Let's talk Reverse Seared Steaks

Thatgrimguy

I'd love for us to put together a collection of experiences from our eggers here on what you do for a steak during reverse sear. Let's get all the tips and info into one place for new eggers. And for me, as I have nearly $400 in steak to cook on Saturday night. We are comparing a dry aged Lobel's of NY tomahawk to a SRF dry aged bone in Ribeye.


I'm thinking a list of your average steak cook.


Steak Thickness                       
Steak Type
Smoke/slow Temp
Temp when pulled to sear
Sear Details
Final Pull Temp
Final Temp Goal
Do You Rest / How Long
How Do You Rest (tented, open, do you add anything)


Or if you don't want to do that, just drop your favorite tips or pics in the comments.

lousubcap

First up-congrats on the pending cook.  But to be as close to equal you will have to go again with the same cut of steaks from the two vendors.  Better to be lucky than good right there.

Now for some input to your listing:

Steak Thickness   -I will go reverse sear, caveman finish with anything around 1" thick or greater.  (I will leave the 1/2" discussion to others).                   
Steak Type - ribeye the preferred cut but will use the above criteria for any steak cut.
Smoke/slow Temp - generally around 250 *F (tops)
Temp when pulled to sear- around 120-122*F (I like 'em rare).
Sear Details- The sear predominantly consists of straight on the coals caveman for the win.
Final Pull Temp- 122-125*F.  But that is where it lands after the caveman flips.  (Quick read thermo if you want.)
Final Temp- Goal about the same as the above as there is very little to no carry-over depending on the going in thickness.
Do You Rest / How Long - rest no more than 3-5 minutes.
How Do You Rest (tented, open, do you add anything)- rest open but as soon as it hits the platter that's when the fresh ground pepper is added. 

True confession - if on the very rare occasion I am cooking a Japanese A5 then I cook it in a very hot cast iron pan. 

That's it from here.

Hope you get several responses. 

Dyal_SC

I like a nicely marbled ribeye, about 2 inches thick. Or a nice thick filet. Low and slow at around 200-225 deg f. No smoke, just salt. Cook until it’s about 118-120 deg f internal. Pull and rest uncovered until you get a CI skillet nice and smoking hot. Dome open. Add in some oil that has a high burn point, and some unsalted butter (salted butter tends to burn).  And some garlic and thyme sprigs.  Nice contact of the steak to skillet, just about 2 minutes per side, spooning the juices on top as you go. I never poke the steak to pull… just give it the thumb test. Imagine it’s around 128-130 deg f internal.  Top with compound butter and some cracked pepper at this point. Pepper will be a bit bitter and burned if it’s seared at a high temp.  Rest loosely tented for 10 minutes before slicing. Seems to keep the juices from running wild and the surface moist, not dried out. 

buzd504

Unpopular opinions:

Caveman process sucks.  Touching the coals is problematic for a really good sear.

I have a hard time eating a whole traditional cut these days (i.e ribeye, strip - don't even bring up filets)

When we have steak, we do flank (hangar or flat iron if feeling fancy) and do hot and fast.  The gradient ni thickness leaves some rare enough to reheat without overcooking so we have leftovers.

Sue me.

Thatgrimguy

lousubcap said:

First up-congrats on the pending cook.  But to be as close to equal you will have to go again with the same cut of steaks from the two vendors.  Better to be lucky than good right there.

Well I’m not comparing cooking styles as I’ve done this more than a few times; I am really comparing vendors. But before I cook anything that I really care about I like to go back to the drawing board and make sure my normal technique is still the best technique, additionally I’m hoping this can become a resource for new cooks to the forum as well.

kl8ton

Following!

fishlessman

not a reverse sear guy, prefer trex. that being said they cook way fast (you probably know this).  for a rub theres only salt on a dry aged. any resting is done on a rack not covered, nothing worse than dropping it on a cold platter as the last step, the juices just pour out.  dry aged is very filling for me, ill get two cooks out of a nice cut ribeye, not pretty to cut it before the cook but i dont want leftovers with this cut. would rather it be two small thick ribeye steaks than one big one

Foghorn

Because I have the luxury of an XXL with a swing grate and a large cast iron plancha, I use the plancha on the lower level to block the heat - so it heats up pretty well while the steaks roast above it at 225-275 (doesn’t really matter as long as it is in that range).  When the internal meat temp gets over 100 I swing the top grate to the side, close the lower vent and leave the lid open until the flame spreads across the top of the coals and the cast iron gets really hot. I usually pull it at about 110 or so and let it rise as my wife likes it finished at 122-125. Then I put a little butter on the cast iron and sear the steaks.  These are from different cooks and are different cuts of meat but hopefully you get the idea   As for favorite cuts I’ll just go with “not ribeye”.  Porterhouse/T-bone, filet, Picanha are at the top of the list  

CPFC1905

Great topic. 

Lots to say on this, but will uncharacteristically refrain. 

Bone in = reverse sear. 

Thick steak = usually reverse sear 

Lean steak = over coals or v hot plancha

Rib eye, picanha = reverse sear for the melt 

Thin steak = hot and fast on plancha 

Reverse sear IT : pull at 75% of target, sear to 90% or less, never more.  Rest for as long as possible. 

I only ever use SPG or just coarse salt. 

GrateEggspectations

This may be an unpopular position, but I’m not a fan of the reverse sear. 

When searing first, I feel I can focus on getting the perfect crust dialed in before worrying about internal temp. 

When reverse searing, I feel like my ability to dial in the crust is contingent upon not overcooking the steak, as I’m having to control both the level of surface caramelization and monitor IT at the same time, sometimes having to stop short of the prefect crust for fear of overcooking. 

Works for some, I have no doubt, but reverse sear is not my preferred method. 

Foghorn

@GrateEggspectations, that is why I now pull the steak off at 108-110 degrees …

GrateEggspectations

Foghorn said:

@GrateEggspectations, that is why I now pull the steak off at 108-110 degrees …

Totally get it, but you’re still having to monitor two variables at once during the sear. The reason I prefer the traditional approach is that you only have to wrangle one variable at a time (unless you’re dealing with the famous 1/2” steaks, in which case you are similarly having to monitor both aspects at once), giving you greater control. 

For me, the traditional method allows me to dial in the sear to my ideal before worrying about what’s going on beyond the crust. 

WoodworkerBED

Still learning but I like to go with a 2" steak, t-bone porterhouse, pretreated  with homemade Texas Roadhouse rub both sides.  I take them up to 100 F internal at 250 F indirect and then pull them.  Remove the place setter, put a grid directly on the fire ring and crank her up to 550-600 dome temperature.  For a rare steak I go 2/2 and for a medium rare 3/3.  Melted butter, garlic, thyme spread on the steaks after they are taken off the BGE.