Sirloin Steak Recipe With Mushrooms and Onions

Of all the sirloin steak recipes worth knowing, this is the one for a weeknight. Two top sirloin steaks are seared in a heavy skillet, rested, and served under mushrooms and onions cooked in the same pan with butter, garlic, thyme and a splash of beef stock. It takes about 35 minutes and one pan.

Top sirloin is cut from the sirloin, between the short loin and the round. It is lean, firm-textured and full of beef flavor, without the heavy marbling of a ribeye. That makes it a good steak to pair with something rich, and mushrooms cooked in butter and the steak's own drippings are about as rich as a weeknight gets.

At a glance: serves 4. Prep 10 minutes, cook about 25 minutes, total 35 minutes.

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PM Top Sirloin Steak

This recipe uses 2 top sirloin steaks, 1 3/4 to 2 pounds in all, enough for four.

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Cooking for a full freezer instead? See the 1/8 beef share subscription.

Gray Shipley, who runs the farm, was talking about burgers, not steak, when he said:

“let the flavor do the work and don't try to do too much.”

Gray Shipley

The advice travels well. Nothing in this recipe hides the steak. It gets salt, pepper and a hard sear, and the mushrooms and onions are cooked in the fat and browned bits it leaves behind, with only butter, garlic and thyme for company.

Ingredients

• 2 top sirloin steaks, 14 to 16 ounces each
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon neutral oil, such as canola or avocado
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 1 large yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 8 ounces cremini or white mushrooms, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, or 1/2 teaspoon dried
• 1/2 cup beef stock or broth
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (optional)
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley, to serve

Instructions

1. Pat the steaks dry with paper towels and season both sides with 1 1/2 teaspoons of the salt and all of the pepper.
2. Heat a 12-inch cast-iron or heavy stainless skillet over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. Add the oil and heat until it shimmers.
3. Lay the steaks in the pan and cook without moving them for 4 to 5 minutes, until a deep brown crust forms. Turn them and cook for 3 to 5 minutes more, until a thermometer in the thickest part reads your target. USDA FSIS sets 145 degrees F with a 3-minute rest as the safe minimum for beef steaks. Thicker steaks take longer; turn the heat down a little if the crust darkens too fast.
4. Move the steaks to a cutting board, cover them loosely with foil and let them rest while you cook the vegetables.
5. Turn the heat to medium. Add 2 tablespoons of the butter and the onion to the same skillet and cook, stirring now and then, for about 5 minutes, until the onion softens and starts to brown.
6. Add the mushrooms and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 6 to 8 minutes, until the mushrooms have given up their liquid and browned. Add the garlic and thyme and stir for 30 seconds.
7. Pour in the stock and Worcestershire, scrape up the browned bits, and simmer for about 2 minutes, until the liquid has reduced to a glossy coating. Turn off the heat and stir in the last tablespoon of butter and any juices from the cutting board.
8. Slice the steaks across the grain, spoon the mushrooms and onions over them, scatter with parsley and serve.

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A sirloin steak recipe that fits a weeknight

The order is what makes it quick. The steak goes first, and while it rests, the vegetables cook in the pan it left behind. The browned bits on the bottom of the skillet are where much of the flavor is, and the stock lifts them into the sauce. Use a pan big enough to hold both steaks with space between them; crowded steaks steam instead of browning. If your skillet is smaller, cook one steak at a time and keep the first loosely covered on the board.

Cremini mushrooms have a little more flavor than white ones, but either works. Give them time. They release their water first and only brown once it has cooked away, and the early pinch of salt helps them let it go.

What cut is top sirloin?

Top sirloin is the most familiar of the sirloin steaks: a boneless steak from the top of the sirloin. It is leaner and firmer than ribeye or strip, with a clean beef flavor, and lean steaks firm up quickly as they cook past medium, so a thermometer is worth using. Slice it across the grain and it eats tender. If you are deciding between sirloin and a fattier steak, see Sirloin vs Ribeye: Which Steak Should You Buy?.

More recipes for sirloin steaks

Once you have the sear down, top sirloin goes a long way:

• With chimichurri. A sharp, herby green sauce suits sirloin's leanness. See Dry-Aged Sirloin with Chimichurri.
• With a red wine pan sauce. Sear as above, then deglaze the pan with 1/2 cup red wine and 1/2 cup stock instead of cooking the vegetables.
• Sliced cold. Leftover sirloin, sliced thin across the grain, is good over salad greens or in a sandwich.
• Plain and perfect. The searing technique on its own is in How to Pan-Sear Steak.

A recipe with sirloin steak for two

To cook for two, use one steak and halve everything else. The steak's cooking time stays the same, since it depends on thickness rather than how many steaks are in the pan. Half the mushrooms will brown a little faster, so start checking them at 5 minutes.

Food safety

USDA FSIS lists 145 degrees F, followed by a rest of at least 3 minutes, as the safe minimum internal temperature for beef steaks. Check it with an instant-read thermometer pushed into the side of the steak to the center. Many cooks take sirloin off the heat at 130 to 135 degrees F for medium rare. That is below the FSIS figure, and the choice is yours. Refrigerate leftovers promptly. See the FSIS Safe Minimum Internal Temperature Chart.