What's a Reverse Sear? Maybe the Best Way to Cook a Steak!!

This morning I was cleaning out my freezer and came across a tri-tip. I was thinking…That sounds good for tonight’s dinner. I set it out to defrost and then started thinking; how was I going to cook this steak tonight? Maybe I should “sous vide” it. This morning I didn’t have time to play, so no to the sous vide. I guess, I will just cook on the grill…nope, there is going to be rain tonight. That won’t work. I haven’t done a reverse sear in a while, I will do that!

You ask what is a reverse sear? First, let me walk you through the most familiar way to cook a steak in a cast iron pan. Most people who like to cook steak know that you need to have a hot pan or grill to start and the steak has to be DRY! Any moisture on the steak will hinder getting a great sear. Once the steak is in the pan, don’t play with it. Let the hot pan do its job. Once you have the nice crust you worked so hard for, you need to let your steak rest so that all the juices don’t flow out of the steak. If you have a really thick steak, you may need to put the steak in the oven for a short time to make sure it cooks to the internal temperature you prefer.

That is the most typical way to cook a steak in a cast iron pan.

In a reverse sear, I put the steak into the oven until I get an internal temperature of 120. There are many digital wi-fi and Bluetooth meat probes on the market to track your temp. Personally I like a multi-probe device in which I can keep track of the meats when I smoke BBQ in my smoker.

I will pull the steak out of the oven when I reach my temp and then put it on a hot cast iron pan. The steak will stay in the hot pan until I get a nice crust on both sides and then it’s done. I let the steak rest and it should be a nice medium rare!

If I know from the start that I have a tough roast or piece of meat, I will use my sous vide (Check here for my discussion of sous vide.)

Another choice you have is to cook on your charcoal grill. Set up half the grill with no coals and the other half with very hot charcoal. The reverse sear happens when you start on the indirect heat side to get to your proper internal temperature then moving your steak to direct heat over the coals till you get a nice crust on both sides.

If you are feeling the craving for steak and you are cleaning out your freezer, try other methods of cooking. You will be very happy you did!