What To Do With This Particular Steak?

[BradNorthGA]

I have been doing Meathead's "Afterburner Method" of searing (chimney starter with a small grate on top) on tuna steaks -- they've been great and I wanted to try it on a ribeye. Meathead says that steaks need to be 1/2 - 3/4 inches in thickness to cook them by Afterburner Method sear. So when my wife went to Kroger the other day, I told her to go back to the meat counter and pick out a ribeye that looks about 3/4 inches thick. She saw some nice looking angus ribeyes, and got the thinnest one there. She picked out a good cut of meat, but measuring it, the thickness is more than 3/4 inches.

It's actually a pretty lopsided steak thickness-wise; one end is thin the other thick. Last night when I dry brined it I used a ruler to measure: the thin side measures one inch, the thick side measures 1.5 inches, it is exactly 1.25 inches in the middle. So it is too thick to cook entirely using the Afterburner Method. Also, Meathead says you should have at least 1.5 inches to do the Reverse Sear method (which turned out amazing on my tomahawk steak last week!). This seems to be just a tad too thin for that.

So it's too thick for Afterburner Method, too thin for Reverse Sear. I am coming hear to ask y'all's advice on how I should cook this steak. I am hoping to cook it tonight. Any and all tips and advice is highly appreciated!

[HawkerXP]

I'd pre sear or reverse sear whichever you prefer.

[glitchy]

You have a Sous Vide cooker? If so, I'd bath it then afterburner. Otherwise, I think it's going to be hard not to have 2 different doneness levels from end to end.

Also, I reverse sear 1" steaks all the time. Might not be as ideal as thicker steaks, but I haven't had any problems. I don't use the afterburner though and my sear isn't usually as intense as a lot of others prefer.

[BradNorthGA]

No I ain't got a Sous Vide cooker. I bet they're nice!

[Steve R.]

Sous vide is all I could come up with for this one.

[Panhead John]

It’s not too thin for reverse sear. Just leave it off heat for a little bit,5-10 minutes at most, then sear over the coals, flipping every 30 seconds to a minute or so.

[BradNorthGA]

OK that sounds good, I think I will just go ahead and do the reverse sear anyways, knowing that it won't take nearly as long as the tomahawk ribeye did. I will make sure to watch the internal temps throughout

For the tomahawk ribeye I took it off the 225* F first phase once the internal temp hit ~110-115* F, then seared after that seeking my desired temp of 125-130* F. Should I do the same thing for this thinner steak? Still want 125-130* F final product. Thanks!

[glitchy]

How big is the steak? If it's a pound plus, you might be able to cut it in half and have 2 smaller closer to uniform steaks and cook the thinner one for a little shorter amount of time. There's a few variables to this such as what each half would look like afterwards. If one half would be all fat then that wouldn't work well.

[BradNorthGA]

I didn't weigh it but I could when I get home. It's an average size ribeye you might get at the grocery store, 1" thick on one side, 1.5" thick on the other, about 1.25" in the middle. I could take a picture of it when I get home

I'm not terribly interested in cutting it in half tbh, I'd rather just cook and serve. But I reckon I'm not totally opposed to that if it makes it much better

[Richard Chrz]

What glitchy said, we sometimes make things too complicated, and ignore some cool lessons to understand for future cooks.

[Old Glory]

++ on reverse searing then finish/sear quickly on the afterburner

[Richard Chrz]

So, why not just cut into 2 even pieces, and cook them in their own timing. Take the lesson, and make 2 great steaks. Understand the uniform part, for next time you pick up a steak. But, do not get confined by the "idea" of a steak, and cook the "meat" in a way that you would enjoy the final product.

[BradNorthGA]

Second suggestion to cut the steak in half, so I might consider it. Then again part of me thinks it'd just be easier to cook the whole thing slightly less than perfect, then serve. If I cut it in half this way it'd be length-wise; one person would get a think steak and the other person a thick one. Hmmm, I will think on it

[Dadof3Illinois]

I front sear 2" + thick steaks all the time. Just dry brine like normal over night or even for a couple days in the fridge. Then get your chimney 1/2 full of charcoal screaming hot and sear the steaks to your liking. Now dump those hot coals over on one side of the cooker with maybe a few unlit coals and a small chunk of wood. Then I season my steaks with my rub of choice and finish them indirect with a hint of smoke until they reach 125-130 internal temp.

[Smoldering Flea]

do this.

[Smoldering Flea]

i wouldn't cut the steak. seems like more trouble than its worth and the idea of a 1/2" thick cut of ribeye just seems weird (and yes i realize prime rib is sometimes sliced thin). I think there are two options:

i) do the reverse sear. just take it off the first phase at a lower temperature because the searing will bring up the internal temperature much more quickly given the lack of thickness. i'd say (~10 degrees lower).

ii) cook it the traditional way (sear first then finish in oven / indirect). the fact that its thinner makes the deficiencies of the traditional method vs reverse sear less of an issue.

i'd go with the 2nd option.

[glitchy]

My suggestion for halving it was cutting the other way, Like cutting a pizza in half. He’d have closer to a one inch steak and another closer to 1.5 inch steak. I’m also guessing if he shares with wife he might make this same cut post cook anyway.

[BradNorthGA]

glitchy I did end up cutting it in half right before serving it, so maybe I could have done that before cooking. Still learning & experimenting!

the steak turned out great, I ended up reverse searing it. I posted pics in the SUWYC thread

[ecowper]

To be honest, I don't worry about the steak must be 1.5" thick or more for reverse sear. Pretty much any decent steak or pork chop goes on reverse sear. I have figured out how my family and I enjoy them and just do it that way.

My advice? You seem to have some success going with the reverse sear, keep cooking steak that way and really dial in the method for you.

[Panhead John]

+1. It’s a steak, not a brisket. You’ll be fine.

[Troutman]

I like steak.....no, I LOVE steak !!!

[bbqLuv]

Pound it with a skillet to the same thickness. No problem. I do that with chicken breasts.
Please don't listen to me, What do I know? I BBQ with a pellet grill and like to keep things simple.