how to broil steak without a broiler pan

This recipe is an easy way to feed a whole bunch of people, and it's always a big hit at our poker night.

How to Cook a Steak in the Oven

I love the summertime because the grill comes out. That means I don't have to do any cooking besides a few sides here and there. We have some of the most amazing meals courtesy of my very own grill master fiancé. Unfortunately, when the weather dips below zero, the grill isn't as much fun.

We have been known to grill in the winter, but there are some days when you want a steak when cooking outside is out of the question. Due to a recent move out west, our grill is still in Vermont and we are in Wisconsin. We had a more dire need to learn how to cook a steak indoors. Others do this all the time—why can't we?

What You'll Need

Working oven
Two oven racks
Baking sheet
Non-stick spray

Instructions

Clean one oven rack thoroughly. Spray it with cooking spray and set it aside.
Place the baking sheet on the remaining rack and set your oven to "broil high."
Once the oven is preheated, put the sprayed rack in the oven, about two inches above the other rack.
Pull out the lower rack so the two racks are even. Put the steak directly on the top rack, making sure the baking sheet is under it at all times.
Push both racks in at the same time and cook, flipping the meat to cook the other side.
Enjoy!

A Broiler Pan Doesn't Come With the Oven?

We had never used the broiler in our oven until we learned this trick. To be honest, we really didn't know what it was for or how to use it. Now that we've learned a few tricks, we love the broiler!

We were craving a big juicy steak one night. So, we decided to buy one and figure out how to cook it later. We tend to do this a lot; some would say it's crazy, others would say it's motivation to learn. After a few minutes of struggling, I did what any young lady in the kitchen would do when she was lost: I called my mama. She said to pull out the broiler pan, season up the steak, and throw it in for a few minutes on each side. Well, that sounded easy and I was confident I could succeed. I searched around the kitchen, knowing I didn't purposely buy a broiler pan. Then, I remembered my mother always pulled it from the bottom drawer of the stove. Ding! I opened up the drawer fully believing this pan must be there. To my dismay, it was empty.

A broiler pan doesn't come with the oven?

Well, Good News Honey—You're Healthy!

After several minutes of getting lost in my daydreams of ovens being delivered with broiler pans and directions to cook succulent steaks, I realized I still had raw meat on my cutting board and a hungry man in the living room. My fiancé finally came out saying how his cold must be worse than he thought because he couldn't even smell the steak cooking.

As he was stating this fact, he looked down at the raw meat on the counter. Well, good news honey, you're healthy! Bad news? You're probably going to go hungry tonight. Just like a superhero in the comic books, he effortlessly said, "Well, let's improvise." I guess superheroes never said they were about to improvise, but I'm almost positive that it's how they made it through so many hairy situations.

Apparently, This Isn't That uncommon!

This was some of the juiciest, most succulent steak we ever cooked in the oven. We were quite proud of ourselves. After bragging it up to others, we found out that this is a common way to broil when you don't own a broiler pan. We were still proud and cooked yet another steak the next night.

Chicken Tip: I always wondered how people could get chicken to taste moist but still have a crispy crust on the outside. This is how you do it:

Bake your chicken for about 5 minutes less than the regular time
Turn the broiler on for the last 5 minutes.
Voila! Now you have an amazingly juicy chicken with a beautiful crispy outside.

Do You Broil?

Amber on July 15, 2012:

THANK YOU! I've avoided recipes involving broiling for so long because I never had a broiling pan but this solves that problem so easily. Trying this tonight with a beef roast.

Nidhi Singh from Austin on April 20, 2012:

Thanks for the great tip! this cooks the meat perfectly!