Reverse-Sear Steak 2.0 (Solving Consistency Problems) 

Hellen Rennie, You're truly an under-rated hidden gem in the culinary educator world. Endlessly curious, willing to experiment and test techniques that have been normalized, willing to change the paradigm based on your results. Thank you for being you.

Helen I am a Chef of 30 years and you still are teaching me, thank you so much.

Wow, just wow. You've excelled yourself this time! I've watched this, paused and gone back over it again. I love these experiments as they help me understand what I'm doing and why. Wonderful work.

Well Done! This explains, in a scientific manner, much of the variability and frustration I've experienced using reverse sear. Once again: WELL DONE

Great video! I have been a devotee of reverse searing for years, especially after adopting a keto lifestyle. I eat rib-eyes three or four nights a week. I use reverse sear mostly with the occasional sous vide (I like the texture of reverse sear better). A Brevelle toaster oven set at 200 degrees works best for me. It takes about 45 minutes to reach 110 degrees and I finish in a cast iron skillet on the side burner of my gas grill on the deck (smoke). I use a Thermopro wired probe thermometer, stuck in the side of the meat at dead center, to monitor progress. The steaks do have to be at least 1.5” thick. While you are right about the difficulty controlling store bought steaks, I found buying the whole rib roast and cutting my own guarantees uniform thickness (and saves at least $5.00+ per pound). You really need to have a food saver storage system. The extra steaks get salted before they go in the food saver and freezer. Thank you for your “graduate level” cooking shows. You are my first look for cooking instructions.

Great methodolgy, Helen! As I get older (and I am older than you, so this is a late lesson), one of my biggest thrills is learning I was wrong about something, or at least laboring under only a partial understanding of a problem.

Helen I've been watching cooking shows my entire life, long before there was the internet, I am familiar with all the greats and new to-be greats on youtube. And there have been and are now some very good cooks and well-produced videos. I will, however, testify that you are the best I have ever seen. I only wish my mother would have gotten the opportunity to enjoy your videos also. Thanks for the benefit of your skills, knowledge, labors, and intuitions. I didnt take as many notes when I was a student as I do now. Bravo, nice lady, bravo!

Discovered you by accident. I'M A FAN. I have had so many issues with "cook this way" and you've freed me to heed the evidence of my senses!!

I am truly amazed at how much science can go into getting steak how you like it! And again, thank you for being so incredibly (perhaps obsessively) thorough in making your videos. If you are comparing yourself to other greats in the cooking world, I'd say you have earned your place as an expert, many times over. Especially since you are such an accomplished teacher too, explaining everything so clearly AND making it so interesting for us mere mortals.

I appreciate the respect you offer the other chefs. Great video.

Wonderfully informative and helpful video. Many thanks for your efforts. Cheers.

Probably the best testing I came across on YT! Thank you!

This is fantastically informative. Thank you, Helen!

Thanks, Helen! What a great way for a serious cook to spend 20 min. I will have to watch this a few more times.

Loved this just tried reverse searing for the first time a few weeks ago and you've inspired me to do it again but better :D!

I like your thinking and testing mind questing for better with an eye on ease in results. Your voice meter and articulations are fully understandable and rhythmically pleasing while allowing listeners ‘soak time’ to capture your clear contents and contextualize the meanings in their own minds for a fusion of deeper integration of your teaching. Kudos Maestra.

thank you for this thorough video and experiment results!

This is the most helpful steak video I've ever seen. This seriously deserves millions of views.

You’ve already made it in my book! You are in my pantheon of cooking greats alongside Julia Child and James Beard. You make my life and so many others better.

wow probably the most comprehensive video! great detail and patience and pace. for the algorithm

Thank you for answering some questions I've had for years.

This is great information. Thank you so much.

By far the best cooking channel I've found outside of Alex (French man cooking). Exceptional work!

Definitely the best video about reverse sear !! All, but really finally all, the information in one place !! Thank you very much !

such a GREAT video. Thank you!

Excellent video! I have overcooked a few steaks using reverse sear so I have started to let them cool after the initial cooking and before the sear.

I surely like this video! I have struggled with my reverse-searing, and now have more info to try to do a better and more consistent job. My daughter-in-law bought me a coupe of granite slabs to use instead of a plate, and this requires more thinking, but I love that the steak says hot and juicy. Thanks so much, Helen! I like your honesty, in what you do, and I respect your opinion very much. Some people just aren't willing to listen to anyone else, and pride is deadly in life!

Oh wow, I can't wait to try this out. Thanks for helping me be a decent cook!

Nicely done.

