The Art of Reverse Searing: A Method for Perfectly Cooked Steaks

One of the key benefits of reverse searing is that it gives us better control and a more foolproof method than if we went from high heat right from the start. By searing the steak at the end, we can slow down the cooking process and buy ourselves a lot more time. This also means that our margin of error is much bigger, which is especially important when working with high-stakes dishes like perfectly cooked steaks. The dry heat of the oven also helps to concentrate the flavors on the surface of the steak, making it easier to achieve that perfect crust.

When cooking a bone-in steak, it's essential to keep in mind that putting the thermometer probe up against the bone can throw off your readings. This is why it's best to use an instant-read thermometer to monitor the progress of your steaks. If you don't have a probe thermometer, this method will still work, but you'll need to rely on other methods to ensure accurate temperature readings.

The reverse searing process involves cooking the steak in a hot oven before finishing it off with a high-heat sear. This allows the steak to cook slowly and evenly, which is especially important for tougher cuts of meat that can benefit from a low-and-slow cooking method. The internal temperature of the steak should be checked using a thermometer, with an ideal range of 105°F (40°C) for rare, 115°F (46°C) for medium-rare, and 125°F (52°C) for medium.

To achieve the perfect sear, it's crucial to remove the steak from the oven when it reaches the desired internal temperature. This is because the stakes will continue to cook a bit after being removed from the oven, which can lead to overcooking the exterior. By pulling them out before they're fully cooked, you can control the rate of cooking and achieve that perfect doneness.

When searing the steak, it's essential to use high heat and plenty of oil to get a good crust on the outside. The pan should be preheated with a tablespoon of oil until it's smoking hot, then add any additional aromatics like butter, garlic, and thyme to infuse more flavor into the fat in the pan.

Once the steak is seared, it's time to finish cooking it off with a quick flip. This helps to lock in the juices and flavors on the surface of the steak, creating that perfect gradient of doneness from rare to medium-rare. The key is to sear for as little time as possible, usually around 45 seconds per side, to prevent overcooking the exterior.

The final result of this method should be a tender, juicy, and extremely flavorful steak with a beautiful crust on the outside. When it comes to achieving that perfect medium doneness, the stakes are often at their most forgiving because they're still slowly cooking after being removed from the oven. This means you can essentially cut into it whenever you're ready, without worrying about overcooking it.

