Sear direction

[smokyYank]

Howdy all.

In the old days, all I knew was how to forward sear.

Then I heard/read about the reverse sear, and thought it was the best thing since sliced bread (or, at least, searing stations). I would cook a steak till about 95F internal, then sear. I have had very good results with this, but wondered...since you are cooking the food most of the way first, then searing it, you have a very limited "window of opportunity" to get it right. Temps raise quickly and your food can overcook in an instant. I was good at handling that, but then it dawned on me, you have limited the amount of sear you can enjoy by doing it last.

On my next cook, I seared the (you-know-what) out of the steak until it was utterly perfect, then finished it on "low" for a perfect inside temp. To me, that was far superior to any reverse sear.

So, am I missing something here about the benefits of the reverse sear?

[RlsRls]

No, not really. I've had success both ways. However I prefer reverse. I think the the thickness of the steak is a factor. The potential problem with front sear is finding a "low n slow" area on a small grill that has been heated up to "sear" temperature. It's safer to gradully monitor the internal temp slowly then remove the steak alltogether while you re-stoke the fire to get it hot.

[smokyYank]

AHA! Good point! I have the luxury of an exterior sear station which probably makes a huge difference.

[briano52]

I have had the same experience. Thickness of the meat makes a big difference. With thinner cuts, front sear will cook it through to my MR liking with no further cooking. Thicker cuts, I favor 2-3 inches, do better for me with the reverse sear method.

[Purc]

I agree that thickness matters. Thinner steaks I use the flip, flip, flip, method and thicker steaks and Tri Tips I use the reverse sear method. Either way, I know the beef is finished when I cut into it and it goes Moo !

[CaptainMike]

+1

[RonB]

It's just what you prefer, but I agree with you that there's less chance of overcooking or "underbarking", (Did I just invent a word? ), with a front sear.

RlsRls - I normally sear over an inverted chimney. That way, on the rare, (no pun intended, but I'll take it ), occasion that I need to continue the cook after I get the bark I need, there's not a lot of hot charcoal to get my kettle too hot. I seldom have to cook more than 2 hunks of protein.

[smokenoob]

Welldone Ron!

[Purc]

Rare comments!

[smokyYank]

LOL. Yeah, I saw Alton Brown do that once a long time ago. Since I have a PVC deck I no longer use charcoal!!!

[WI Bubba]

I do reverse sear on steaks because I want the added flavor from more time on the smoker. If I were doing it all over charcoal, I would probably front sear.

[smokyYank]

AHA! Didn't think of using a smoker. How hot can you get that bad boy?

[WI Bubba]

smokyYank I run the smoker at 250° and then sear on either the flat top or in a pan on the wok burner. The LSG pooper has a sear function, but I've never tried to use it.

[CaptainMike]

On a charcoal grill I do as Purc mentions. However, my favorite method is to get the protein up to temp in the pellet pooper then oil it up nicely and sear on the flat side of grillgrates in the gasser. Lately I'm dropping a couple of dollops of blue chesse/garlic compound butter at the sear flip.

[Panhead John]

I usually just go to The Sizzler…..

[CaptainMike]

I miss that steak and all you can eat shrimp!

[jerrybell]

Some good points here about thickness of the cut and grill size. I just flip, flip but most often have room to move to a cool zone if needed.

[jfmorris]

smokyYank I've gone full circle myself on the front versus reverse sear. I discovered the reverse sear around the time I got my first SNS insert for a Weber kettle, and an Easyspin grate, and was a proponent and evangelist for the method. Over time, I've come to decide that I get better results with a front sear, or the "just keep flipping" method, for my steaks. The issue with the reverse sear (for me) is that there is too much opportunity to overcook the steak, trying to get the color and sear that I want. I don't find that to be as much of an issue with front sear, or the just-keep-flipping method.

Lately I think every steak I've made, indoors or out, I just did an open grill, flipping the steak every 30 to 60 seconds. That works very well if your steaks are around an inch thick, or less.

[smokyYank]

Yup, JFK, baby! First time I saw those initials, I thought "what does JFK (John Kennedy) have to do with grilling? LOL I JKF, going from about one minute per side down to about 15 seconds, the hotter it gets, to minimize cook-thru.

