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    Am I crazy?

    OK - that's not a fair question because all my friends would shout YES! without hesitation.

    Why reverse sear instead of front sear? Here's what I'm thinking:

    Sear right out of the refrigerator or freezer.
    Shock in an ice bath to stop the cooking - bagged of course
    Cook low using a leave in thermometer until the correct temp is reached
    Serve and eat

    This would eliminate guessing when to take the meat from low to warp 10 and since you are now cooking low, it would be easier to hit your temp.

    What am I missing? I do see the need for an extensive testing period.

    #2
    It would seem to me, your missing the cooking experience and only focusing on the eating end of things. That is IMHO only. I am currently going through Mallman's Seven Fires & On Fire. It makes me want to go up in the country and fix some kind of fire and dance around a cook. I could go on, but I won't.
    What you are suggesting almost sounds like "set it and forget it". You can do that with a slow cooker, go to work & have dinner ready when you come home or get something from the freezer section of a stupor market, put it in oven or micro & voila!
    Personally, and in your regards, only me personally, I'm in it for the action, the cook! My wife said yesterday, that you really love to cook, & I replied, no, I really love to cook for her. I think if I was alone, I would'nt do near the stuff I do. I probably would be using the nuke machine more.

    PS. And yes you are crazy, all aside!

    Comment


    • JCBBQ
      JCBBQ commented
      Editing a comment
      Michael Brinton can you imagine having your own island like he does! That place is gorgeous.

    • RonB
      RonB commented
      Editing a comment
      I don't see your point FireMan - I'm still cooking low and searing - just in reverse order. BUT the end product is very important too. I do love the process of cooking, and figuring out how to end up with the best product is part of the fun.

    • FireMan
      FireMan commented
      Editing a comment
      Misunderstanding, I saw the word bag & thought some kind of resting was going on.

    #3
    http://www.seriouseats.com/2017/03/h...ook-steak.html Is one defence. But I get your meaning either way can be done. Chefsteps uses a plate from the freezer to halt the cooking, which works really well. The best reasoning I see for reverse is the slow cook steps guarantees a dry service for a better sear. Still I agree with you. Lots of ways to skin a cat.

    Comment


      #4
      What kind of question is that? You are in the PIT, of course you're crazy!!
      That being said, I believe David Parrish had a discussion going a while back about front searing. Maybe he will chime in. When I am doing burgers, I always front sear them.

      Comment


        #5
        OK I was about to go to sleep ( busy day tomorrow) and I read this earlier but I had to come back!! Got stuck in my head. Just to be clear are we talking about steak? Extensive testing period sounds great. I experimented with a skirt steak tonite - my first one and took pics and will post when I get a chance.. Pre sear or front sear? Interresting!..Now to try to go to sleep.....

        Comment


          #6
          To me the obvious point would be is the seared sides will no longer be very hot. But hey what do i know

          Comment


          • RonB
            RonB commented
            Editing a comment
            customtrim - I'm not sure how you come to that conclusion. After searing, I would cool the steak to stop the cooking, and then cook it low and slow. The sides would still be around 225* when it reaches the correct internal temp.

          • customtrim
            customtrim commented
            Editing a comment
            RonB Yes but you are now cooking at 225 instead of 500 or above
            And because your cooking at a lower temp does that mean for the short time your cooking it the sear sides reach 225

          • RonB
            RonB commented
            Editing a comment
            customtrim - I don't think you want to put anything in your mouth at a temp of 225*. And the interior temp of the meat cannot rise until the exterior heats up. I heat water for coffee to 172*, brew the coffee and pour it into an insulated mug. It's too hot at first.

          #7
          I know that extensive testing is mandatory!

          Comment


          • tbob4
            tbob4 commented
            Editing a comment
            I agree EdF! Testing and tasting is best. Repeatability is necessary, as well. I believe you and I should ask AR staff to get us 100lbs of Kobe beef to test the methods as used by "members". It would be a tough assignment, but I'm willing to sacrifice for it.

          • FireMan
            FireMan commented
            Editing a comment
            Make it 150 lbs & I'm in.

          • tbob4
            tbob4 commented
            Editing a comment
            FireMan -I would be more than happy to share with you. It means my wife doesn't get to judge but she would be OK with it as long as we promise not to use her good kitchen sponge to clean any gear. She would give up meat for a month if I could go two cooks abiding by that rule.

          #8
          I agree with the comment about the not hot enough exterior with this method. Also, I don't understand how guesswork is a factor with reverse sear if you have a leave in thermometer.

          Comment


          • RonB
            RonB commented
            Editing a comment
            Steve R. - see comment 6.1 above. The interior of the meat can't cook until the exterior is hot enough to transfer energy to the interior as heat.

          #9
          Are we taking a poll. That's 2 for crazy, 3 if you count the author.
          From one crazy to another, I'm doing burgs tonight and front sear it shall be!
          As far as Mallman is concerned, love the guy. Live fire, on anything, anywhere, in anything. He makes you want to experiment to the flames edge. I just got the books. It's been a two year quest for me. I can almost do anything regarding MCS, or at least lie, cheat & conive my way thru just about anything, but, books, whoa Nellie! There was a "oh no not more books" this time,, but it was cut short, due to me ordering & paying for some eye solution.
          I deeply regret not getting these two books 2 years ago. The recipes & what he cooks on and where, are inspiring to say the least.

