Baste

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Top sirloin is the thinking cook's steak: lean, deeply beefy and a fraction of the price of a ribeye. The trick is treating it like a steakhouse cut — dry-brine it with salt an hour ahead, get the pan or grill genuinely screaming hot for a dark crust, then finish with a foaming garlic-thyme butter baste and a real rest. Twenty minutes of active work for a steak that eats like it cost three times as much.

Ingredients

• 2 top sirloin steaks, 1 to 1 1/4 inches thick (about 10 oz each)
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt (Diamond Crystal; use 1 tsp if using Morton or table salt)
• 3/4 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp neutral high-smoke-point oil (grapeseed, avocado or canola)

• 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• 4 garlic cloves, smashed with skins removed
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme (or 2 sprigs rosemary)
• 1 pinch flaky sea salt, for finishing

• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

1. Dry-brine the steaks: pat them completely dry with paper towels, then season all over — including the edges — with the kosher salt. Set them on a rack over a plate or sheet pan and refrigerate uncovered for at least 45 minutes and up to 24 hours. This pulls moisture out, then reabsorbs it as seasoned brine, giving you both flavor and a drier surface that browns hard.
2. Pull the steaks out and let them sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking. Just before they hit the heat, blot the surface dry one more time and press the black pepper onto both sides. (Pepper goes on late so it doesn't scorch during the long dry-brine.)
3. For cast iron: set a 12-inch skillet over high heat for 5 full minutes, until a droplet of water evaporates on contact instantly. Turn on your vent hood and open a window. For grill: build a two-zone fire or set gas burners so one side is ripping hot (500-600°F) and one side is off.
4. Rub the steaks with the neutral oil — oil the meat, not the pan, so it doesn't smoke out before the steak lands. Lay them down away from you and do not touch them for 3 minutes. You want a continuous dark brown crust, not gray patches. If using a grill, lid down.
5. Flip and sear the second side for 2 to 3 minutes. Using tongs, stand each steak on its fat edge for 30 seconds to render and brown it.
6. Reduce heat to medium (or slide the steaks to the cool side of the grill and add a small cast-iron pan over the hot side). Add the butter, smashed garlic and thyme. As the butter foams, tilt the pan and spoon it over the steaks continuously for 60 to 90 seconds, concentrating on the thicker end.
7. Start checking temperature at the 8-minute mark with an instant-read thermometer in the thickest part: pull at 125°F for medium-rare, 133°F for medium. Sirloin is lean and turns chalky past medium — do not chase 145°F on the steak itself, it will climb 5-8°F while resting.
8. Transfer the steaks to a warm plate or cutting board and rest 8 to 10 minutes, loosely tented with foil. Spoon the pan butter and garlic over top. Do not skip this — cutting early dumps the juice you just spent 12 minutes protecting.
9. Slice against the grain into 1/2-inch strips — look for the direction the muscle fibers run and cut perpendicular to them. This is the single biggest difference between a tender sirloin and a chewy one. Finish with flaky salt, the resting juices whisked with the Worcestershire, and parsley if using.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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