Reverse Seared Steak - Perfection Every time

Reverse searing refers to the cooking method where the steak is cooked via indirect heat to begin with, then seared over a high heat to finish. The result is a juicy steak with a caramelised crust and done to perfection.

It works because you slowly and more evenly increase the internal temperature of the meat using the low indirect cooking method first before finishing with the high heat sear. 

You can use an oven, smoker, BBQ or any other indirect heat source to start with. In the picture above we have used a weber kettle and placed the steak on the opposite of the grill to the charcoal heat source. 

For the sear, you can use a hot cast iron pan, a super hot oven or charcoal that's burning really hot.

It doesn't really matter what you use to reverse sear it's just all about the cooking temperatures.

However you can not reverse sear thin steaks, there needs to be a bit of weight to the steak! Personally I wouldn't reverse sear anything less than about 4cm otherwise it will end up over cooked.

When reverse searing it's really important to check the internal temperature of the steak using an instant read thermometer to check the level of doneness.

• RARE. Cool red center. 125° F | 52° C.
• MEDIUM RARE. Warm red center. 135° F | 57° C.
• MEDIUM. Warm pink center. 145° F | 63° C.
• MEDIUM WELL. Slightly pink center. 150° F | 66° C.
• WELL DONE. Little or no pink. 160° F | 71° C.

I remove the steak a few degrees less than my target temperature and then sear. By the time you have seared you will be where you want to be temperature wise. It's also important to remember with reverse searing you don't have to rest your meat the same as with front searing because the meat has heated slowly it's essentially rested.