Log in
Have you heard of this reverse sear thing? It’s what all the cool kids are doing. Traditionally, a restaurant method of cooking steak involved searing over incredibly high heat, then transferring to an oven to finish on a more gentle heat until done. The reverse sear method pretty much just flips the order, and involves first cooking the meat on a very low heat before searing the outside on a super hot surface.
The basic idea is that this way you have greater control over the Maillard Reaction (that magical process that turns things yummy and brown), because you’re making sure the high heat only comes into play right at the end and that the steak inside will be perfect. So, instead of an internal ring of different “doneness” your steak will be perfectly medium all the way through, save for the very outside.
Truth be told, I love my steaks rare, so a regular pan sear works for me, but there’s no denying this is the ultimate cook method to achieve a perfect medium/medium-rare throughout.
You will definitely need a meat thermometer to do this correctly – the ‘ol palm pinch test is not gunna cut it here! And though it ultimately takes longer to cook than other methods, because you’ve rested the steak before the sear, it’s ready to eat straight away.
I use an oven/pan to reverse sear, but you can definitely experiment with a smoking/grilling combo too.
Method after the pics!
- One behemothly thick steak (bone in ribeye works great!). It's going to need to be at least 1" thick if not more. The thicker, the better.
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Preheat oven to 135c/275f
- Place well seasoned steaks on a rack over a baking tray (cover the tray with foil to save yourself a clean up)
- Put in oven and cook til an internal temp of 125-135f depending on your preference of "doneness". Usually takes around 45-60 minutes.
- Remove when at temp and rest for 10-15 minutes under foil
- Preheat a skillet or heavy based pan to screamingly hot temperatures
- Sear steaks for one minute each side
- Serve immediately
reply
