Ribeye internal temp issues

njl

I wanted ribeye steaks the other night, and wasn't happy with any I found at the store, so as I've done many times before, I bought a ribeye roast (which they'd cut the bones off and tied back on).  It was a little over 4lbs.  When I got it home, I cut it in half making two ribeye steaks that were each a little more than 2" thick.  I also seasoned the bones, foodsavered them, and will sous vide them for a day or two.

Back to the steaks...I salted them, let them rest on the counter while doing other prep work for 20min or so, seared them, seasoned them, and cooked them at 300F for 30min, not really expecting that to be enough time, but figuring it'd be my first probing time.  At 30min, I stuck each with my thermapen from the side towards the center (entering from where the bones would have been, had they not been cut away).  I got mid 120s, probed a few other places and got readings anywhere from 125 to 145F.  I figured "these are either done, or over done", so I removed them, got everything else ready, then sliced into them, and they were quite rare.  So much so, that I put them back in for another 5min, and we still had meat ranging from med rare to rare.  

So...what I'm curious about is, with ribeyes that have large fatty regions between the muscle groups, does the fat heat up much faster than the meat, and form regions that will give a "false reading"?

Foghorn

This may or may not totally answer your question.  I think you may find less of an issue if you roast at a lower temp.  This will minimize the difference between the outer layers of meat and the very center.  Also, on a ribeye/prime rib, the fat layer between the outer muscle (cap) and inner muscle tends to act like a heat barrier.  It is common to see the meat peripheral to that be brown and the center meat much more red - again, especially if you roast at higher temps.  Some recommend roasting at 225-250 for this reason.

I hope that helps.  I recognize that I may have totally missed the mark so I look forward to reading input from others.  

pgprescott

Foghorn said:

This may or may not totally answer your question.  I think you may find less of an issue if you roast at a lower temp.  This will minimize the difference between the outer layers of meat and the very center.  Also, on a ribeye/prime rib, the fat layer between the outer muscle (cap) and inner muscle tends to act like a heat barrier.  It is common to see the meat peripheral to that be brown and the center meat much more red - again, especially if you roast at higher temps.  Some recommend roasting at 225-250 for this reason.

I hope that helps.  I recognize that I may have totally missed the mark so I look forward to reading input from others.  

Yeah, I agree. I like a high heat forward or direct sear for my steaks, but I eat rare - mid rare beef. I also cook them by feel as opposed to temp. When the give in the steak is where I want it I pull them. Much more probe friendly at lower temps. Good luck. 

SmokingPiney

At 2" thick I reverse sear: Cook indirect at 250 to an IT of around 110. Pull them and let them rest loosely covered  while I pull the plate setter and get the Egg nice and hot for direct cooking. Sear about a minute and change a side (use your judgement) and pull at about 130 IT for a nice medium rare.

The low and slow first part of the cook allows the steak to cook very evenly; the resting time settles it, and the sear ices the cake with a nice crust.

JohnInCarolina

SmokingPiney said:

At 2" thick I reverse sear: Cook indirect at 250 to an IT of around 110. Pull them and let them rest loosely covered  while I pull the plate setter and get the Egg nice and hot for direct cooking. Sear about a minute and change a side (use your judgement) and pull at about 130 IT for a nice medium rare.

The low and slow first part of the cook allows the steak to cook very evenly; the resting time settles it, and the sear ices the cake with a nice crust.

Yep, this is basically what I do as well.  That's a big plus of the reverse sear - insuring a minimum level of done-ness throughout.

SmokingPiney

JohnInCarolina said:

SmokingPiney said:

At 2" thick I reverse sear: Cook indirect at 250 to an IT of around 110. Pull them and let them rest loosely covered  while I pull the plate setter and get the Egg nice and hot for direct cooking. Sear about a minute and change a side (use your judgement) and pull at about 130 IT for a nice medium rare.

The low and slow first part of the cook allows the steak to cook very evenly; the resting time settles it, and the sear ices the cake with a nice crust.

Yep, this is basically what I do as well.  That's a big plus of the reverse sear - insuring a minimum level of done-ness throughout.

Exactly. 

gpsegg

I generally pull mine at 120 after cooking at 250* ,then rest for about 15 minutes and sear a minute a side for medium rare. @JohnInCarolina and @SmokingPiney , do you get a 20* rise in IT during the rest?

JohnInCarolina

gpsegg said:

I generally pull mine at 120 after cooking at 250* ,then rest for about 15 minutes and sear a minute a side for medium rare. @JohnInCarolina and @SmokingPiney , do you get a 20* rise in IT during the rest?

I don't know, I've never monitored the IT during the rest.  

SmokingPiney

@gpsegg, 

It will rise a bit, but not much. The high heat sear (I cook it 500-550) will take it to 130. A lot depends on the thickness and cut of steak, so there are some judgement calls involved. 

Ozzie_Isaac

Sous vide, then sear.

bboulier

I second those who recommend reverse sear.

20stone

Third the reverse sear. 

SV is the cheaty way to the same end, but I prefer the texture from the reverse sear. 

njl

I bet if we'd foiled them when we pulled them, that would have helped considerably...but I was worried they might be overdone when I pulled them, so foiling was not a consideration.

JohnInCarolina

20stone said:

Third the reverse sear. 

SV is the cheaty way to the same end, but I prefer the texture from the reverse sear. 

Better flavor profile too, in my opinion.  

SmokingPiney

njl said:

I bet if we'd foiled them when we pulled them, that would have helped considerably...but I was worried they might be overdone when I pulled them, so foiling was not a consideration.

A 2 plus inch steak is approaching "roast" level and needs some even cooking. Foiling might have helped, but reverse sear is the answer to big steaks like you described.

johnnyp

You asked about false readings.  In a thick steak, you'll have a temperature gradient as you move toward the center of the meat.  As you pass center, temp will increase again.  I suspect that you were not consistently reading the same depth of the steak and were likely under or over shooting center.

SmokingPiney

johnnyp said:

You asked about false readings.  In a thick steak, you'll have a temperature gradient as you move toward the center of the meat.  As you pass center, temp will increase again.  I suspect that you were not consistently reading the same depth of the steak and were likely under or over shooting center.

Herefore, we have Science............... Take away what you can from this, but don't forget that grilling and BBQ is far from an exact science. Just jump into it and learn - no exact science needed

njl

johnnyp said:

You asked about false readings.  In a thick steak, you'll have a temperature gradient as you move toward the center of the meat.  As you pass center, temp will increase again.  I suspect that you were not consistently reading the same depth of the steak and were likely under or over shooting center.

That's what you'd expect (coolest temps in the center), and so that's where I try sticking the probe when taking a reading.  But sticking the probe in near the center from different angles, I was getting wildly different numbers...so either I have another Thermapen failing, or something (my guess was fat) was causing the hunk of meat to have reached very different temperatures in different central regions.  A ribeye, depending on exactly which ribs its from, is multiple different muscle groups, separated by fat.  My guess was that fat and meat heat at different rates.