How to Reverse Sear a Steak | Serious Eats 

How to Reverse Sear a Steak The process of reverse-searing is really simple: Season a roast or a thick-cut steak (the method works best with steaks at least one and a half to two inches thick), arrange the meat on a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet, and place it in a low oven-between 200 and 275°F (93 and 135°C). You can also do this outdoors by placing the meat directly on the cooler side of a closed grill with half the burners on. Cook it until it's about 10 to 15°F below your desired serving temperature (see the chart at the end of this section), then take it out and sear it in a ripping-hot skillet, or on a grill that's as hot as you can get it. Then dig into the best-cooked steak you've ever had in your life. You want it broken down step by step? Okay, here goes: 1. Season the Steak Season your thick-cut steaks-I like ribeyes, but this will work with any thick steak-generously with salt and pepper on all sides, then place them on a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet. If you're cooking the steaks on a grill, skip the rack and pan. For even better results, refrigerate the steaks uncovered overnight to dry out their exteriors. 2. Preheat the Oven Preheat the oven to anywhere between 200 and 275°F (93 and 135°C). The lower you go, the more evenly the meat will cook, though it'll also take longer. If you have a very good oven, you can probably set it even lower than this range, but many ovens can't hold temperatures below 200°F very accurately. If you're doing this outdoors, create a two-zone fire by banking a chimney of coals under one side of the grill, or turning on only half the burners of a gas grill. Cover the grill and let it preheat. 3. Slow-Cook the Steak Place the steaks-baking sheet, rack, and all-in the oven, and roast until they hit a temperature about 10 to 15°F below the final temperature at which you'd like to serve the meat. A good thermometer is absolutely essential for this process. I recommend either the Thermapen or one of these inexpensive options. If using the grill, just place the steaks directly on the cooler side of the grill, allowing them to gently cook via indirect heat. Timing may vary depending on the exact temperature that your grill is maintaining, so use a thermometer, and check frequently! 4. Sear the Steak Just before the steaks come out of the oven, add a tablespoon of vegetable oil or other high-temp-friendly oil to a heavy skillet, then set it to preheat over your strongest burner. Cast iron works great, as does triple-clad stainless steel. As soon as that oil starts smoking, add the steaks along with a tablespoon of butter, and let them cook, swirling and lifting occasionally, until they're nicely browned on the first side. This should take about 45 seconds. Flip the steaks and get the second side, then hold the steaks sideways to sear their edges. To finish on the grill, remove the steaks and tent them with foil while you build the biggest fire you can, either with all your gas burners at full blast and the lid down to preheat, or with extra coals. When the fire is rip-roaring hot, cook the steaks over the hot side, flipping every few seconds, until they're crisp and charred all over, about a minute and a half total. 5. Serve Serve the steaks immediately, or, if you'd like, let them rest for at most a minute or two. With reverse-seared steaks, there's no need to rest your meat, as you would with a more traditional cooking method. • RARE: 120’F • MEDIUM: 140’F • WELL: 160’F Temperature and Timing for Reverse-Seared Steak For 1 1/2-Inch Steaks in a 250°F (120°C) Oven Doneness Target Temperature in the Oven Final Target Temperature Approximate Time in Oven Rare 105°F (40°C) 120°F (49°C) 20 to 25 minutes Medium-Rare 115°F (46°C) 130°F (54°C) 25 to 30 minutes Medium 125°F (52°C) 140°F (60°C) 30 to 35 minutes Medium-Well 135°F (57°C) 150°F (66°C) 35 to 40 minutes

Just used this recipe for dinner. Oven temp was 275F. Used a remote meat thermometer and baked the 1.25" thick 20oz boneless ribeye until it read 120F internal temp. That took about 45 minutes. Then seared for about a minute on each side with some extra for the edges. It was perfect. Great recipe and great video. Thanks.