In this method, the key to success is precision temperature control and gentle handling of the steak. By investing in a probe thermometer and following the reverse searing process carefully, even the most novice cooks can achieve perfectly cooked steaks that are sure to impress even the most discerning palates.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enI am about to reverse sear to gorgeous aged rib eye steaks traditionally we would cook a steak by throwing it into a hot pan and then maybe finishing in the oven until it reaches its final internal temperature reverse sear kind of flips out on its head it sort of borrows a page from the sous vide book the steaks go in like this into a very low oven and they very slowly come up to temperature and only when in the center the steaks have reached your desired temperature do you take them out and then you sear them at the end to get the nice brown flavorful crust on the outside why do we do this well for one thing it gives us better control and a more foolproof method than if we went from high heat right from the start this slows everything down buys you a lot more time and your margin of error is much bigger the other really great thing about the reverse sear is because these steaks are hanging out in a dry hot oven the surface will continue to dry out the whole time it's in there dryness is what you want when it comes time to sear the steak in a pan a probe thermometer will track the temperature of your meat while it's in the oven and I'm gonna just guess at where I think the center of this steak is yeah about there if you're cooking a bone-in steak just make sure you don't put the thermometers probe up against the bone that's gonna really throw off your readings if you don't have a probe thermometer it's okay you just use an instant-read thermometer to monitor the progress of your steaks and I'm gonna set an alarm 105 Fahrenheit I'm aiming for 115 but this gives me a 10 degree Head Start to make sure that I don't mess up ah ah it's time to put the beef in the oven and let it do its thing and then this has a magnet I can stick this is reading 49 degrees Fahrenheit on the nose the other one's a little bit warmer fifty three point three degrees Fahrenheit and I have an instant-read thermometer that I will use to confirm what these probe thermometers are telling me by taking a few other readings in a few other parts of the stakes just to make sure that I've got it right the thing is with the reverse here is the stakes are gonna jump a little bit more when they're out of the oven so we want to pull them out a little before whatever a real desired final temperature is for rare that means taking them out when they're about 105 Fahrenheit in the center for medium-rare that means pulling them from the oven when they're about 115 degrees Fahrenheit in the center and for medium 125 etc etc that doesn't mean medium is 125 degrees Fahrenheit medium is actually warm or 130 135 more up there but that's gonna happen in the pan when they come out of the oven sometimes it's slowest at the beginning and you think you get a sense in your head of what the rate of cooking is start speeding up I think it does I've never tested that empirically I'm pretty sure it starts speeding up that's been my experience keep it keep an eye on your meat any second that alarm is gonna sound my steaks are right at 115 or just a hair shy of it and I've already got my cast iron pan preheating I'm actually gonna crank the heat now I'm gonna get a tablespoon of oil in the pan I want this oil smoking hot my goal here is to preserve that kind of perfect doneness in the center of the steak so I really want to get the sear on this meat as quickly as I can so that I don't start overcooking the exterior that is the whole point of this method is to have a nice even done this gradient so I really don't want to do anything that's gonna work against that aha now these are not particularly beautiful at the moment they look like sad gray hunks of beef that's why we're gonna sear them now I'm gonna add a little butter to the pan for more flavor but you don't have to I'm also going to add a time spring and some garlic to the pan to quickly get some more flavor into the fat in the pan also that you don't have to do that's all optional but it's it's a nice touch if you can do it and we go steak butter garlic thyme swirl that around press it down make sure the steak is making full contact with the pan so you don't end up with a little raised portion that didn't get brown enough 45 seconds a minute really as quick as you can any longer and you might as well have just been butter basting in the pan the whole time because you'll start to get that done this gradient I'm gonna flip it there you go sear the edge see that how that's nice and brown there now but good kill the heat now reverse sear doesn't really need to rest it's so low and slow coming up to temperature that you don't have the same issues when you're doing a high heat method of giving the steak a chance to reabsorb juices you basically can cut into it whenever you're ready really good so tender so juicy so beefy with that great funk because I splurged on an aged steak and by I splurged I mean seriously splurgeI am about to reverse sear to gorgeous aged rib eye steaks traditionally we would cook a steak by throwing it into a hot pan and then maybe finishing in the oven until it reaches its final internal temperature reverse sear kind of flips out on its head it sort of borrows a page from the sous vide book the steaks go in like this into a very low oven and they very slowly come up to temperature and only when in the center the steaks have reached your desired temperature do you take them out and then you sear them at the end to get the nice brown flavorful crust on the outside why do we do this well for one thing it gives us better control and a more foolproof method than if we went from high heat right from the start this slows everything down buys you a lot more time and your margin of error is much bigger the other really great thing about the reverse sear is because these steaks are hanging out in a dry hot oven the surface will continue to dry out the whole time it's in there dryness is what you want when it comes time to sear the steak in a pan a probe thermometer will track the temperature of your meat while it's in the oven and I'm gonna just guess at where I think the center of this steak is yeah about there if you're cooking a bone-in steak just make sure you don't put the thermometers probe up against the bone that's gonna really throw off your readings if you don't have a probe thermometer it's okay you just use an instant-read thermometer to monitor the progress of your steaks and I'm gonna set an alarm 105 Fahrenheit I'm aiming for 115 but this gives me a 10 degree Head Start to make sure that I don't mess up ah ah it's time to put the beef in the oven and let it do its thing and then this has a magnet I can stick this is reading 49 degrees Fahrenheit on the nose the other one's a little bit warmer fifty three point three degrees Fahrenheit and I have an instant-read thermometer that I will use to confirm what these probe thermometers are telling me by taking a few other readings in a few other parts of the stakes just to make sure that I've got it right the thing is with the reverse here is the stakes are gonna jump a little bit more when they're out of the oven so we want to pull them out a little before whatever a real desired final temperature is for rare that means taking them out when they're about 105 Fahrenheit in the center for medium-rare that means pulling them from the oven when they're about 115 degrees Fahrenheit in the center and for medium 125 etc etc that doesn't mean medium is 125 degrees Fahrenheit medium is actually warm or 130 135 more up there but that's gonna happen in the pan when they come out of the oven sometimes it's slowest at the beginning and you think you get a sense in your head of what the rate of cooking is start speeding up I think it does I've never tested that empirically I'm pretty sure it starts speeding up that's been my experience keep it keep an eye on your meat any second that alarm is gonna sound my steaks are right at 115 or just a hair shy of it and I've already got my cast iron pan preheating I'm actually gonna crank the heat now I'm gonna get a tablespoon of oil in the pan I want this oil smoking hot my goal here is to preserve that kind of perfect doneness in the center of the steak so I really want to get the sear on this meat as quickly as I can so that I don't start overcooking the exterior that is the whole point of this method is to have a nice even done this gradient so I really don't want to do anything that's gonna work against that aha now these are not particularly beautiful at the moment they look like sad gray hunks of beef that's why we're gonna sear them now I'm gonna add a little butter to the pan for more flavor but you don't have to I'm also going to add a time spring and some garlic to the pan to quickly get some more flavor into the fat in the pan also that you don't have to do that's all optional but it's it's a nice touch if you can do it and we go steak butter garlic thyme swirl that around press it down make sure the steak is making full contact with the pan so you don't end up with a little raised portion that didn't get brown enough 45 seconds a minute really as quick as you can any longer and you might as well have just been butter basting in the pan the whole time because you'll start to get that done this gradient I'm gonna flip it there you go sear the edge see that how that's nice and brown there now but good kill the heat now reverse sear doesn't really need to rest it's so low and slow coming up to temperature that you don't have the same issues when you're doing a high heat method of giving the steak a chance to reabsorb juices you basically can cut into it whenever you're ready really good so tender so juicy so beefy with that great funk because I splurged on an aged steak and by I splurged I mean seriously splurge\n"