Question for the Reverse Sear fans...


 
MichaelM

MichaelM

TVWBB Super Fan
I love the technique for steaks but can't seem to get the timeline to work.

I am typically using KBB for the first half of the cook... about twenty or so briquettes. I wait until they almost completely ashed over, track the temp to about 250-ish and put the meat on. Flip the meat at around 80F internal. At around 90F internal I start the second chimney for the sear. Typically use lump for the second stage of the cook. I am starting that second chimney earlier and earlier in the cook because it is never fully lit by the time I have removed the meat.. usually around 115F.

I find my myself staring at half-baked steaks sitting on the cutting board waiting for the coals to light and temps to get up for the sear. The Summit Charcoal has no problem reaching 600F, but I usually give up on waiting for it to get to full temp and start the sear earlier... and I am then vulnerable to overcooking the steak trying to get the sear right.

I've done a few reverse sears using the Vortex with just a few briquettes for the first half, and then a sear in the CI skillet in the GBS... and that creates a killer, perfect sear, but I want the sear to have the flavor of the lump. I can put the center grate in and sear on that (the Summits cooking great is robust enough to survive the temp from the Vortex) but I want an even sear, not a criss-cross pattern, and typically use the cold-grate technique.

If you use reverse sear, what does your timeline look like? What type of fuel are you using and when do you start the second chimney for the sear?
 
Reverse seared steaks are one of the few things that I cook that can be confounding. I always allot an hour.

I just reverse-seared a couple of thick T-bones yesterday.

Maybe start the 2nd chimney a little earlier, like at 75F?
I start the 2nd chimney a little earlier, when the steaks hit 75F, then flip 'em and start the chimney, or fire up the gasser. I have GrillGrates on the Genny B, so getting warp 10 heat is easily accomplished. Any smoke flavor I want imparted, happens during the indirect cook.

Yesterday's cook I used the *kettle and the gasser and cooked as above. I used a combo of KBB & some Cowboy lump that I've been trying to use up. I filled the chimney about 2/3 of the way with that combo...KBB on the bottom and lump on top. There was some unburned lump left in the kettle and I dumped the chimney of lit charcoal on top of that and took the temp to ~ 250F and cooked indirect, as described above. I seared them on the gasser.

All told, from start to finish, it took around 40 minutes.


The indirect portion of the cook is tough to judge, as there are so many variables. I mainly sous-vide them now, which makes it a lot easier to judge. Once that steaks hit the target temp in the sous-vide, the steaks will hold for a very long time, making it very easy to get the grill fired up enough to get a great sear. When I sous vide, I finish off the steaks on charcoal.

*22" kettle with a Slow n Sear
 
Heres what I do:
I never reverse sear anything thinner than a inch.
Make indirect fire in the kettle (about 250).
Cook till IT hits target temp.
Remove and do full covered rest. This allows IT to drop.
while resting, I add more charcoal to the kettle and make a mound just bigger than what I am searing.
Once the rest is done. Sear on both sides. IT will not rise too much.
Serve….
 
I use gas grill for it. Typically my Wolf. This way I can have one side already up to temps prior to needing them
 
I use 10 to 12 briqs and try to indirect at 225*.

I start second chimney at IT of 80*. My steak is gonna cook slower, giving the chimney more time.

I sear at IT of 110* , and finish the sear at about 122ish , then carryover cooking takes it to 135* , hopefully.

In Aaron Franklin's " Steak " book, he says after reaching desired IT, to pull the steak and let it rest 30 to 60 minutes before searing. He has a lot more patience and time than I usually have. But this tells me that if my second chimney is not ready when the steak reaches 110*, its not a big deal. I take the steak inside the house and let it rest in the microwave or an ice chest until my fire is ready to sear.
 
I reverse sear on steaks 1" and up, especially good on 2" fillets, all done on the Performer.
I start with a chimney half full of lit coals, and usually my Slow and Sear is a 1/4 full or so of older charcoal, unlit.
Bottom damper at 1/4" open, top damper a little under half opened. (fairly warm late spring/ summer/ early fall day)
This will get me to about 325F.
Run this until about 20-25 degrees under target temp, takes 20-30 min for a 2" fillet.
When the steaks are showing about 115F, open the lid, remove them and the grate (if doing the cold grate technique), and using a blower, old hair dryer, fan, etc, get the coals super hot. Usually takes about 5 min.
Put the now cold grate back in, put on the steaks directly over the hot coals, and sear for one minute. Move the steaks to the cooler quarter of the grate, and rotate over the coals again for another minute. Do that two more times, for a total of 4 minutes searing time, 2 per side.
If doing fillets, I top them with a compound garlic butter and done.
Next time I do them, I'll get some pics and do a write up. They come out very good, great sear and crust, tender and juicy outside. This is my go-to method for fillets, and works very well on my thick ribeyes and NY strips too. Anything under an inch, I front sear and flip often, or do in a cast iron skillet.

