Take your steak out of the refrigerator thirty to forty minutes before you want to cook it.A steak that is one inch thick should be seared in a skillet for 12 to 13 minutes, while a steak that is one and a half inches thick should be seared for 14 to 15 minutes.The meat should be turned once approximately one minute before the halfway point.A thermometer used for meat should read 130 degrees Fahrenheit.