Oh man, THANK YOU so much for this! I've been struggling with my own oven-based reverse searing and your examples of different target temperatures for different thicknesses was exactly what I needed! I kept ending up with steaks (or pork chops) that would be way overcooked because they cooked extremely fast while trying to sear them in the skillet. And it was frustrating because I wasn't getting the crust I wanted, but ending up with overcooked meat. So all this information was GOLD! THANK YOU!

Gorgeous! Great work! Super!

Really interesting video. Thanks. Another variable that wasn't explored was the oven temp. When I reverse sear I use a lower temperature, more like 200 or 225, which takes longer, but I suspect when it cooks more slowly there is less temperature gradient between the outside and center of the meat. I also suspect it is more forgiving so that if I don't put my probe thermometer in exactly the right spot, it won't matter as much. I also find that the thinner the cut, the more I prefer sous vide. I wish I had a way to get the perfect temperature control of sous vide with the exterior drying and carmelization of reverse sear.

Ok. SO I am very technical with cooking steak. It’s why my steaks are coveted among friends. I do what you described, but I could have never presented the information the way you did. Just amazing content. I learned.

Yes! Open discussion! We learn by conversing with each other! Love your videos!

Helen, this was outstandingly researched! Thank you so much for this! An additional lesson learned, I think, is that there are some foods that definitely require the structure of a recipe to start with, but because of the incredible array of variables that occur across the ingredients and cooking environment and timing, there is no substitute for practice and practical experience to manage those variables that can be managed, and to manage them at the right times. Practice eventually supplants the recipe and unconsciously becomes the recipe. We all can hum a tune, but we have to practice whistling to even make a sound at first, and later to be able to carry a tune. If we pick up a flute or sit down to a piano, we are going to need even more practice. Our cooking is no different. Some things require the investment of practice. Practice itself is the real recipe. 🙂

Love the scientific approach to cooking. Teachable and repeatable. Thanks to this method I have found I no longer need to measure temps. I cut my own steaks from a whole ribeye at 30mm ( 1.25") Salt a couple of hours before cooking. Straight from fridge to 120 deg C oven for 15 min. Sear on bbq plate as hot as you can 90 sec each side. Rest. Perfect med rare every time. Thicker steak, longer in oven. Thanks Helen!

I let mine rest until temp goes waaaay down after oven before the sear.....no overcooking.... you're welcome

my mom made ribeye for christmas eve and it was over cooked with her pan seared method. we still have some and i wanted ti try out reverse sear with her. and i love precision in the kitchen and your testing is just what i need thank you!

Helen - Lots of variables … very confusing. Loved this! Thanks for tackling this subject.

The best reverse sear youtube video period

I liked your video. I think it is alot of work for what you get from it. Good stuff.

That's a great technique for someone like myself that doesn't have a sousvide, thanks for going into so much detail about what you did and how it went, I think I'll try it 😃

I followed the instructions exactly. Best-looking, best tasting steak I ever had at home.

Defintly, the best teacher i have

You are brilliant, HR.

I always wanted to do this! But unfortunately, this kind of experimenting is cost prohibitive for someone like me. Which kinda put me off cooking steak myself entirely, because of the often disappointing and definitely very inconsistent results. So thank you, for shedding some light on the issue, it's much appreciated!

I can very much appreciate the attempt to be critical of the original method and try to make sensible changes. I myself modified the method a while back to take all the guesswork out of reverse searing, regardless of thickness, by turning it into what's essentially bagless sous-vide in a convection oven. It's something that was inspired when Bon Apetit did an "Every Way to Cook a Steak" video, where one of the methods involved using a dehydrator set at 50C for 4 hours, which actually transposes very well to a normal convection oven. Just set it as low as it'll go where the heat element will still turn on. Mine can go as low as 60C, and having the oven temperature this low basically means that the internal temperature will stall just below 60C for a very long window. This essentially means that 2-3hrs will give you the same effect as sous vide, cooked to a perfect medium rare, but slow enough that it will absolutely have no carry-over cooking, and without the trapped moisture. Then just sear as hard and fast as you possibly can. And no, I have never gotten sick from the danger zone temperature.

I love your videos. May have to come visit for some cooking classes.

Great Job

Great video. Thank you for all the research and hard work you do. I wrote downs some of the info you present, i think it will help me a lot. Thank you. This is the stuff that makes home cooks better. I used reverse sear for about 6 years and did notice the inconsistencies caused by even slightly different thickness steaks. As a home cook I also cook a couple of side dishes at the same time, some family members like their steak med-rare, others medium, and some well done, etc... All this adds to lots of variables and difficulties. Recently I started using the frequent flipping method popularized by ATK and also shown in some of J.Pepin's videos. I have better control, less stress, and overall better results. I still use the reverse sear but only on steaks bigger than 2". My $0.02.

Wonderful!