Hope this helps.

Charlie
 
Regardless of the different techniques, seasonings, etc. it still comes down to the grade of beef. Don't expect miracles out of "choice" grade steak, pay a little more & try to find "prime" grade as the baseline bare minimum. It really does make a difference.
 
I use my vortex. What I do is quite easy, and wife and I am pleased with the results. I locate my vortex in the back of my kettle. I place our steaks in the front and away from the vortex. Cook till I get about 110 degrees internal then right on top of vortex till the desired sear and internal temp is reached.
 
The more intramuscular fat the better the result. The leaner cuts do not benefit from RS methods. It actually makes them worse
 
Robert Dilbert said:
IDK, the reverse seared filets I had last night were quite delish. I smoke on smokefire till 110, sear directly over coals till IT was 120. Let rest.
Click to expand...
Different animal entirely when you mention filet (tenderloin) and though I have tried the method on them I wasn't pleased like I was with just a straight relatively higher heat cook. But, if they're VERY thick you almost have to do this
 
I was only sear first with gas, then I got charcoal and tried reverse sear and have never looked back.
My go to is to use this on thick steaks, like a 2 inch plus tomahawk is ideal.
I go until you can see the edges turning color then start taking temps and aim for about 20 degrees lower than my eating temp.
So aim around 105 to 110, it isn't the most important, you should have a good 40 minutes or so of tasty charcoal flavor soaked up in that steak.
I just open the bottom vent and take the lid off, prime the coals with a few big breaths blown on it and come back 5 minutes or so later.
Depending on the charcoal is how long it takes to get ready to sear but I have been having exceptional results with jealous devil.
You know when its super hot and if you leave it even longer the little grates will leave sear marks if you want them. Refer to my steak in the 4rth of July thread.
I sear until it looks picture quality, usually the hotter the shorter and better.
Generally it is okay to rest by then but if the temp is still like 120 or less you can set to the side for another 5 minutes or so, it comes up fast.
I like to get it on the plate for 126....to 129 is my ideal, but more often that not the rest gets me a bit higher than I would like, it sure is still tasty and juicy at that point though.
 
I reverse sear tri tip, and rib steaks, and I like these medium rare or even towards medium.

My technique is to slow smoke until internal temp is 120F. I don't bother flipping them over, and try to keep the lid down until the temp alarm goes off. I try to keep the smoking temp cool. 180 to 200F on the pellet. BGE is more like 240 to 260 as I don't seem to be able to keep the temps down, but that's another problem.

I've done the reverse sear on the BGE over lump, on the PB over flaming pellets, on the gasser, in the kitchen on cast iron ( winter when its stormy out ) and once I used a grill directly over a chimney loaded with lump.

I'll be candid, I don't notice a difference in flavor based on the method of searing, so I've been choosing the fastest and easiest, often the E330

I realize this isn't addressing the timing questions when all the heat is charcoal or lump. I think I'd start a chimney on another grill and if in a hurry, put a grate over the top, otherwise add this to whatever the first round of cooking was done on.
 
Rick Poch said:
Reverse seared steaks are one of the few things that I cook that can be confounding. I always allot an hour.

I just reverse-seared a couple of thick T-bones yesterday.

Maybe start the 2nd chimney a little earlier, like at 75F?
I start the 2nd chimney a little earlier, when the steaks hit 75F, then flip 'em and start the chimney, or fire up the gasser. I have GrillGrates on the Genny B, so getting warp 10 heat is easily accomplished. Any smoke flavor I want imparted, happens during the indirect cook.

Yesterday's cook I used the *kettle and the gasser and cooked as above. I used a combo of KBB & some Cowboy lump that I've been trying to use up. I filled the chimney about 2/3 of the way with that combo...KBB on the bottom and lump on top. There was some unburned lump left in the kettle and I dumped the chimney of lit charcoal on top of that and took the temp to ~ 250F and cooked indirect, as described above. I seared them on the gasser.

All told, from start to finish, it took around 40 minutes.