I absolutely love when people don't mention at all what the temp is they set their ovens too, it's so great, I love it

I’ve taken to reverse sear steak using my smoker, then finishing in a cast iron. This gives the benefit of getting a smoky “grill taste” AND pan sear allows easy making of a pan sauce (not to mention the butter and herb as shown in the video). I prefer a lighter wood (like apple or cherry) as it doesn’t over power. Just adds another layer of flavor.

Great video. Very instructional and thank you for not yelling or talking too loud.

I recently learned this method and will probably do this for our steaks from now on.

Did my first reverse sear with a top sirloin a few days ago. Cooked it rare and did the final stovetop sear in a pan with duck fat and fresh rosemary. Came out perfect, nice and rare on the inside and an excellent Maillard reaction on the outside.

Instead of guessing how deep to put the probe, you can get it exactly by finding the center with the probe on the outside, marking the depth with you fingers. Then when you insert the probe into the steak, only go as deep as your fingers are holding onto the probe.

I tried the reverse sear in a cast iron pan but the pan was on a propane grill, which i was able to get up to about 650 degrees. Doing this outside came in real handy for the reaction when the meat hits the pan 😊 1 min each side is all that’s necessary.

I ran across this today. I set my oven at 225 to start, pumped it up to 275. When it hit 118 or so, I pulled it. I seared it, and I am well pleased with the results. Wall to wall med rare. I don’t think you can mess it up. My meat was a three inch bone in rib-eye.

Loving that funky beat

I did this last week and it camd out amazing.I will only cook them like this for now on.You must have a thick cut for this to sork right,1.5” - 2” ,,the oven breaks down the fat in the meat on a molecular level,just delish when done.

thick steak - 30 room temp with salt pepper - pre heat oven 250 F. cook for about an hour until 110-115 F for med/rare. take out then sear both sides for about 1 1/2 mins each side. if you gonna do the butter thing, do it on the flip. easy. you can let it rest or dont rest up to you but i noticed that when i let rest for atleast 5 mins, less juice runs. if anything catch the juice and pour it over some onions with butter and do that. lols

The thermometers are great, but what temp do you set your oven to? Pretty vital info.

Since I do NOT own a thermometer I let the steak rest after the oven phase. This seems to ensure the center finishes cooking off of the residual heat and the actual sear process itself won't create a massive gradient. Of course I have only used this to cook steaks to my usual preference of rare. Seems to work well though I really should invest in a thermometer due to the occasional mucked up steak cooked to medium. (makes face)

Great video - thanks!

Convection ovens are even better for drying the surface if you have one. Have to set it low though, I’ve done as low as 175. Also, I don’t know why no one talks about this, but this method also works with pork chops (no, you won’t die. Just aim for 130 in the oven and you’ll get to 145 on the sear, it’s perfectly safe)

