First attempt at reverse seared steak: Fail


 

Dennis - CurlyQ

New member
I made my first attempt at a reverse seared steak on my Genesis II e-310 last night. It was a huge fail. The only steak thicker than 1" I could find at the store on my way home from work was a semi-boneless chuck steak that was pretty fatty. I figured I'd give it a go, since I was doing baked potatoes anyways. Not a bad plan to also find something else to go with it that will take a while to cook. . Took it home, rinsed it, patted it dry and put on some rub, then back in the fridge. While that was steeping, I got the grill ready. I decided to use some hickory and apple in a smoke box. With the far burner on medium, I was able to get a nice thin blue smoke, and hold at about 255-260 degrees, so I went with that as my cooking temp. I put the steak on, and after an hour, it was at an IT of 115 degrees. This is perhaps where I went wrong. I decided to pull it and let it rest at that point. Perhaps I should have gone to 130 or so. For medical reasons I need pretty much all my meat well done. I can probably get away with steak at medium to medium well, but everything else needs to be well done. I over estimated how much the searing would increase the IT of the meat. The gasser isn't super great at searing, so I knew it would take a bit to get a good sear on it. I shuffled it around a lot to try and get a mostly complete sear. It didn't pick up as much IT as I thought it would during that. I eventually stopped at an IT of 135.

The result? The meat was really tough and chewy. Some parts were pretty much like chewing gum. It was also way less done that I thought it was. If it was cut (sorry no pic of that), it did have a nice pink center with only a ring of sear on the outside, so that looked pretty good. The meat just wasn't edible though. My wife is convinced that the meat was a really bad cut. I admit it was a particularly fatty one, but I think most of the problem was how I cooked it. What do you guys think? Started searing too early? Should I have waited until 130-135 to start searing if my target was 140?
 
I gotta say I'm not very good at this either. I typically wind up overcooking my steaks when I reverse sear. As far as the toughness, your problem was that it was a chuck steak. Chuck eye steaks can be ok, but chuck steaks not so much. As far as getting it more done, the only thing is to take it a higher temp like you said. I'm new to gas grilling but I'd cook it to maybe 120, take it off. Then get the grill roaring hot (up to 550 or so) and then sear it.
 
For reverse sear to work best, the steak should be thick -- 2" or better. To get medium rare, 115 internal before searing is my target. The sear itself should only take 2 minutes or less per side to get a nice crust without overcooking the interior. As Dustin points out, the cut and quality of the meat will determine the tenderness more than the cooking technique.

Thinner steaks can be done with the "half-sear", where you start with a hot fire and cook the steak until side 1 is seared, then flip it for 60-90 seconds just to quickly cook side 2 (for medium rare). Serve it with side 1 up, because side 2 will be kinda gray and sad looking. The inside should be nicely medium rare.

Jeff
 
Chuck is okay for grinding up for burgers or chili or used for beef stew -- it is NOT a steak for grilling. You need a strip steak at least choice or preferably prime grade. You can get away with an inch thick, but 1.5 inches would be better. Around here, a prime 1.5 inch strip will run you $25-30 or so, but that steak will feed 2 and maybe 3 and you're treating yourself and wife. Before cooking, get the strip out, coarse salt and pepper it, and let it sit at room temp for an hour or two. It will not assume room temp in that period, but will get in to low 50's. This allows the center to come up to temp quicker and minimizes the "doneness" gradient. When ready to cook, wipe off the salt/pepper and dry the surfaces with paper towels. I don't reverse sear -- I put the steak over a hot, say 500 F, fire and watch it constantly. Depending of thickness, 1.5 to 2 minutes, rotate and another 1.5 to 2. Flip and follow the same routine. You should at this point have a nicely charred, but not carbonized, medium rare to medium steak. I use a gas grill almost exclusively for the convenience and usually do not have a flare-up problem. Pop a slab of butter on it, tent with foil, and let it rest for 5 or 10 minutes while you finish your twice fried potatoes. If you really want a treat, find a recipe for Morton's (of steakhouse fame) peppercorn sauce. It's nothing more than crushed peppercorns, shallots, butter, brandy, water, and beef demi-glace, which is kind of expensive, but you can substitute beef Better Than Bouillon. Bon appetit.
 
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