The indirect portion of the cook is tough to judge, as there are so many variables. I mainly sous-vide them now, which makes it a lot easier to judge. Once that steaks hit the target temp in the sous-vide, the steaks will hold for a very long time, making it very easy to get the grill fired up enough to get a great sear. When I sous vide, I finish off the steaks on charcoal.

*22" kettle with a Slow n Sear
Click to expand...

The indirect portion is crazy easy.. I use the Meater Block and have had outstanding results over three or four dozen cooks I have used it on.
All I can think of is starting the second chimney earlier, as you noted. The Summit Charcoal will hit temps far hotter than my gasser will, so I want to stay with charcoal. I doubt I am getting much smoke flavor from the sear, but there's something about searing over the coals versus the CI that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.
 
Mark Foreman said:
Heres what I do:
I never reverse sear anything thinner than a inch.
Make indirect fire in the kettle (about 250).
Cook till IT hits target temp.
Remove and do full covered rest. This allows IT to drop.
while resting, I add more charcoal to the kettle and make a mound just bigger than what I am searing.
Once the rest is done. Sear on both sides. IT will not rise too much.
Serve….
Click to expand...

Interesting.. you turned what I perceived as a negative into a positive. The lengthy rest letting the internal drop. I wasn't sure but my intuition kept telling me that made sense. Thank you.

BTW... like you, I won't reverse sear anything thinner than an inch. Thinner cuts often go direct from the fridge to the grate as well.
 
LMichaels said:
I use gas grill for it. Typically my Wolf. This way I can have one side already up to temps prior to needing them
Click to expand...

I have a wonderful Lynx gasser that is still going strong after two decades of ownership, but that aged technology means it doesn't get as hot as some of the newer grills.
 
Lynn Dollar said:
I use 10 to 12 briqs and try to indirect at 225*.

I start second chimney at IT of 80*. My steak is gonna cook slower, giving the chimney more time.

I sear at IT of 110* , and finish the sear at about 122ish , then carryover cooking takes it to 135* , hopefully.

In Aaron Franklin's " Steak " book, he says after reaching desired IT, to pull the steak and let it rest 30 to 60 minutes before searing. He has a lot more patience and time than I usually have. But this tells me that if my second chimney is not ready when the steak reaches 110*, its not a big deal. I take the steak inside the house and let it rest in the microwave or an ice chest until my fire is ready to sear.
Click to expand...

Lynn, thank you. You confirmed what my intuition was telling me....

Noted that you start the second chimney AND the sear earlier. I am finding that since the temp for the sear isn't high enough, I am slow cooking and inevitably hit the finish IT well before the sear has set.

I've been backing down the IT for the sear.. started at 120* and then moved it down to 115*. No reason not to do that. I never worry about how long a cook takes unless I am trying to have a few things finish at the same time.

That said, you've left only 10* - 15* for the sear. If you're resting in the micro/cooler your IT isn't falling that much (might actually be rising) so you're going back on for the sear at close to that 110*. This makes it even more important to get that second chimney ripping hot faster.
 
C Lewis said:
I reverse sear on steaks 1" and up, especially good on 2" fillets, all done on the Performer.
I start with a chimney half full of lit coals, and usually my Slow and Sear is a 1/4 full or so of older charcoal, unlit.
Bottom damper at 1/4" open, top damper a little under half opened. (fairly warm late spring/ summer/ early fall day)
This will get me to about 325F.
Run this until about 20-25 degrees under target temp, takes 20-30 min for a 2" fillet.
When the steaks are showing about 115F, open the lid, remove them and the grate (if doing the cold grate technique), and using a blower, old hair dryer, fan, etc, get the coals super hot. Usually takes about 5 min.
Put the now cold grate back in, put on the steaks directly over the hot coals, and sear for one minute. Move the steaks to the cooler quarter of the grate, and rotate over the coals again for another minute. Do that two more times, for a total of 4 minutes searing time, 2 per side.
If doing fillets, I top them with a compound garlic butter and done.
Next time I do them, I'll get some pics and do a write up. They come out very good, great sear and crust, tender and juicy outside. This is my go-to method for fillets, and works very well on my thick ribeyes and NY strips too. Anything under an inch, I front sear and flip often, or do in a cast iron skillet.

Hope this helps.

Charlie
Click to expand...

Thank you. Yes.. every bit of feedback helps.
You're cooking at a higher temp than I am. There is typically about a 50* to 60* difference between my dome thermo and the deck temp with the Meater. Either way, I am usually between 250* & 300*.

Do I understand that you're starting with a bit more fuel than I (and many others) start with and stoking your original chimney full of coals rather than start a second chimney of fuel?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top