vBlake started a thread on this topic in the old forum. I feel like it was one of my more helpful contributions so I thought I would move it here to save the info for new members. My wife also did a writeup on a reverse sear that I posted after the thread was mostly dead, and I doubt many ever saw it, so I'll start with it and follow with my original method. There were plenty of other good posts over there, but these were mine. I hope someone finds them useful. Reverse Sear I started with two big and bright ribeye steaks. The bottom one is clearly superior in marbling but they both turned out great. These are about 1.5 inches thick which is a great size for this method. I used a few articles from The Food Lab to make up my method as I went but these were the two that really helped: http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/12/the-food-lab-reverse-sear-beef-tenderloin-filet-mignon.html http://www.seriouseats.com/2012/12/the-food-lab-complete-guide-to-pan-seared-steaks.html Different angle with Candiru for scale. Liberally salt and pepper both sides (I really should have used more than this). I use kosher salt and fresh ground black peppercorns. Preheat your oven to 250 F. The steaks go directly onto the oven rack with a pan underneath to catch drips. I put the steaks in for 45 minutes and checked the internal temp at that point. The goal is 125 F for medium steaks. I left them for about 5 more minutes for a toal of 50 minutes. In my research I found ranges anywhere from 40 to 75 minutes so YMMV. After cooking in the oven I let them rest for about 7 minutes while I heat up my cast iron skillets. You want your skillet to be VERY hot. An infrared thermometer is great for this (and cooking in general) but if you don't have one and your cast iron starts smoking that's probably also a good sign that it's go time. Into the pan they go! I did a one minute sear on both sides. You can see that these are rather wet which is not ideal for searing. I blotted with a paper towel just after taking this pic to make sure they were as dry as possible. Salting prior to resting and slow cooking helps to draw out this exterior dampness. In this case, the resting is to allow the steaks to cool before searing, and its definitely justified. The pan on the left has a thin layer of olive oil, just enough to cover the bottom. The one on the right does not. I was doing an experiment... There wan't too much difference in the exterior texture but I could definitely taste the oil on the left one. I think I will go without in the future. A well-seasoned skillet shouldn't need oil anyway. Annnnd they're done. Let them rest for 5 to 10 minutes to keep the juices inside as they come down in temp. Look at that crust. That's my favorite part. We're going to try skipping the rest tonight though. The final product! Medium from edge to edge sandwiched in a delicious crusty sear. Served with roasted butternut squash with cranberries and a snowman (because it twas the season) made of Boursin garlic and herb cheese (if you want to bring your steak to the next level this is, in my opinion, way better than butter). I will say that the reverse sear does have some benefits to the quick and simple method I'll post next, notably that the fat of the steak is better rendered making it totally edible and enjoyable for anyone with a soul, and also that it would be easier to prepare a large number of steaks with this method. It does however take more cook time. At least in my personal experience, this method does bring out more of the steaks natural flavor than my upcoming method. We have also done this with a flank steak which took less time to hit temp in the oven, but was even better than the ribeyes with respect to both flavor and texture. In recent attempts, we have abandoned the room temp start. Because the temp of the oven is so low, we just pull the steaks from the fridge, season, and start the slow roast portion. I haven't been able to tell the difference. From fridge to plate, that makes both methods about even.
Standard Recipe 1-1.25" thick Ribeye, 12-20 oz. Set out of the fridge for 20 min. When I set the steak out, I set the oven to 500F with a seasoned cast iron skillet in the over to evenly preheat. At the end of the 20 min, cast iron skillet out of the oven to a stove top burner on high. Season the steaks liberally with fresh ground black pepper corns, varied grind, fine and course, and then finish with a healthy pinch of kosher salt. I use an IR thermo to check skillet temp to ~650F then place steak/steaks unseasoned side down. 30 sec sear, then flip to seasoned side for another 30 sec. WARNING, if you're not well ventilated, by the end of this, your kitchen will be like a tear gas tent, and your smoke alarm will be going off. At the end of the pepper side sear it's straight into the oven for 2 min. At 2 min, I remove the pan quickly, flip the steaks, and then back in for another 2 min. Then they come out and go straight to plates for a 5 min rest. Pepper side up, uncovered. Yields a perfect medium rare. I am a purest as far as the salt and pepper go, but sometimes I serve with a side of garlic and herb Boursin cheese. It's like a cross between cheese and butter and basically melts on contact with the steak.
