You can pay a lot of money when going out to a restaurant for a nice, flavorful steak dinner. Or you can stay home and make it yourself! All you need is a good steak, a cast iron skillet, a gas grill with side burner (or stovetop and oven), butter and a high-smoke-point oil (like avocado oil), salt and pepper, and a pair of long-handled tongs.

Using a cast iron skillet is one of the best methods to cook your steak, but you also need to make sure you begin with a good steak to get the best results. Talk to your butcher about getting a nice cut of meat like a boneless ribeye steak—boneless because the bone can reduce contact with the pan and, therefore, reduce the amount of caramelization on the outside of the meat. Look for a "choice" or "prime" grade steak, though keep in mind prime grade will cost a lot more.

You should also have a good instant-read digital thermometer for taking the internal temperature of the steak. You don't want to cut into the meat until you're ready to eat, so having this tool is the best way to determine doneness.

Also, keep in mind—this cooking method uses extreme temperatures that can melt through oven mitts so be very careful!