[briano52]

Good points. With reverse sear, I had trouble with overcooking. I prefer Med Rare. So, I have learned to do the internal temp to about 100 degrees and then finish with the hot sear. But it takes some practice to get it right and the thickness of the meat is a big factor.

[Oak Smoke]

Steak is my favorite protein. We eat it regularly. I like to set up the kamado with half a deflector plate for a hot side and a warm side. I’ll mesquite smoke very cold steak direct from the fridge on the warm side to about 100 F. At that point I have 3 options. The easiest is to just move over to the hot side and sear it. If it’s a nice fatty steak you’ll get some flame up that makes wonderful flavor. I can move over to the char broiler and do a fast flaming sear with again a great flavor. I believe the very best flavor comes from adding either my home made steak rub or blackening seasoning then searing it in a very hot CI skillet. The skillet is going to smoke a bit so it must be done outside. I have a Camp Chef propane burner I use for that. It’s a little more trouble but the flavor is amazing! This technique is exactly what that big beautiful old Griswold skillet that someone let warp is perfect for. You’re cooking with a great skillet and you can’t hurt it. Someone else beat you to it. I bought a warped number 10 Griswold in Abilene Tx for 15 dollars.

[Panhead John]

A good rare/medium rare blackened ribeye is hard to beat!

[dubob]

Beef steak = sous vide at 131*F for 3 to 24 hrs (depending on which cut of meat it is) and then sear in a HOT pan with butter. Comes out a PERFECT Med Rare every time and is melt in my mouth delicious. I have neither the inclination or the desire to mess with grilling over coals of any kind. I have several local restaurants that produce excellent grilled steaks if I get a hankering for one cooked that way. I'm getting lazy in my later years.

[smokyYank]

Yeah, I'm not such a fan of steakhouses. Many of them serve mediocre steak that's been artificially "enhanced" and then they overcharge so you have to rob a bank before you go there.

[dubob]

I guess I'm lucking smokyYank. I have three local steak houses that produce excellent steaks. None of them are national chain restaurants. One of them even raises its own beef, pork, chicken, and lamb.

[texastweeter]

I roast until about 123° the remove and let cool completely. Then sear the beejesus out of it. Never miss my mark, and is crazy consistent without a narrow window. Now for my personal steak, I just sear. I like black and blue.

[smokyYank]

Hah! never thought of that...

[shify]

Its funny how varied peoples opinions/preferences are in cooking steaks! Almost everyone is either reverse sear only or front sear only. No one is in the middle!

I'm a huge proponent of reverse sear any steak >1 inch thick. I greatly prefer the edge-to-edge medium rare that you get from the reverse sear.

I think its fairly foolproof and never have an issue cooking it properly. The only time I get less than perfect results are if I get impatient and don't let the coals get ripping hot before the final sear.

[smokyYank]

Yup, evangelists on both sides.

Hey, why don't we start doing a "middle sear" just to appease (alienate) both sides of the road? LOL

[J-Melt]

I usually do reverse sear, but I did not have a lot of time once I was going to light my OJB. So I decided to do a front sear on my kettle and it turned out pretty much the same as my reverse sear steaks I have done. This one was a New York strip with potato wedges.



Turned out great!


Someone was sneaking seconds!

[RichardK]

Thickness is my driver. Thin < 1 inch is front sear. Thick > 1.5 then reverse. As @RlsRls points out finding a cool spot on a grill after a hot front sear on a thick steak is difficult. I have a Weber Kettle and with a air blower (hair blow dryer, or small leaf blower, works great; it is okay you can laugh.) it is easy to heat up a grill, tough to cool it down. I have in the past, missed my target of 100-105 and put the steak in a cool place before returning for a reverse sear. Quite often I take the steak off the grill and stoke up the coals before searing. The nice side effect of this is SHMBO gets her requested 5 minute warning before plating. SHMBO and I prefer the thick steaks, gets us more rare beef, and nice level of smoke. We find thin steaks are not as smoky as we like.