Hey! Thanks for getting this thread back and going! I'm back in the saddle now, so We can keep this one rolling. I can post later the one that I had originally done on salt brines too. And like as before this thread instantly made me hungry! Thanks again Slade, hope all is well! or Medium Rare!! Drop that mic!
Damn I love this thread. Looks like I'll be cooking my crap stuffed steaks tomorrow night with browned steak butter.
A few additional notes from some of my experimentation before and after I wrote this. Carryover cooking. Doesn't happen. At least not enough to affect the core temp of the meat with either of these methods. The most I have seen is 2 degrees F in a very large 30 Oz steak. Minimal and unlikely to give a noticeable effect in done-ness. Resting. Doesn't matter. I have not been able to tell the difference in the final product with elimination or variation of resting time. It's about impossible to eat the steak the second it's done anyway. A natural cook to serving time should net a maximum quality result without any needed extra consideration to resting. Resting as it pertains to the reverse sear. The steak will perspire a bit after the oven portion of the reverse sear. While resting a good size steak, I was not able to achieve a worth while drop in internal temp before searing. Blotting the steak dry between the oven and sear finish is desirable for a better crust. Dry Brining. I am a believer. Even an hour or two in the fridge with a light sprinkle of salt before cooking has a positive effect on flavor and texture. Meat storage. The worst thing you can do to meat is let it go bad before you get to eat it. Prolonging the life of meat is actually quite easy. Keep it dry. Don't let the meat sit in its own juices and it will last exponentially longer. This applies to all meat; fish, steak, chicken, shrimp etc. Those little plastic and mesh covered absorbent pads in the bottom of super market foam trays are there for multiple reasons, and shelf life is one of them. If you buy meat from a meat department that is not pre-packaged, it is likely to come in brown deli paper. Do not store it this way. Either use it immediately or transfer it to a container with a good amount of paper towels in the bottom to keep it from sitting it's own juices. Change the paper towels if they become saturated for maximum life. If your meat comes in a package with an absorbent sponge in the bottom, use it when storing uncooked meat. Raw meat in general likes to breathe a little bit. Vacuum sealing is largely an exception to these rules as it doesn't cause meat the perspire as much as other loose contact storage since it removes nearly all air. Thawing frozen meat will always release a large amount of juices. If meat sits in these juices it will go bad quickly. I also want to point out that by doing a reverse sear (roast first and then sear,) there is no need to allow the steaks to come to room temp first. With a low oven temp of 250 and the low efficiency of heat exchange in air the steak comes slowly to temp as well from fridge temp as from room temp. The time saved from allowing the steak to come to room temp , better rendering of fat in the steak, the water falling away from the steak during the oven roast, and ability to do more steaks are pros of the reverse sear. The longer sear time and resulting increase in smoke produced is a con.
Just a little pot that I use only on the grill. It does great! nothing to special, I just would do it with a nicer pot you use inside.
I am a huge believer in the dry brine. I do mine a bit differently. I use heavy amounts of coarse kosher salt and for a 1.25" steak let her sit for about 32 minutes at room temp. What I have found in the dry brine is that the ambient temp is your dictator, in fridge you can push those times, outside at 85° you may only be able to brine for 15 minutes.
Being located in the wonderful state of Arkansas, we are proud to host the official "World Steak Cooking Competition" in the lovely town of Magnolia, Arkansas. This is an absolute wonderful event to both cook in or to just attend. We have been competing in this thing for many years and have a blast doing so. We personally have never won but got 4 runner up one time. Just so happens that was the same year Food Network was there! We were featured on the episode if anyone wants to go get it and watch. We are team Sizzle & Steer. My cook buddy Cody and I go in depth on how we dry brine, season and reverse sear our steaks. Here is the iTunes site you can get the episode. there are few recipes through the show. So just Imagine 80+ cook teams all grilling up 16oz ribeye steak at the same time. Plus all types of BBQ and grilled food from appetizer to desserts. It is a thing of beauty. Also there is an Easter egg in the episode... It may be an Izula...
No haven't signed up for that one yet. I did the amazingribs.com forum for a bit. Are you on there. I don't mind giving it a shot!
@Slade -- We like and use the Bertolli extra virgin olive as well. Kosher salt is the only salt that I season with. (I did not say it is the only seasoning I use, just the only kind of salt.)
