The reverse sear is the redneck version of sous vide...

HogHeaven

Cazzy... I'm curious what the diameter is of that cast iron grid in the picture. Do you know?

Little Steven

There are a few similarities between sous vide and Xert (slow and then sear) but not many that I can see

HogHeaven

Little Steven said:

There are a few similarities between sous vide and Xert (slow and then sear) but not many that I can see

Yes... I agree and so does the guy that wrote that statement originally. Had you clicked on the link I left you, you would have seen that his original intent was to get the benefits of the sous vide method... Without buying the equipment. He is a Master Chef and would know how to experiment like that. If you read his article you will find he takes no credit for inventing the reverse sear or even being the first to do it. He does however get the most and warranted recognitions for popularizing it. Sous vide was his motivation for studying it.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

cazzy said:

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

I didn't read ll that yet but I assume you are just talking for grilling steaks or something like that. It's similar but definitely not the same as SV. with SV you cook a steak at like 125 for a few hours then reverse sear. BUT, you can also cook a roast or ribs for 5 days and it will still be med rare and fork tender. Pretty crazy textures and flavors. The big difference to me comes in the more delicate, non fatty cuts like chicken breast and fish. You can safely cook them a far lower temps (like 147 for chicken breast) and it makes the texture and flavor sublime. Juice pours out of a fully cooked chicken breast and they are far more tender. None of this can be achieved without hours under pressure at lower temps. I Highly recommend SV cooking for many things.I don't do steaks that way much anymore but I wouldn't grill a chicken breast for anything. It's a game changer on certain foods that a reverse sear couldn't accomplish.

Cen, what's your favorite finishing method after SV? Torch, grill, or pan sear?

If I had to pick one: cast iron.

Chubbs

HogHeaven said:

Cazzy... I'm curious what the diameter is of that cast iron grid in the picture. Do you know?

Been using this setup for a long time. It is 13" cast iron grid for small egg put it on spider from CGS. Used the grid extender like you do for a year before this setup and the cast iron in spider works way better. Grid extender is still the worst eggsessory out there IMO. Hell... Just throw the steaks right on the coals if you want a sear that bad.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

this thread reminded me of an oldie but a goodie: http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1145949/perfect-sous-vide-steaks-in-3-steps-and-no-words-its-that-easy#latest

HogHeaven

Thanks Chubbs... If they made that CI grate 1/2 inch wider you wouldn't need a spider. I'm not a big fan of grill marks so I like my cheap GX grill extender. I prefer to have my steaks that dark brown mahogany color all over instead of just on the dark lines. Throwing the steaks right on the coals huh... Some people have done that but it seems barbaric to me. No thanks on that.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

HogHeaven said:

Thanks Chubbs... If they made that CI grate 1/2 inch wider you wouldn't need a spider. I'm not a big fan of grill marks so I like my cheap GX grill extender. I prefer to have my steaks that dark brown mahogany color all over instead of just on the dark lines. Throwing the steaks right on the coals huh... Some people have done that but it seems barbaric to me. No thanks on that.

works great to throw them right on the coals. I use the same setup as Chubbs but i used to throw my grid extender right on the lump. It rusted out after a month or so so i stopped using it. Nothing sears like a cast iron skillet. 100% delicious caramelized goodness

cazzy

HogHeaven said:

Cazzy... Thanks for the picture. I like your set up. You are cooking with hot intense heat for the whole cook. I prefer to go low and slow for the first part of the cook until the interior temp is 110 degrees. Then I drop it down to about 2" from the red hot lump to finish the cook. Your method obviously works very well too. It really is nice to come on here and see how everyone does their cooks. Happy Egging and dine well...

No, not at all. After I sear, I pull off the spider and throw on my adjustable rig. At that point, I'll roast my steaks above the felt at 400 until I reach my desired temp. The Spider/CI gridis purely for searing...

The Cen-Tex Smoker

cazzy said:

Cazzy... Thanks for the picture. I like your set up. You are cooking with hot intense heat for the whole cook. I prefer to go low and slow for the first part of the cook until the interior temp is 110 degrees. Then I drop it down to about 2" from the red hot lump to finish the cook. Your method obviously works very well too. It really is nice to come on here and see how everyone does their cooks. Happy Egging and dine well...