I watched this video while eating a reverse-seared rib eye I made. I suggest taking the steak technique in the video up a notch by further drying the exterior of the steak in the oven for a faster, stronger sear and minimal band of overcooked meat around the center of the steak. There's quite a gradient in this video because they looked rather wet coming out of the oven and so required more time in the pan to sear. The quickest way to get a dryer steak is to cook at a lower temperature. I cook at 170°F, my oven's minimum temperature. I cook it on a toaster oven size rack and sheet pan atop baking steel at the bottom of my oven, because the top of the steak dries faster than the bottom and cooking at the bottom rack minimizes this. The baking steel helps keep the temperature of the oven even. At 170°F, one-inch thick steaks take 90-120 minutes for medium-rare. Thicker steaks or more well-done steaks will take longer. Another way to get a drier steak, and I like to combine both methods, is to put the seasoned steak in a rack in you refrigerator for a few days. Keeping it elevated on the rack so that air circulates beneath will keep it from spoiling for probably at least a week usually. But after one night or a few days it will be pretty dry, at least on top. The salt will have also been absorbed into the meat which tastes nice. Since this steak is pre-dried before cooking begins it will come out fairly dry even at 200°F. When I have the time, I pre-dry and cook at 170°F. After a few seconds in the hot thick pan heated just below the 500°F smoke point avocado oil (checked with a cheap infrared thermometer, ghee and canola also work well with their 450°F smoke points) the steak is deep brown and beautiful. Kenji would say (as in his Serious Eats guide to this method) that such a long cook also contributes to flavor since there are hours of enzymatic activity in the meat before the sear, especially productively in the low oven as the meat slowly heats up. Eh, maybe. I wouldn't say it tastes dry-aged, but I think there is a difference in that direction and better than other home-aging "hacks" I've tried (like koji-based methods: I tried powdered koji rice, shio koji, and miso and was consistently disappointed by the hype). I'd have to cut a steak in half and cook one half reverse-sear and the other fast (like straight in the pan) and do a direct blind comparison tasting of the steak centers to find out for sure if slow-cooking really produces substantial aged flavor. You can make great steaks just flipping them in a pan or by other methods, and I have, but since I switched to reverse-sear I consistently eat the best sears I've ever put on meat and have much more evenly cooked interiors than sous vide (because the sear is so much shorter). It's the best way to cook a steak, and it's also easy and with little clean-up. I season a steak, put it on a little rack and pan in the fridge, and in a couple of hours or a couple of days I put that pan in a low oven with a timer. Then I check the temperature and put on a quick sear. It's only a few minutes work, though the oven cooks slowly. I have a probe thermometer but I don't use it because the reverse-sear is so forgiving that I've never overcooked my steak. I'd have to leave the steak in for like another 45 minutes to get it to medium. And you can always cool the steak a little before searing if you do cook it a little much in the oven. This is not a bad introductory video. I was worried that I forgot to watch the video before cooking my steak, and so might have missed out on a tip to try, but this video didn't change my recipe or technique. It's such a simple method, there's not much to change. Timing simply improves with experience. The most experimenting I do wish with different spices for seasoning. Salt and pepper always, usually garlic powder, and there's a rotating cast from my spices depending on my mood: ground coriander seeds, onion powder, mushroom powder, dried thyme, dried oregano, smoked paprika, a few drops of liquid smoke. This is all rubbed on before cooking. After cooking, usually a steak sauce and if I'm feeling fancy some roasted garlic cloves or tomatoes.

If you want steak medium rare, i recommend pulling at 100F for the sear and baste. You want to buy yourself more time to baste and build your crust. Reverse sear can be faster and more efficient, esp. if you do it in a toaster oven. You can go from fridge to toaster oven to pan versus waiting for the steak to come to room temp. Build your butter baste in a little bowl in advance by mixing thyme/rosemary, salt, pepper, crushed garlic, and the butter/ghee so it is ready to drop in the pan.

I've got a Bosch Oven to do this reverse sear method..just wondering which mode should I use? The grill function or the top/bottom heating function?

Thanks for the video. Would be nice to know what temperature for oven aspect.

Best reverse searing video

Glad I saw the 1 minute ad on how to reverse sear a steak right before watching this video.

The thought of leaving my beautiful ribeye in an oven for an hour is terrifying.

Great video

I heated my cast iron pan on my infrared burner of my grill and have a feeling the pan got too hot. Is that possible? What would be the ideal temp of the cast iron skillet for searing the steak?

"Reverse sear really doesn't need to rest" *_Gordon Ramsay has left the chat_*

Soooooo helpful!

I did this by accident at home a while back and I nearly cried because the steak was so good 😂😂

hi^^ this question have nothing to do with this vid. hope its okey anyways. i learned from your other clips that you should salt steak 24 hours befor / dry brine and it made a huge difrence. steak almost looks like a dry aged one. so to my question. do you also do a 24 hour dry brine on a dry aged steak or is that overkill?