Pure gold! A keeper reference. You disagreed, with facts and testing. In other words, you are advancing the standard. Thank you. BTW, Chris Youngs, Combustion, Inc thermometer will really help. Getting surface to internal temps graphed out. Will really help us understand sous vide, searing and more. Hope you can get one.

I have been watching almost since inception and have learned much BUT this is an important video for me.. My own issues mirror those in this video and in particular i consider my sous vide results not consistent enough to be acceptable. I think you have exposed the myriad of variables affecting me and I think this will help me get better although i doubt i will ever be satisfied. A watch over and over keeper. Thank you.

It's hard to take these results seriously if you aren't using properly-calibrated steak calipers. :P Love everything you do Helen!

What I would give to help with your experiments. Seriously though, I absolutely love how I can rely on you that you’ve honestly tested everything.

Buying unreasonable amount of ribeye steaks for science. That will be my excurse going forward. :) Thank you for another great video. Looking forward to apply what I learned!

You're the bomb, girl! Steak science par excellence! Thank you!

Loved this video! Interesting insights into grain-fed vs grass-fed.

Wood fired ribeye fanatic here. I watched your video with great interest, and you verified many of my suspicions. For example, overnight dry brining, for me, usually results in a leathery crust, so I'm happy to hear that you are also not a fan.

Thanks so much for your video, so well researched, controlling all the variables like a scientist!!

Dear Helen, love your videos and the detailed explanations you give us. Being a retired research scientist I can definitely say that all new innovations and progress in any field result from our contemporaries questioning our assumptions, results, modifying and improving upon our work. Blindly following even the masters old lead to stagnation. Please keep up the good work, Thanks!

Your intro to this video was perfect, the whole internet needs to learn just your intro

Very helpfull . thanks

Omigosh! Thank You! I have at one time or another run into all of these issues/questions and just thought it was my doing something wrong.

Thank you Chef!

I love your videos and I love how thorough you were here. I will say, for myself, that I have tried reverse-sear methods a couple of times, and they just don't work for me as well as just cooking the steak and basting it in the pan. Hot and fast, baste with butter and herbs/garlic, then... I think they key is... a very long rest, during which the residual heat cooks the steak slowly. I like my steaks around 125... on the rare side of medium rare. I don't get any grey band cooking them like this, but the centre IS a little more rare/cool. I like that, but not everybody does.

I have found the best salting strategy for me is 1 hour before cooking. that is enough time for the salt to pull water to the surface, dissolve into that water, and for the brine to reabsorb into the steak well enough to keep the meat nice and juicy and perfectly seasoned. I also save the pepper until I am pulling the steak off the heat.

Love these experiment based videos. I just need to wait till after lunch to watch them. It's only 10am and I want steak now 😞

I did this technique yesterday. In my area T-bo0nes were on sale so I bought 2 each 1.5" thick. I followed your instructions and this was the best steak I ever had. Of course, I only ate a quarter as I divided it into 4 portions before cooking. I used to sear first and then use the oven, but this time it was really juicy and no gray rim. Ps I am 87 and cook every day.

thank you!

Great details that the average home cook may not think about. I comment you made about searing is interesting as there are even preferences when it comes to the maillard reaction. Another technic I believe Kenji wrote about is the mayo sear. This technique is great when you want to do a very short sear but try to obtain a better crust and minimize the grey band. I find I only need 30 seconds on a cast iron or carbon steeel pan that is at least 525°F. The thin layer mayo clings on to the steak better than oil.

When will you and Kenji do another interview? I remember you talking about doing something like that again in 2022.

Wow - amazing detail and dedication to give us all those wonderful details. Thank you.

This was a big break through for me. Especially the times searing at the end. Works perfectly

Could you do a video on rib eye roasts? Since it is way thicker, what temperature should the middle of the roast be? Thanks.