No, not at all. After I sear, I pull off the spider and throw on my adjustable rig. At that point, I'll roast my steaks above the felt at 400 until I reach my desired temp. The Spider/CI gridis purely for searing...

Why do you pull your spider? rig fits right over it. My spider never leaves the egg

cazzy

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

this thread reminded me of an oldie but a goodie:


http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1145949/perfect-sous-vide-steaks-in-3-steps-and-no-words-its-that-easy#latest

Haha. I loved that thread! Great cook!

Little Steven

Cazzy,

The spider fits in the indents on the fire ring. I don't bother taking it out...just throw the rig on.

cazzy

Little Steven said:

Cazzy,

The spider fits in the indents on the fire ring. I don't bother taking it out...just throw the rig on.

Good point! I'll do that from now on as its not like the grid is going to block heat. Lol

cazzy

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

cazzy said:

HogHeaven said:

Cazzy... Thanks for the picture. I like your set up. You are cooking with hot intense heat for the whole cook. I prefer to go low and slow for the first part of the cook until the interior temp is 110 degrees. Then I drop it down to about 2" from the red hot lump to finish the cook. Your method obviously works very well too. It really is nice to come on here and see how everyone does their cooks. Happy Egging and dine well...

No, not at all. After I sear, I pull off the spider and throw on my adjustable rig. At that point, I'll roast my steaks above the felt at 400 until I reach my desired temp. The Spider/CI gridis purely for searing...

Why do you pull your spider? rig fits right over it. My spider never leaves the egg

Don't know, cause I guess cause I over think and didn't want the cast iron grid to deflect heat. Sounds really dumb the more I think about it. Lol. Good looking out guys!

HogHeaven

Got a picture of the AR rig?

cazzy

HogHeaven said:

Got a picture of the AR rig?

Tons of info here:

http://www.ceramicgrillstore.com/big-green-egg-large-adjustable-rig.html

Best accessory I own!

HogHeaven

cazzy said:

cazzy said:

Cazzy... Thanks for the picture. I like your set up. You are cooking with hot intense heat for the whole cook. I prefer to go low and slow for the first part of the cook until the interior temp is 110 degrees. Then I drop it down to about 2" from the red hot lump to finish the cook. Your method obviously works very well too. It really is nice to come on here and see how everyone does their cooks. Happy Egging and dine well...

No, not at all. After I sear, I pull off the spider and throw on my adjustable rig. At that point, I'll roast my steaks above the felt at 400 until I reach my desired temp. The Spider/CI gridis purely for searing...

Why do you pull your spider? rig fits right over it. My spider never leaves the egg

Don't know, cause I guess cause I over think and didn't want the cast iron grid to deflect heat. Sounds really dumb the more I think about it. Lol. Good looking out guys!

So... You both prefer the T-Rex method. What if there was scientific facts that proved that low and slow at the start of the cook and then seared at the end produced a superior end result. Would you change your technic?

The Cen-Tex Smoker

HogHeaven said:

cazzy said:

cazzy said:

Cazzy... Thanks for the picture. I like your set up. You are cooking with hot intense heat for the whole cook. I prefer to go low and slow for the first part of the cook until the interior temp is 110 degrees. Then I drop it down to about 2" from the red hot lump to finish the cook. Your method obviously works very well too. It really is nice to come on here and see how everyone does their cooks. Happy Egging and dine well...

No, not at all. After I sear, I pull off the spider and throw on my adjustable rig. At that point, I'll roast my steaks above the felt at 400 until I reach my desired temp. The Spider/CI gridis purely for searing...

Why do you pull your spider? rig fits right over it. My spider never leaves the egg

Don't know, cause I guess cause I over think and didn't want the cast iron grid to deflect heat. Sounds really dumb the more I think about it. Lol. Good looking out guys!

