Having a hard time getting a good sear on the cast iron

[Smoking77]

This has been happening for the past 6 months to a year now. I used to reverse sear in the oven with success, and same with cooking in the sous vide. Then a while back I started getting this...

That's one minute on each side. To me, that's not a good sear (and nowhere close to where I used to get) My wife's filet is off to the side, which for some reason gets a much better sear.

The way I cook the steaks after the sous vide is:
1. Put the cast iron in the oven at about 450 for 30 minutes.
2. Pat the sous-vided steaks dry and re-season a little.
3. On the stove, I put a small amount of safflower oil in the pan. Just enough to lightly coat the bottom of the pan. Once the pan gets back up to 450 (I use a infrared thermometer), I put the steaks in. One minute on each side is what I used to do, and I remember it getting a real nice crust. With about 30 seconds left, I'll add butter to the pan and baste.

Here are two pics of my cast iron. The texture of it is "rough," which I'm guessing is the reason for the spotty browning. I've tried both not moving the steaks in the pan, and moving them around.


I was thinking of stripping the pan down with steel wool and re-seasoning. Think that will fix the problem? Should I be putting more oil in the pan?

Thanks in advance for all the help!

eric

[cscheib]

Try letting the pan get hotter than 450, if your stove can do it. You can also pre-heat the pan to 500-550 in the oven to reduce the time-to-temp on the stove. You definitely want the surface as dry as possible, and don't move the meat once you set it down, until it's time to flip.

[CowboyScott]

Ditto- dry meat and hot CI should work!

[Smoking77]

cscheib, I'll give that all a try. Much thanks!

[RonB]

Do you have a grill press? It looks like the steak is not in full contact to me, so if you use a grill press, that should help keep the surface in contact with the cast iron.

Are the steaks as tender as they used to be?If the fibers seize up, that would make the meat tougher and more springy. That would cause less contact with the pan.

[Hulagn1971]

Excellent advice. I always use a grill press. Mine is a rectangular Lodge one.

[Troutman]

My suggestion would be to get a stripping attachment for your drill from Home Depot or Lowes and grind down all that built up seasoning. After that and a thorough clean you can re-season your now smooth surface. That looks to be at least part of the problem. There are a ton of DIY videos about this on You Tube.

As the poster above mentioned, you may want to up your heat as well. I do mine on my gasser outside. It gets upwards of 800* on my sear zone. Not saying you need that but certainly hotter than 400*. Those would be my suggestions.

[Smoking77]

Troutman, Thanks for the suggestion. I'll go on youtube and learn how to do that.

[boftx]

I'm going to disagree with this suggestion. You have a lot of time invested in getting a good season on the pan for good reason! I think your main problem is that you need to get that pan screaming hot, more than just 450F with a season like that. The beauty of CI is that it can take anything you throw at it for all intents and purposes.

[shify]

Its possible the steaks aren't butchered evenly, thus not flat, so you aren't getting cook contact with the entire face of the steak. Additionally, I would get the pan much hotter. The oven is fine to get the whole pan warmed through but then I would blast it on high heat on the stove top for a few min before putting in the oil and then the steak. You can also baste with the melted butter/oil after you flipped it to help set the crust

[Smoking77]

shify I've been cooking New Yorks for a while now, and I'd have to guess the majority of them are butchered evenly. Strangely enough, my wife's filets (which are kind of rounded) get a very good sear.

[Smoking77]

Do you have a grill press? It looks like the steak is not in full contact to me, so if you use a grill press, that should help keep the surface in contact with the cast iron.

Are the steaks as tender as they used to be?If the fibers seize up, that would make the meat tougher and more springy. That would cause less contact with the pan.

I do not have a grill press, but that's a great idea. Thanks! And yes, the steaks are still tender. Except for not getting a delicious crust, the steaks are very good

[EdF]

The grill press is a great little accessory. All kinds of uses.

[texastweeter]

can make an impromptu with a brick or pretty much any non flammable object that is heavy and wrapped in foil. another skillet that is smaller perhaps.

[Smoking77]

Just picked up a lodge grill press on amazon. Looking forward to using it.

[MBMorgan]

... and this is why I use either the gasser (Weber EP-330) sear station or my new Searzall torch for searing anything even slightly irregular in shape. Lately, I've been favoring the torch since it is so crazy hot and faster than even the sear station.

[jfmorris]

450 is not nearly hot enough to get any kind of decent sear on a grill, and I imagine the same is true on the stove top. I've never thought to measure the temp of my CI skillet on the stove with the IR, but will next time. I heat it on high flame (natural gas cooktop) until it starts to smoke after 10-15 minutes, then put the hood exhaust on turbo, open the doors and windows, and throw the steaks in it to sear. Smoke alarm usually goes off despite the precautions. There fore lately, I've taken to searing my SV steaks on upside down grill grates on my Weber Genesis, and those hit about 700 before I put the steaks on to sear.

[texastweeter]

remember on the grill the only thing in contact with the steak is the grates, which at 450 will leave grate marks. Think of it like this, you can stick you hand in the oven for a few seconds that is 450. now, try to grab that black iron skillet that has been in that oven and is heated to 450 by the handle. actually don't, but you get the idea.

[EdF]

With our infrared gasser, and a lodge griddle on top, we go to about 850 for the sear. Seems about right.

[Smoking77]

... and this is why I use either the gasser (Weber EP-330) sear station or my new Searzall torch for searing anything even slightly irregular in shape. Lately, I've been favoring the torch since it is so crazy hot and faster than even the sear station.

Think throwing it under the broiler would work, too?

[MBMorgan]

Sure! As long as the broiler is really hot and the meat is really close to the heating element. If not, you run the "danger" of too much grey-banding ...

[rotagilla]

#1, make sure they are DRY. Get them to whatever temp, 110 or 115 and take them off and DRY them. Can't sear a wet steak.

[texastweeter]

That looks like the steak is having too much evaporation on the surface. make sure they are bone dry. towel them off well, and try adding a bit of corn starch to your rub mixture. steak must be really dry. The evaporated water forms a barrier of steam between the steak and the black iron causing that muddy color.

[lonnie mac]

I would agree with all the above. This looks like a contact issue. Had it a lot. Weight will help for sure. My lodge press is plenty heavy. Also, no need to oil the pan. Oil the steak. Make sure it is bone dry first. Less smokey smokey, more delicious crust.

[jgreen]

Agree on oil the steak rather than the pan.

[Polarbear777]

Agree with the above. After SV get them very very dry with paper towels then add a light coat of oil. I don’t start searing until my avocado oil is starting to smoke (so probably 500+)

[Smoking77]

Thanks everyone for all the advice! Next time out, won't just pat the steaks dry, but will wrap in towels. And I just purchased a grill press, so I hope that means I'm good to go. Pics will be posted next week with the results!