Reverse Sear Suggestions?


 
No Dave, you're correct. Ceramic cookers work as a smoker, oven and grill, all in one. My Primo XL will hold solid temps from 180-800+ degs.

Dave Russell said:
To be honest, I thought that all the reverse-sear hype was just that, and simply a convenient way for folks using ceramic grills to grill their meat without having to wait on their oven, I mean grill, to preheat. I was wrong, though. Dead wrong.
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There's one more that gets attention on the net "Finney Reverse Sear" sounds good I am going to have to try this method
 
According to Cook's Illustrated......

Quote:
”Meat contains active enzymes called cathepsins, which break down connective tissues over time, increasing tenderness. (a fact that is demonstrated to great effect in dry-aged meat). As the temperature of the meat rises, these enzymes work faster and faster, until they reach 122 degrees, where all the action stops. While our steaks are slowly heating up, the cathepsins are working overtime, in effect "aging" and tenderizing the steaks within half an hour. When steaks are cooked by conventional methods, their final temperature is reached much more rapidly, denying the cathepsins the time they need to properly do their job.”
 
RogerS said:
There's one more that gets attention on the net "Finney Reverse Sear" sounds good I am going to have to try this method
Click to expand...

Yeah, I've read Chris Finney's post for how he does it on another forum. Basically, just stretching the cook out even farther than most do with a reverse sear, I suppose, on a big Primo. It will be interesting to experiment some and try to identify any points of diminishing returns, and I do like the idea of resting the steaks while I reconfigure my fire for searing....Anything so I can put the lid back on and avoid flare-ups, whether it's grilling the steaks really close to the fire or simply adding more blazing hot charcoal out of a chimney. I know that Meathead of the Amazing Ribs site says not to sear with the lid on so that you're only searing the surface, but I absolutely can't stand flare-ups. Gonna grill a couple of tri-tips tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes.
 
Wolgast said:
According to Cook's Illustrated......

Quote:
”Meat contains active enzymes called cathepsins, which break down connective tissues over time, increasing tenderness. (a fact that is demonstrated to great effect in dry-aged meat). As the temperature of the meat rises, these enzymes work faster and faster, until they reach 122 degrees, where all the action stops. While our steaks are slowly heating up, the cathepsins are working overtime, in effect "aging" and tenderizing the steaks within half an hour. When steaks are cooked by conventional methods, their final temperature is reached much more rapidly, denying the cathepsins the time they need to properly do their job.”
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Thanks for the science, Wolgast. Your method?
 
When i cook reverse style i always keep a low temp in the grill,let the protein come up to target temp as slow as possible. Keeping the muscle as relaxed as possible. When i hit the disired internal i remove the meat and let it rest.(minimal internal rise if cooked @ 225-250f) When the meat relaxes/rests i ramp the grill up to searing temps. Now i know the protein is exactly were i want it internal wise.

So step nr 2(the sear) is just to get the crust im after. Could almost compare it to a Sous Vide cook.

Pork chops pulled @ 135.(pale and boring)
055v.jpg


After a 2x2 min sear
067nc.jpg

097oo.jpg


I dont always bother with this method,but if i have the time/energy it does the job.

Low temps to any muscle will give you a bigger "perfect" window. If im SV a pork tenderloin for 3h @ 60c...let it rest a bit then a fast hot sear,it will be super juicy and fork tender. The texture will be amazing. And that is nothing more then a super slow reverse sear.

Dont have any pics of just that...But i promisse to add em when i do it next time.

Edit = Just came back from the store with a tenderloin :cool: Pics will be up later tonight...
 
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Wolgast said:
When i cook reverse style i always keep a low temp in the grill,let the protein come up to target temp as slow as possible. Keeping the muscle as relaxed as possible. When i hit the disired internal i remove the meat and let it rest.(minimal internal rise if cooked @ 225-250f) When the meat relaxes/rests i ramp the grill up to searing temps. Now i know the protein is exactly were i want it internal wise.

So step nr 2(the sear) is just to get the crust im after. Could almost compare it to a Sous Vide cook.