So... You both prefer the T-Rex method. What if there was scientific facts that proved that low and slow at the start of the cook and then seared at the end produced a superior end result. Would you change your technic?

me? no i'm all reverse sear. I just sous vide first. If i don't SV first, I just drink a bunch of beer and grill it at normal level really hot.

cazzy

HogHeaven said:

cazzy said:

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

cazzy said:

HogHeaven said:

Cazzy... Thanks for the picture. I like your set up. You are cooking with hot intense heat for the whole cook. I prefer to go low and slow for the first part of the cook until the interior temp is 110 degrees. Then I drop it down to about 2" from the red hot lump to finish the cook. Your method obviously works very well too. It really is nice to come on here and see how everyone does their cooks. Happy Egging and dine well...

No, not at all. After I sear, I pull off the spider and throw on my adjustable rig. At that point, I'll roast my steaks above the felt at 400 until I reach my desired temp. The Spider/CI gridis purely for searing...

Why do you pull your spider? rig fits right over it. My spider never leaves the egg

Don't know, cause I guess cause I over think and didn't want the cast iron grid to deflect heat. Sounds really dumb the more I think about it. Lol. Good looking out guys!

So... You both prefer the T-Rex method. What if there was scientific facts that proved that low and slow at the start of the cook and then seared at the end produced a superior end result. Would you change your technic?

As I say again, I will try it eventually. If I'm going by scientific facts, I'll go with SV which is next on my list to do.

I can't even call what I do TREX, sure It has similarities but my process is completely different. I also use alot less lump, avoid flashbacks, and spend a lot less time. I read TREX method on the whiz and never looked at it again....seemed like too much work. After I saw the spider/cast iron combo, I knew what road I was headed to.

I'm like my momma, I cook by feel in most regards outside of checking finishing temps. Usually when a steak looks done, I check temp and I'm very close.

HogHeaven

@The Cen-Tex Smoker... If you do sous vide first, that is your only option. Weather you do it on the grill or the stove top. How about you Cazzy... Use the same exact setup as you are using now, just put it on top first, then lower it down to your spider and CI grate at the end of the cook... If, and only if, you got a superior finished product?

The Cen-Tex Smoker

cazzy said:

HogHeaven said:

cazzy said:

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

cazzy said:

HogHeaven said:

Cazzy... Thanks for the picture. I like your set up. You are cooking with hot intense heat for the whole cook. I prefer to go low and slow for the first part of the cook until the interior temp is 110 degrees. Then I drop it down to about 2" from the red hot lump to finish the cook. Your method obviously works very well too. It really is nice to come on here and see how everyone does their cooks. Happy Egging and dine well...

No, not at all. After I sear, I pull off the spider and throw on my adjustable rig. At that point, I'll roast my steaks above the felt at 400 until I reach my desired temp. The Spider/CI gridis purely for searing...

Why do you pull your spider? rig fits right over it. My spider never leaves the egg

Don't know, cause I guess cause I over think and didn't want the cast iron grid to deflect heat. Sounds really dumb the more I think about it. Lol. Good looking out guys!

So... You both prefer the T-Rex method. What if there was scientific facts that proved that low and slow at the start of the cook and then seared at the end produced a superior end result. Would you change your technic?

As I say again, I will try it eventually. If I'm going by scientific facts, I'll go with SV which is next on my list to do.

I can't even call what I do TREX, sure It has similarities but my process is completely different. I also use alot less lump, avoid flashbacks, and spend a lot less time. I read TREX method on the whiz and never looked at it again....seemed like too much work. After I saw the spider/cast iron combo, I knew what road I was headed to.

I'm like my momma, I cook by feel in most regards outside of checking finishing temps. Usually when a steak looks done, I check temp and I'm very close.


No matter which method i use, I rarely check temp when I go hot/fast. All by feel and look. Screwed up plenty over the years but not so much anymore.

cazzy

HogHeaven said:

@The Cen-Tex Smoker... If you do sous vide first, that is your only option. Weather you do it on the grill or the stove top. How about you Cazzy... Use the same exact setup as you are using now, just put it on top first, then lower it down to your spider and CI grate at the end of the cook... If, and only if, you got a superior finished product?

Having a lil trouble following, so I'm guessing you're asking how would I set up my egg to finish a steak after sous vide. Well, I would set up my egg with the spider and CI grid. After seasoning the meat, I would sear and then throw em on the dinner plates to rest with garlic butter balls on top.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

HogHeaven said:

@The Cen-Tex Smoker... If you do sous vide first, that is your only option. Weather you do it on the grill or the stove top. How about you Cazzy... Use the same exact setup as you are using now, just put it on top first, then lower it down to your spider and CI grate at the end of the cook... If, and only if, you got a superior finished product?

