Okay so, what I like to do after the steak comes out of the oven, is of course to let it rest 5-10 minutes, depending on the size of the steak. A little tip that I learned about from all places, ChatGPT (excellent for cooking btw), js to put a piece of aluminum foil loosely over the steak while it is resting. As far as what I do with the cast iron, I have several pieces and I will try to use as small of a pan as possible. But I will start heating the cast iron pan up 20 minutes out — albeit, on low heat (for my piece of garbage 20 year old range, that’s heat level number 3). What I’ve realized, is that because of how well cast iron holds heat, you can attain temperatures quite high that originate from a heat setting that’s lower than I’d have thought. I also think having the proper tools is quintessential. I’m no pro chef — the Bluetooth thermometer that I use takes most, if not all of the skill out of the equation. I don’t currently have one, but I think if I had a temp gun to see the quantified value of how hot my pan is, I’d be more consistent. I’m developing a feel for my pan/range/temps but I know it really all comes down to how how the pan is and how quickly it got to that temperature. So anyway, I’ll slowly and gradually build up the heat setting on my range from 2-3, maybe five minutes go by, I set it 4.5, another 5 I dial it up to 5.5, and after about 20 minutes I’ll finally be sitting on a solid 6-7, and I’d be on that setting for a good 8-10 minutes already. Plenty of smoke coming from the cast iron by this point, not too much, if there is, I’ll lower the heat if i mistimed the steak in the oven. But essentially for me, if the pan has been on about 6-7 for about 10 minutes, from a gradual build up, I know that that’s the money spot. Once the meat is done resting, I’ll gently lay it on the pan, and I can tell (because of how many times I’ve fucked it up) right away from the sonic quality of the sizzle, and the amount of smoke generated, whether or not I nailed it. It’s just something you know immediately. I’ll then sear the first side (depending on thickness) about 60 seconds, I’ll then flip it, sear for about 15 seconds, and then drop the heat to Lo and continue to wear for another 45 seconds. That’s when I throw in the butter, garlic, and shallots. The butter will quickly start to bubble at this temp, but not burn, and when it does bubble, you throw in some aromatics (thyme is standard from my estimation), and then I’ll take a larger sized spoon and baste it over and over for about 2-3 minutes. This might sound easy, but the dichotomy of tilting a heavy ass cast iron with one hand, and then subsequently basting a steak with finesse with the other hand, for me, proved quite difficult. Many times. Until, I was just able to do it. That’s about it. Then I’ll transfer the steak to my cutting board and dig right into it because I’m such an impatient lad, especially while I’m salivating and audibly, like every dude who cooks, being verbose with my “oooooh yeah look at that crust.” - “oh my Fu… that color holy Fu…” I hope this helps.