Sirloin Steak Recipes

Not all beef recipes call for sirloin steak, one of the tenderest cuts of beef available, but many of the best ones do. Sirloin has a distinctive flavour, but it also is a very tender cut of beef, which means it is highly prized throughout Ireland and beyond.

Whether you are preparing a special Valentine’s Day meal or planning to cook a sirloin for steak night, you will probably want to know how to get the best results from this choice cut. No home cook wants to ruin a sirloin by either over or under-cooking it. Read on to find out what professional chefs do when pan-frying sirloin.

How to pan-fry sirloin steak

If you want to know how to cook a medium-rare sirloin steak in a frying pan or griddle pan, then this Irish sirloin steak with truffled mash recipe is a good place to start.

The key to cooking sirloin steak is to adjust the timing based on the thickness of the steak. For example, an inch-thick steak (2.5 cm) will take between four and five minutes of cooking per side to reach medium-rare. If your steak is about a centimetre thick, you should pan-fry it for 1.5 minutes per side for medium rare.

For a two-centimetre thick sirloin, up the cooking time to between three and four minutes per side. A very thick three-centimetre sirloin steak will need between five and six minutes of cooking for the same results.

Sirloin is a prime cut of beef that makes for an excellent Sunday roast. If you have a whole sirloin, preheat the oven to 200°C and place the meat fat-side down on a non-stick pan to sear it on the hob.

Next, simply transfer the steak to a suitably sized roasting tin and cook it in the oven for 15 minutes per kilo for medium rare, 20 minutes per kilo for medium, and 30 minutes per kilo for a well-done steak.

If the oven is fan-assisted, reduce these times by two minutes per kilo. Allow the sirloin joint to rest for 15 minutes after roasting.

Alternatively, to cook sirloin steak in the oven:
1. Sear the steak on each side in a frying pan for a minute or two. Based on an inch-thick steak, about two minutes will be right, but reduce the time if the steak you’re cooking is thinner.
2. Transfer the steak to a preheated oven and cook it for about six (medium-rare) to eight (well-done) minutes. Again, reduce the cooking time based on the steak's thickness.
3. Remove from the oven and allow the steak to rest for at least five minutes before serving.