Is it possible to "eye ball" a steak that is reversed seared -- or should I use internal thermometer? usually I do a 4 minute per side, 2 minute per side,, 1 minute per side ,cycle, @ 450-500 degrees F, and then give or take 1 minute per side {@max 2 minutes total, depending if i'm working with frozen or raw meat, on upper rack of grill {off direct-heat/flame} } combo that ends up working nice on the grill for a medium/medium rare cook for sirloin/ny strip/ribeye. When reverse searing, can it be eye-balled, and if so, in general {even if you're cooking a leaner cut like filet mignon}? I'm basically familiar with cooking on grill, but I'm geared towards the meats. There's a noticeable difference in requirement to bring a steak into edibility versus chicken and so, on. Would you say, in general, reverse sear is a better way to get a consistencey and/or better quality of the meats you cook? Or does it produce a better quality for solely steak? sorry for the noobish question. but I'd like to learn more. I love cooking meat, and I smoke - when $$ is efficient - any chance I get. any tips would be fine. thanks.

How do you do a video about reverse searing and fail to mention what you put the oven on and how long to put them in?

Best steak vid cheers

Looks great!! I’m not certain it’s good advice to not rest. Although you may be right, resting is a good habit with any steak. Also, seasoning?

I like to put in the oven at 200* until the internal temp reaches 100*., about 30 minutes for a 1 1/4” steak. That gives you a little more wiggle room with the searing process. It can overcook very quickly in a hot pan.

Do you have an eyeball for when you should check with a regular thermometer? I’ve checked a dozen times now. Still in the 90s. Should I wait atleast 45 minutes and check every 10 minutes?

Watched three times now and I never heard you give the ovem temperature. Was it 200 degrees?

What did he set the oven to and how long did he let them bake?

this video could have been 2 minutes shorter. didn’t even say the oven temperature. also what kind of monster who doesn’t season steak with salt and pepper?

You set the oven on what temperature?

Hmm just tried this with some thick costco ribeyes. I liked the way they turned out, but I still prefer just throwing them on the grill with some Montreal steak seasoning. Doing it this way, just reminded me of slow cooker stew, which is good but I'd say different than the way I like steak.

Hi! Do you have a link for the probe thermometers you use?

A great way to dry the surface is to pre-salt and put it in the fridge uncovered the night before cooking.

What is the goal temp after searing it? If it came out of the oven n at 115 how much more has it got in the pan?

Keep an eye on your meat. Great advise for anyone around heat.

good way to take this to next level -- instead of the oven, smoke them first at about 220 degrees to get a nice smoke flavor and then sear them in the cast iron pan. This combines the great smoke flavors of grilling with the great searing of cast iron while also implementing the reverse sear. Best way imo.

I don’t think you mentioned the oven temperature to set. I’m assuming anywhere from 225°-250°F

Did I miss stove temperature and time it took to get to desired meat temperature? Quantify quantify quantify

Can you do this with a marinated steak?

Did you tell us the oven temperature?

What should be the oven temperature? Thanks

watching reverse sear lessons takes almost as long as doing it.

I really wish you had said what the temperature was on your oven and may be given an estimated time it takes

shouldnt you take it out 5-10 degrees before the desired doneness if youre going to sear it?

Did I niss it? What is your oven temperature set to??

How critical is a cast iron pan?

How long did the steaks cook?

"Im also going to add a thyme of sprig" lmao

This would be ideal for resturant

So basically it'll take a whole min to get to 65-70 but then after that i really keep a eye on it cause it starts to get up to temperature almost twice as fast.

Did he season it at all?

With such high heat in your pan doesn't the butter burn almost immediately when you place it in?

What was the temp you put the oven on

How does the thermometer tell the difference between oven temperature and internal temperature of the steak? If the thermometer is in the oven wouldn't it just read the oven temperature? should you take the steak out the oven and check the temperature

Can you reverse sear with a bbq grill?

Why would you want to dry out the steak as much as possible when you want a juicy steak at the end? Am i missing something here? (i'm not much of a steak person).

What if you don't have any thermometers?