There are many ways to finish off SV Cooks. Not just searing.

HogHeaven

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

cazzy said:

cazzy said:

Cazzy... Thanks for the picture. I like your set up. You are cooking with hot intense heat for the whole cook. I prefer to go low and slow for the first part of the cook until the interior temp is 110 degrees. Then I drop it down to about 2" from the red hot lump to finish the cook. Your method obviously works very well too. It really is nice to come on here and see how everyone does their cooks. Happy Egging and dine well...

No, not at all. After I sear, I pull off the spider and throw on my adjustable rig. At that point, I'll roast my steaks above the felt at 400 until I reach my desired temp. The Spider/CI gridis purely for searing...

Why do you pull your spider? rig fits right over it. My spider never leaves the egg

Don't know, cause I guess cause I over think and didn't want the cast iron grid to deflect heat. Sounds really dumb the more I think about it. Lol. Good looking out guys!

So... You both prefer the T-Rex method. What if there was scientific facts that proved that low and slow at the start of the cook and then seared at the end produced a superior end result. Would you change your technic?

As I say again, I will try it eventually. If I'm going by scientific facts, I'll go with SV which is next on my list to do. I can't even call what I do TREX, sure It has similarities but my process is completely different. I also use alot less lump, avoid flashbacks, and spend a lot less time. I read TREX method on the whiz and never looked at it again....seemed like too much work. After I saw the spider/cast iron combo, I knew what road I was headed to. I'm like my momma, I cook by feel in most regards outside of checking finishing temps. Usually when a steak looks done, I check temp and I'm very close.

No matter which method i use, I rarely check temp when I go hot/fast. All by feel and look. Screwed up plenty over the years but not so much anymore.

Cooking is science, physics and feel, an art form... A combination of all of the above. People spend a lifetime studying it. Someone figured out what the miallard reaction is and what the science of carmelization is. They know how high heat effects the interior of the the meat and the exterior of the meat. They have studied how the water in meat assist in the cooking process and how that effect the salt in and on the meat... And these people that have devoted their entire career's to understanding this stuff you and I have no time for - through trial and error and expensive tests have published reports that if you cook a steak low and slow, at the start of the cook and drop it down at the end to carmelize the crust at the end you will have a more tender and balanced interior color of pink, bumper to bumper.

HogHeaven

All of that science is here for the taking... This is from Master Chef's and scientist's. It is not opinion. Check it out. It's 1 page of information that's meaningful. http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/cooking_temperatures_and_reverese_sear.html

cazzy

All right sir...I'll check it out.

Since you're about science, you need to get a immersion circulator. Sous Vide is the most accurate way to cook a cut of meat. The non redneck approach will win every time...

HogHeaven

cazzy said:

All right sir...I'll check it out. Since you're about science, you need to get a immersion circulator. Sous Vide is the most accurate way to cook a cut of meat. The non redneck approach will win every time...

I know huh... It's on my list. Since getting my BGE and being newly retired, and finding Amazingribs.com, I've discovered how little I knew about grilling and BBQ and smoking. Even though I've done both for the better part of 45 years. And... Because the ownser's Manual of my BGE says I can cook bread, I've taken take up too. I have my own sourdough starter that I'm learning to maintain and use. I can only do so much at a time. I have the Modernist Cuisine 6 book set that is probably the best format of learning about Sous Vide there is... I just like to operate a little at a time. I will work on that eventually.

cazzy

Awesome! Congrats on the retirement sir! I have the home issue of modernist cuisine...love it!

If you don't mind me asking, what did you retire from?

HogHeaven

cazzy said:

Awesome! Congrats on the retirement sir! I have the home issue of modernist cuisine...love it! If you don't mind me asking, what did you retire from?

I was in the furniture manufacturing industry for 40 years... And made a few good investment's along the way. Obamacare was going to increase my cost of labor so much I had a willing buyer and sold out!

cazzy

Good for you!!