Reverse sear, ribeye falling apart

[mikey]

Hi all,

I reverse seared some choice ribeyes on my weber 22 this evening. I flipped them a few times while they cooked at 225. Question is though, is there a way to keep them from falling apart? Should I just be more careful flipping? Buy higher quality cuts of steak? Thicker cuts? Something else?

How come they didn't stay together like in David Parrish 's YouTube video?

https://youtu.be/xGjJQQCfqNY

I still seared them and they tasted great, but I want them to look nice on the plate and not falling apart.

Thanks,
mikey

[David Parrish]

I only flip them once while slow cooking them, and by the time they hit 115 F they're ready to sear. It looks to me like you may have taken them to a little higher temp. Around 120 F the fat starts melting... which is what looks like happened to one of your steaks.

[mikey]

Makes sense. I had trouble keeping the kettle from getting too hot. Charcoal is still new to me. SnS worked great on the sear though. Thanks!

[vandy]

I only start out with 25 to 30 briquettes for the low and slow part of it then add about 3/4 of a chimney of hot ones for the sear.

[RonB]

Fire too hot? Tell us what you did making the fire. Maybe we can help with that too.

[mikey]

Thanks for offering RonB ! I filled my chimney half way and got the charcoal white. I dumped it in the SnS and opened the bottom and top vents completely. When it hit 200 on grate level, I shut down the bottom vents to 1/4 open and top to 1/3 open. The temp blew past 225 to 350. I ended up placing the lid offset on top of the grill to slow cook the steaks. The grate level temp was 250 - 275 for the cook. At this point I was just fumbling through the process just to get something edible on the dinner table. Anyway, I was thinking I had too many coals or I shut the vents down too late? I dunno? Any advice would be much appreciated!

[barelfly]

I’ll add a few things I read this past weekend because I was having a hard time with temps on the kettle. For low 225* you only need 1/4 chimney full of briquettes. That should help on your 225* temp a lot. Then you can dump more in for the sear later. Hope that helps for the next ribeye.

[mikey]

Thanks! Think I had too many. Next time I'll even count em out just for consistency.

[David Parrish]

Be sure to check out our lighting instructions. We tell you how much charcoal to use for most any cook!

[SierraBBQGuy]

I think you took them too high temp. For thinner ribeyes ( these look that) I only take to just about 100 degrees, the searing will take the internal temp to med rare. I only slow cook to 115 or so with a really think steak.

[ddmcwhirter]

I'd try putting them in the freezer and taking them down to about 32 F (they won't be frozen), then sear them fast (while your kettle is hot), then slow cook to that perfect temperature. You should get a nice sear crust that's maybe 1/16 to 1/8 inch thick, no gray matter, and beautiful red.

[MBMorgan]

Not too long ago I cooked a couple of steaks that, like yours, were practically falling apart while still raw. I just bound them with string and cooked them normally (SV followed by searing in this example). No problem ... they held their shape just fine:

[texastweeter]

EXACTLY!!!! I now do this on all my ribeyes that are over an inch and a half thick, anything thinner like breakfast steaks get the black iron skillet treatment.

[mikey]

Those look killer. I had wondered if anyone tied steaks. If I get em thick enough, like in your picture, I'll give it a try!

[texastweeter]

This thread reminds me. My 7 year old daughter is having some teeth pulled to keep her adult teeth from coming in crooked. She gets to pick tonights meal since the surgery is tomorrow. I told her she can have anything she wants. Waiting for the pizza response, she quickly answered "Waygu ribeyes, baked potato, and cowboy beans!" how the heck does a 7 year old even know what a ribeye is let alone a waygu grade one....

[vandy]

texastweeter ??

[texastweeter]

For pics of the waygu ribeye, waygu strip, and 3 bone in CAB ribeyes. vandy

[vandy]

OK I got you now, I am a little dense every now and then.

[OSB]

23-25 KBB and proper vent settings is all you need to get your steaks to 115 IT.