Oh my gosh...just 2 minutes in and I feel like a need a scientific degree to cook a steak :)

At what temperature????

3:47 I think they look perfect just like that actually. You never get to see a steak cooked medium rare on the OUTSIDE. Beautiful dark red color, IMO.

need more info about how long in the oven I have an instant read not probe but I don't wanna have to check he damn thing every 10 minutes

Did I miss the seasoning part?

can somebody explain why the temperature of the preheated oven matter in order to create the steak of your desire(rare, medium-rare, etc.)? Doesn't it depend on how long you sear?

Whats the temperature of the oven..?

I might this with the smoker instead of an oven

My kitchen went up in smoke when the steak hit the pan. More oil?

*_hey guy_* the thing of it iz, is that you need the oil to sear the steak properly. Also add rosemerry salt and pepper to the steak before and let it sit at room temp. for 45 minutes for the steak to absorb s.+p. Cover pan with ovocado oil Also Add in shallots, Drop in the steak Add in garlic, unsalted butter, and parsley Cook for 3 minutes on each side *_If you know, you know_*

I’ve always got an eye on my meat. I let it cool 10-20 minutes before searing. Avoids a grey band.

Have no idea what temp to cook in oven...

Reverse sear gets the steak a medium rare or medium cook from top to bottom

Yes the heating starts to speed up as the steak gets warmer! The super simple explanation is because heating is an example of logistic growth which means it starts out slow, then it looks like an exponential function which is super fast and then levels out and stabilized toward the heat that the oven is at.

What if you don't have either thermometers?

3:07 "Keep an eye on your meat" Sage advice.

So I said this in a comment on a recent Serious Eats article (the one about sous vide peanut butter steaks) under NateHevens, but never got a response... I'll try again here... I think y'all should do a scientific (like... *actually* scientific) steak-cooking showdown. The goal would be to figure out, as objectively as is possible (obviously allowing for the fact that it's fully subjective in the end), what the genuinely best method to cook a steak is. And compare every method that a home cook can reproduce in their kitchen or outdoor grilling area (so no car engine steaks or shit like that). So sear, reverse sear, oven, sous-vide, open flame, grill, smoker, air fryer, cast-iron pan, carbon steel pan, nonstick pan, etc, etc, etc. If it's a method of cooking steak that a home cook could reproduce, then it's added to the test. Of course, as always, the steaks would all have to be as identical as possible... same grade and cut, same seasoning levels, same amount of rest time, etc. Kenji absolutely has to be involved, but bring in guests as well... Adam Savage, the dude from Sous Vide Everything, maybe a few actual scientists... The article should be written like a (easily readable) scientific article, broken up into the abstract, introduction, methods, results, conclusions, etc. Show graphs, numbers, all that fun shit. Accompany it with a video to show the process in full. Don't do the short video thing, though. Make it a RU-vid documentary! Do interviews, in-depth breakdowns, and all that fun shit. Provide recipes for each method used. And, of course, crown the winner, the rank the rest from best to worst. I think it'd be a fun, fascinating, and potentially controversial experiment. Do it!

rest the steak between oven and stove, gives you more room on the searing that's some THIN gray strips, trying this tonight,

Doing this on the grill gives time for smoke flavor to enter the steak. Best way to have a steak for me

When I reverse sear my steak it always bends when I put it on a cast iron

I did not know what I was doing 😊

This is the only way I cook my new york strip steaks now

How hot is the oven meant to be?

Salt.... Pepper..... Garlic...... ????

It’s 1am where I. At and this made me hongry😬

Great video. When should salt / pepper be added to meat: before or after oven?

Why no salt or pepper?

Saying oven temperature would have been nice. Waste of time

I usually reverse sear and set the oven temp to 225.

What temperature did you set your oven?

Oven temp?

would've been helpful if you share the temp and how long the steak was in the oven. This video is close to useless.

Did you ever mention the temp of the oven? I’ve watched through twice and didn’t hear it. Thanks!