Pork chops pulled @ 135.(pale and boring)
055v.jpg


After a 2x2 min sear
067nc.jpg

097oo.jpg


I dont always bother with this method,but if i have the time/energy it does the job.

Low temps to any muscle will give you a bigger "perfect" window. If im SV a pork tenderloin for 3h @ 60c...let it rest a bit then a fast hot sear,it will be super juicy and fork tender. The texture will be amazing. And that is nothing more then a super slow reverse sear.

Dont have any pics of just that...But i promisse to add em when i do it next time.

Edit = Just came back from the store with a tenderloin :cool: Pics will be up later tonight...
Click to expand...

Man, thanks so much for posting your process on the chops. They sure look good, and I'm looking forward to your tenderloin pics.
 
Somewhere on this site is Kevin Kruger's explanation, which is basically like the one posted above but a little more in depth IIRC. I believe it's one of the earliest conversations about RS for steaks. Since you are trying to maximize time in the window of temperatures where the enzymes are doing the work to tenderize the meat, it's important to let them warm up slowly both before and during the grilling. The top temperature is the 122 posted above, and I believe the lower temperature is 60 -- definitely above refrigerator. Not knocking Meathead's website, but I think he's a little off starting it cold. Inserting a probe in it and monitoring temperatures from the time it comes out of the fridge until done might be a valuable experiment if anyone wants to try it. What Daniel said about thinking of it like a sous vide cook is really good.
 
Now that's a bacon-wrapped thing of beauty, right there, so don't get me wrong... but I think I'll stick to using the grill. That sous vide stuff is just too fancy for this Mississippi-transplanted-to-Tennessee boy!
 
I did a beef tenderloin for xmas dinner, in fact doing it on my Genesis gas grill. I keep the temp in the 250 range or so, about as low as I could get it, with one burner on lowest setting. Put wood chips in a smoker box and cooked it to about 125 or so, and moved it over the flame's turned up all the way and did all fours sides for about 2 minutes each side until the middle reading was at 135. Let rest for 10 and cut into. It was perfect med. rare from side to side with just about an 1/8 inch of sear on the outside.

I've since done steaks quite a few times in this manner, took about 30 minutes, one on the gas grill and rest on charcoal grill. I think the charcoal is better an I raised the coals to within an inch of the steaks for the sear, however, must be watched carefully so as to not over cook.

I've cooked chicken breasts for years so that the skin crisps up at the end. Takes a little more than 2 hours in the 250-275 range to cook them. A couple of minutes at the end for the sear. They are the best. http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?350...-did-use-a-Webber-chimmey&p=350662#post350662
 
Thanks again to all the input. Good points on the issues of pre-cook meat temp, salting, and the sear, itself. My challenges are mainly concerning fire control, but if anyone hasn't tried the RS yet, trust me, there's a LOT more to grilling a great steak than just slapping it on the grill and getting a good sear without charring or overcooking.
 
Yep. A great Kruger post, for sure. He points out how enzymes working at low temps is the reason behind warming up a steak slowly at room temp for an hour or two, as well as slowly grilling with the reverse sear. I wasn't in on that thread, but I skimmed most of it. All the "too salty" posts suggest that brining isn't so cut and dry, and from my research and own experience, I agree that a regular salting/seasoning at least an hour or so ahead of time is the simple way to go and doesn't waste of bunch of Kosher. I don't even do it with poultry anymore.
 
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Strip steak FAIL!! Thankfully it was just mine and the Missus though, and she liked well done, anyway.

Basically, a perfect RS is NOT going to happen if the IT is already 130* when you go to sear, (not 125 or so.) I had a BIG pile of lump on half of my grate (too much) so I thought that the sear would be quick and painless (to the interior) with the lid off. Bottom line though was well-done and charred strip steaks.

I should've stopped the indirect cooking 5* or do sooner, and made sure my fire wasn't actually a fire! I'm just not a fan of the char.

Oh, well....just makes me want to grill another couple of strip steaks real soon!
 
It's definitely easier with a larger piece of meat, like a Tri Tip. On the bright side, overdone steaks are surprisingly tender when done this way.
 
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