How to Reverse Sear a Steak

What is the best way to cook a steak if all you have is an oven and a pan? Dad says the answer is the reverse sear. A ton of misinformation is out there about cooking a steak. Dad will go over a few of the biggest misconceptions here, and after that show you how to reverse sear a steak.

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What does reverse searing a steak mean?

The old school method for cooking steaks was to sear them first, to lock in the juices. After the sear you would cook the steak in a hot oven until it reaches the serving temp.

The reverse sear flips that on its end. Instead of searing first, you bring the steak to temp slowly in a low temp oven. After the initial cook you sear it to add a beautiful crust.

One of the important things about getting a tender steak is to cook it low and slow. This produces a tender and evenly cooked steak.

If you cook the steak at a high temp there is no chance for the fat to render and the muscle fibers to break down.

To make sure you don't overcook the steak in the searing process you need to pull the steak out of the oven about 10 degrees shy of your final serving temp. This leaves you room to get a nice crust on the steak.

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How to reverse sear a steak

Preheat oven to 250 Degrees Fahrenheit. While the oven is preheating, season the steak liberally on both sides with the garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper and sea salt.

Place the seasoned steak on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet. When the oven comes to temp, put the steak in the oven.

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In about 15 minutes, remove the steak and check it for temp. You want to remove the steak when it reaches 10 degrees below your target temperature. If you are aiming for medium-rare than you want to pull the steak at around 120 degrees.

If the steak is not at the required temperature, put it back in the oven and check it every 5 minutes. When the steak reaches 10 degrees below your target temp, remove it from the oven.

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Place a stainless steel or cast iron pan over a burner on high heat. Add enough vegetable oil to coat the pan. When the oil begins to smoke the pan should be sufficiently hot. Place the steak in the hot pan. Flip the steak every 30-45 seconds until you see a nice brown crust formed.

This should take 3 minutes or less. The less time in the pan the better. In the last 30 seconds add the butter and spoon it over the top of the steak as it sears.

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If you don't want to flip often you can let the steak sit on one side for 1 minute or so. Add the butter and flip. Spoon the butter over the steak as it sears and remove after 1-2 minutes. Either method works well, it's just personal preference.

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Let the steak rest for 10 minutes to redistribute the juices. Serve whole or slice and serve.

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Some tips for a better steak

Get a good meat thermometer.

To cook good food you have to know what temp you are cooking to. Stop guessing what doneness your food is. The hand test, feeling and all the other "tricks" are not going to get you repeatable results. Dad recommends anything from Thermoworks. The Thermapen is the gold standard of meat thermometers.

Dad has the Thermo Pop version, it's only $34 and is very accurate. You want to make sure that the thermometer you can trust to be accurate. Lots of chefs trust the Thermoworks brand, so does Dad.

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Cooking temps for steaks.

Speaking of thermometers and temps, what temp should you cook your steak to.

• Medium Rare: 130-135
• Medium: 135-145
• Medium Well: 145-155
• Well Done: 155 up

Dad thinks that steaks should be cooked to medium-rare but understands that some people prefer more done steaks.

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Thankfully there is a way to make a tender steak and cook it medium and beyond. To pull that off you need to use Sous Vide. That way you can tenderize the steak and still cook it to medium. But that is another post. If you are interested in Sous Vide Steaks check out Dad's recipe for Sous Vide Picanha Steak.

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Let the steak rest.

When cooking a steak the traditional way it is important to let the steak rest. This will allow the juices to redistribute through the muscle fibers and you will end up with a much juicer steak.

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Myths of cooking steaks

Let the steak get to room temperature.

The idea is that if you take the steak out of the fridge and let it come to room temp it will cook more evenly or better somehow. The thought is that a cold steak will take more energy to cook and not cook as evenly.

Unfortunately, even if you leave the steak out for an hour it only goes up a degree or two. In the grand scheme of things this does nothing.

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Sear to "lock in the juices".

A lot of people will tell you that you need to sear the steak first to "lock in the juices". This one is easy to disprove. Just look at a steak after you sear it.

There will be juices that are seeping through the "crust" that formed. Muscle fibers can not be seared to form an impenetrable barrier.

One of the first food blogs Dad found back in the Day was Serious Eats. The person behind it, Kenji Lopez, tackles food with science.

They have done a lot of testing and the best way to get an evenly cooked steak with a nice crust (aside from sous vide) is the reverse sear.

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Now Go Cook Something!

Did you know Dad has a Youtube Channel? Dad does longer videos that contain more information on the recipe and some antics at times. Go check out the longer video for some fun.

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