          Comment


            #10
            Steve R. - I missed the second part of your reply. When reverse searing, you have to decide, (guess), when to stop the "low" and start the sear. If you pull it too early, the steak may get too brown before reaching the finished temp, and if you pull it too late, it might not get brown enough before it reaches the final temp.

            Comment


            • Steve R.
              Steve R. commented
              Editing a comment
              But there should be no guessing if you have a thermometer. You would still be using the thermometer with either method, correct?

            • Breadhead
              Breadhead commented
              Editing a comment
              Yes... cooking without a thermometer just makes no sense actually, even if you are a professional Chef.

            • RonB
              RonB commented
              Editing a comment
              Steve R. - The "guessing" come in at when to stop the low and slow and start the sear. It's not when the final temp is reached. YES - always use a thermometer!!

            #11
            Another good point for a pre-sear then chill is that since your working with cold meat during the initial sear you should be able to achieve good results with smaller steak. I've only ever done it sous vide (so I'm searing twice) but you can get crust to crust evenness on smaller steaks. Reverse sear you need 1 1/2 inch steaks. If you're quick with the chill after sear you could use thinner.

            Comment


              #12
              Because Meathead says so!!! Enough said!

              No further explanation required.

              He didn't become a professor at Le Cordon Bleu by accident. He didn't dream this reverse sear technique up one night and publish it on AR the next day. Meathead didn't even invent the technique, he's credited with making it widely known.

              The reverse sear technique as described by Meathead has been aggressively debated through out the culinary industry. When it first starting becoming a popular topic many professional Chef's disputed the concept.

              Now a days... it's pretty much a forgone conclusion that the reverse sear is the best technique for grilling a steak, even though it is not the only way it's done.

              For me personally... I was sold lock, stock and barrel head after my very first attempt on my grill. I've never grilled 1 1/2" to 2" steaks any other way since that first try. Skinny steaks are a different story.

              Comment


              • Breadhead
                Breadhead commented
                Editing a comment
                Soon after arriving at BBQ University most of us know beyond a shadow of a doubt we really had no clue exactly how all this stuff really worked. So... I find it futile to question Meathead on his proven techniques and recipes. I might tweak them slightly but that's about it.

              • Mikey C
                Mikey C commented
                Editing a comment
                We all took the blue pill and went down the AR rabbit hole, no question.

              • Willy
                Willy commented
                Editing a comment
                Skinny steaks are a crime--skirt and the like excepted.

              #13
              So if i would do any type of test my first would be to use a ir thermometer and check the surface temperature of one being done by reverse and one being done the other way and see what you get. I know myself i cook till 125 then sear to looks what the internal temp is when I am done i have no idea, biggest thing is i would not know the difference between 128 and 138 or maybe up to 145, by the time it looks good i am ready to eat and dont care to keep probing
              Are yoy crazy RonB no nothing wrong with going out on a limb to try something different. I bet they thought the guy who did the first reverse sear his friends called him crazy. We need more people to be different that is what makes us interesting and able to learn

              Comment


                #14
                To me, the front v reverse sear is really fun because the debate about which makes a better steak is a matter of preference, doneness, texture and even nostalgia. It's like debating grill marks. My grandmother used to put a steak in an oven in foil on low temp and would either take it out and fry it in a cast iron pan with butter and salt or broil it. It was very SV like. Very little if any banding.

                Outdoor steaks were cooked two ways by my dad. Method one was on a Santa Maria type grill where the steaks were seared and the heat was taken farther away. They were pulled "when it was time". I wasn't the cook so I had no idea what the time was. Method two was the hibachi method - steak cooked hot, flipped, taken off the fire, placed back on with butter and more salt, cooked and flipped again.

                When I eat a reverse seared steak it reminds me of being at my grandmother's house. There is a different texture and color to the steak. When I eat a front seared steak I think of my dad's steaks. I like the banding sometimes. When I am cooking a steak on the grill from start to finish I vary my cooking methods on a whim. I have that luxury with my Santa Maria grill. How I cook it is often times based on nothing more than nostalgia.

                What I appreciate is that I understand how and why the methods work differently. My wife really prefers a front sear and my daughter the front sear. My son is partial to neither method.

                Comment


                • Breadhead
                  Breadhead commented
                  Editing a comment
                  There you go... the seasoned griller can achieve the same basic result, great steaks, no matter what grill he's using or what technique he uses. Not many backyard grillers have reached that level of expertise.

                • tbob4
                  tbob4 commented
                  Editing a comment
                  Breadhead - Thanks. I really only understand what I am doing because of folks like you all who take the time to explain what you are doing, why you are doing it and the results you achieve. Knowing something works and knowing why are two entirely different things.

                • Breadhead
                  Breadhead commented
                  Editing a comment
                  tbob4 ... I think that's why Meathead came up with the slogan "The Science of BBQ". He had the vision that the why was more meaningful than the how. Including both on EVERY topic separated him from the competition on the www. We're just teaching you what he taught us.

                #15
                tbob4 - OK, so you have done them both ways. Do you have a preference? For me there are 4 basic things I look for in a steak. Assume that I am cooking the same cut of steak and that they have been treated the same way prior to cooking.

                Looks, taste, texture, and juiciness are controlled by the cooking method. Can you compare the two methods based on the 4 basic things above?

                Comment

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