Reverse sear

[CUAngler]

So I'm without my egg for a year and I have to do my steaks on the cast iron for a while. I've been a t-rex guy, but I've seen people doing the reverse sear for a while now. I finally decided to try it and I think it's going to be my method of choice from here on out. I've eaten at some pretty good steakhouses and I'd put it up there with some of the best I've had... granted those were prime cuts.

amazingribs.com has several good write ups on the reverse sear here:

http://www.amazingribs.com/tips_and_...rese_sear.html

http://www.amazingribs.com/recipes/b...se_steaks.html



Anyway here you go:


Choice ribeyes patted down w/ grapeseed oil and s/p and a little garlic after reaching 115 in the oven.


Cast iron maxed out. Notice how the center got white.


Might have left this side on a tad too long.


Med rare


Note how there is an even amount of redness throughout the cut. There isn't a dried, overcooked outer rim between the crust and the center like you get with your regular sear. This is the benefit of the reverse sear. See the following diagram.

[carolinaboy06]

Nice!

[Chuck the Duck Slayer]

Best way to cook steaks in my opinion.

That the only color thermapen you could find?

[CUAngler]

Best way to cook steaks in my opinion.

That the only color thermapen you could find?

It was a gift, so I can't complain too much. That and a maverick et 372 are an unstoppable combo.

[DJP]

Looks good. I can't wait to try it.

[mudflat]

I like doing that but with a different variation. Saute some peppers, onions, mushrooms and place them on the steak after the flip. Cover that with mot-z- rella cheese. Put a lid on it to melt the cheese.

[kquinn]

So did you set the oven at 115 or 135?

How long does it take to get the steaks to 115 in the oven?

[CUAngler]

So did you set the oven at 115 or 135?

How long does it take to get the steaks to 115 in the oven?

The oven gets set on 250. It takes about 35-45 mins to get 1.5" steaks up to 115.

[carolinaboy06]

Well, I had to try it and damn if it wasn't one of the better steaks I've cooked, without a grill.

[quackersncheez]

Tried it tonight on a 1.25 inch 2 pound porterhouse. This is the result without a thermometer. Needed a little more char on the outside, but damn, the flavor, juiciness and color were awesome. This is the ticket.

[ecu1984]

I will give a full review of this process later tonight. Carry on

[carolinaboy06]

Tried it tonight on a 1.25 inch 2 pound porterhouse. This is the result without a thermometer. Needed a little more char on the outside, but damn, the flavor, juiciness and color were awesome. This is the ticket.

That needs a lot more char. Doesn't look like your pan was hot enough.

[BigBrother]

So, effectively, you preheat the meat to your desired temp, then pour the coals to it?

I like the char from a white hot flame, but then again, I like my steaks with little more than a sun tan.

[quackersncheez]

That needs a lot more char. Doesn't look like your pan was hot enough.

That was on a charcoal grill. I only did 2 minutes a side at the end, probably should have done about 3 or 4.

[CUAngler]

That was on a charcoal grill. I only did 2 minutes a side at the end, probably should have done about 3 or 4.

I prefer to do mine over coals, but cast iron and an oven is the hand I'm dealt right now.

When I have my egg, I get my grate temp dialed in to 250 or so and put the steaks on. It usually takes about 30-25 minutes depending on the thickness. The whole process is really dependent on a meat thermometer. You have to cook to internal temp, not time or feel.

When I get up to 115 internal meat temp, I open all the vents and go nuclear with the grill temp. Somewhere between 800-1100 depending on how well I've made my fire and what kind of air flow I can get moving through the grill. This usually takes 10-15 minutes and I just leave the steaks covered with foil then.

It's harder on non ceramic grills, but you can still do this. I cut my teeth on a webber kettle before I bought my egg. I would pile the coals high all the way to the grate and that will push you into the 700-800 range if all is setup right.

Keep in mind, the quality of meat is 3/4 of the process. Here is a $10.00-12.00 choice ribeye that I got from the teeter once. You don't have to have a prime cut to pull this off, but it's going to be tough with less than choice. It also has to be more than 1" thick, and ideally 1.5". If you are less than 1", you aren't giving yourself enough room to sear. Your sear will esentially be the entire cook.

[CUAngler]

Tried it tonight on a 1.25 inch 2 pound porterhouse. This is the result without a thermometer. Needed a little more char on the outside, but damn, the flavor, juiciness and color were awesome. This is the ticket.

Looks like you are on the right track. Great even distribution of pink on the inside, just get that char on the outside and that's it.

For the sake of comparison, here are 2 pictures I took off google. Note how that the first has a good char on the outside, but it essentially got overcooked on the inside. See how thin the pink is? This steak is more medium. This happened b/c the cut is too thin.




This steak is overcooked. It's a thick cut. Good crust on the outside, but the inside is overdone. Without cooking in 2 stages, it's much harder to effectively get the inside and outside to where you want them. Note how thick the white band between the outside and inside and and how thin the pink center band is compared to the thickness of the cut.

[quackersncheez]

Yeah, I ruined our thermometer a few months ago by dropping it in a sink full of water. Just ordered a Thermoworks today (not the Thermapen, but still waterproof and accurate to within a degree plus or minus). Will probably try again next weekend.

[carolinaboy06]

Reverse seared pork chops tonight.

Excellent!

[Dub]

It was a gift, so I can't complain too much. That and a maverick et 372 are an unstoppable combo.

Agreed. Great tools.




Steaks look perfect.

[DRDUCK]

I need one them thermapens deals. For real. How you go bout purchasing one?