Reverse Sear - first attempt


 
Chris Arnold

Chris Arnold

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Attempted a reverse sear Saturday night for the first time on my One Touch Performer. Had purchased a couple of nice thick sirloins earlier in the day so was a bit nervous about messing them up. Seasoned after the photo with rosemary, S+P and olive oil

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Set up the OTP with a single basket of coals and vents nearly closed
Once the internal temp of the steaks came up to 130f - I added a second basket of coals (which I'd been readying on the JJ)
Seared on each side for a couple of minutes then pulled them off to rest for a couple of minutes

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and then cut one open...

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boy was it tender....missed the charred edge of a 'normal' sear - but SO nice...

Thanks for looking :)
 
i have been working on my reverse sear lately and i have to say that it does produce better results with thicker meat. The thin cuts i just go hot and fast. Chops have been my favorite so far.
 
Chris Arnold said:
Set up the OTP with a single basket of coals and vents nearly closed
Once the internal temp of the steaks came up to 130f - I added a second basket of coals (which I'd been readying on the JJ)
Seared on each side for a couple of minutes then pulled them off to rest for a couple of minutes
Click to expand...

Looking really good. Something you might want to consider that to me is a little easier, is to use fire bricks and pile the coals up high and deep so they are right next to the grate during your low and slow. When you are ready to sear, simply open all vents 100% and move the steaks directly over the coals. If you are concerned it is not hot enough, you can even put the meat on a plate covered with foil for a few minutes, but I have never found that necessary once you open the vents. This way they are literally setting on top of the fire. Just a suggestion if you don't want to fire up the second set of coals like you did.
 
Super looking steaks Chris!

The only thing I would do different is to start the sear at a lower internal temp, say 120, and it might help your char.
130, for me, is time to pull them off to rest for medium rare.
 
Bob - yes I made the novice error of getting them to the final temp I wanted before sear - rather than pulling at rare and searing on
Next time they'll be even better!!!
 
I'm glad I saw this thread as I've been seeing lots of you talking about reverse sear and have no clue what you mean. Does it mean you cook the steak first and then sear it? Thanks for enlightening me.
 
Great looking steak Chris. I usually take the steaks off and let them cool a bit while I get the grill real hot then sear them. Perfect every time.
 
Michelle in New Orleans said:
I'm glad I saw this thread as I've been seeing lots of you talking about reverse sear and have no clue what you mean. Does it mean you cook the steak first and then sear it? Thanks for enlightening me.
Click to expand...

Michelle, basically yes - cook the steak away from the coals up to a 'doneness' one or two levels below the one you want - then sear over a high heat until your required doneness is achieved. So cook to rare, then sear to medium-rare/medium...
 
Great looking steaks. Sirloins are one of my favorite cuts for grilling. Bob gave me the same tip awhile ago it takes a few tries to get that just right moment to go to the sear. Now that I've got it down I'll always reverse sear.
 
Beautifully done Chris!! Sirloin is one of my favorite cuts; such great flavor - Delicious! I like the reverse sear too. Very creative.
 
If the steaks are over an 1" thick I'll reverse sear. Picked up a couple 1 3/4" whopper grass fed rib eyes from Whole Foods one time, got them to ~115, did the sear... Just wow. Not sure if they were worth the Whole Foods price... but they were pretty darn good.
 
Chris Arnold said:
Michelle, basically yes - cook the steak away from the coals up to a 'doneness' one or two levels below the one you want - then sear over a high heat until your required doneness is achieved. So cook to rare, then sear to medium-rare/medium...
Click to expand...

Why are they better than the normal sear-then-cook method, Chris? Just curious.
 
Michelle, and everyone one else wondering about reverse sear, here is a video that Meathead and Jamie Purviance did on reverse sear steaks. It explains a lot

I have only done the reverse sear one time, and personally didn't like it as much. Maybe I didn't do it right?

Anyway, I think it is personal preference.


http://youtu.be/EnuKEFquBt0
 
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