SUCCESS! I had watched 3/4 of this video when I had to go to the kitchen to try to get mashed potatoes, broccoli and ribeye steak to finish hot at the same time. My main problem was that the grass-fed ribeye steak I got (to cut in half for two people) was only 1 inch in thickness -- just barely 1 inch -- and none of the RU-vid chefs gave temperatures and times, etc. for a steak that thin, but your video let me know I was in the "danger zone" of getting it too tough or well done or dry. I had already let the steak sit out in the kitchen (in an empty covered pan) to get to room temperature for about 4 or more hours -- had patted it dry, seasoned with Celtic salt and semi-course black pepper after first pouring enough avocado oil on -- on each side. I preheated our little air fryer/oven (like a Breville but less expensive) to 100 degrees F (37.78 degrees C) for about 10 minutes and then laid the steak in there on a rack that was over a pan and left it there like that for about 9-10 minutes while I heated up the (heavy titanium stainless steel saute pan), first adding some avocado oil when I saw the pan turning brown (which was a bit of a surprise) and added the steak into that smoking hot pan, also adding a few unpeeled cloves of garlic and a generous amount of unsalted organic butter, maybe half a stick, which melted extremely quickly. The heat was on and I had forgotten to look at the clock, but soon I turned it over and did not leave it in the pan for long -- maybe a minute more or 90 seconds and terrified I may have burned it took it out with some tongs and laid it on my silicone cooling rack. Then immediately worked on turning the freshly cooked potatoes (with skins intact -- Russet) into mashed potatoes, adding warmed and melted butter with heavy whipping cream which was poured into the potatoes once mashed with an old-fashioned (snakey looking) hand masher. Then I remembered resting too long might not be a good idea so started plating the hot mashed potatoes and divided steak. The broccoli didn't make it on time due to the unexpected fact that I had had to use the little electric oven at 100 degrees, but we just had the broccoli as a last course. No big deal. The steak came out GREAT -- and medium rare. My housemate, who is very honest is what she thinks of things I cook, said, "This isn't good. It's GREAT!" I'm so happy -- but I hope to never need to cook a steak less than 1 1/2 inches thick again. That was STRESSFUL -- but worth it! Thanks for the information you gave (even though you gave no times or temps for the inch-thick steaks)! We are now eating the pumpkin pie I cooked last night, covered with unsweetened but whipped heavy cream. For beverage, we had sparking mineral water. Best experience I ever had on a Thanksgiving (on which I always did turkey or chicken before -- but my housemate cannot digest poultry well, and now I am glad she can't, haha). Enjoyed the non-traditional Thanksgiving dinner with the traditional pumpkin pie for dessert! P.S. We got grass-fed ribeye steak from a Texas grocery chain for $20 per lb. and the steak cost just under $19. So each of our steaks cost less than $10 (or maybe more like $10 apiece figuring in the cost of the butter and avocado oil). And the temperature after resting about 4 minutes and just before being cut was something very close to 130 degrees F.

Your philosophy of criticism is very inspiring!

Oh dear, you took in a thousand parts, better than likely Heston Blumenthal... Just so great job!!!

I'm a bit late watching this video, but.... THANK YOU! Lessons learned!

Hi Helen, I'm wondering if you've tried Cook's Illustrated's cold searing method?

Excellent presentation. Do you have any recommendations reverse searing using a Wolf steam oven followed by searing on a Wolf induction cooktop? btw: your induction video was so informative.

I've been reverse searing steak for a long time and have come to many of the same conclusions as you. I always cut my own meat from the primal so getting a consistent 2" thick steak is easy. I prefer to salt my steak 2-3 days before cooking though I do wrap it in plastic wrap so it doesn't dry out. I agree with you that it just doesn't sear the way I like it. I do differ in that I use my smoker to cook the meat at ~225f, when the steak comes to it's target temp I disassemble the smoker and place the grill directly over the coals. I let the coals come to a rip roaring temp and sear the steak about a minute or so per side. Great content, I enjoyed the video.

here are awesome truths about the complexities of getting a best steak Helen. such research along with personal experience confirms the conclusions 👨‍🍳😋

She needs to make a cookbook in this style: instructional and exact.

Thanks for your info Helen! One question - do you use your grilling glaze at all with reverse sear before searing? sometimes with reverse sear the meat just simply doesn't brown and keeps oozing out juice.

Great, love some good advices on steak from a pro like you

I am a sous-vide fan for the accuracy and repeatability, but I've had good, consistent results using a "leave-in" probe thermometer. I.e, a probe, with a wire attached to it, connected to a display that sits outside the oven. I think I got it from a BBQ supply place and it was not expensive. There are "wireless" probes available too these days too. The method is to set an alarm on the probe for a temperature about 10 degrees (F) lower than your target temperature. The steak will carry-over in the following 10 minutes and hit your target temperature right on the money, or within 2 to 3 degrees (which is good enough). Sear, baste with butter, viola.

Thanks for all you do!! Have you ever tried just searing it first how you like it then putting it in the oven with a thermometer until it reaches the desired temp?

Hi Helen, it's Mark. I salt right before I sear. I sear first rather than reverse sear. I finish in the oven at 170 degrees and take it out when it's 5 degrees before my desired temp. Perfect steak every time!

Thanks for all the info, much appreciated. The variable that I noticed did not come into the discussion was the sear. So, it seems you pan seared. How hot was the pan and what oil/butter/fat was used and herbs? Next, was the fat cap prseneted to the pan first, as a means of rendering some fat/flavor to sear in? Thoughts on grill searing? I do perfer a small amount of "char" on my beef. Stright pan sears dosen't get this. I use a closed gas grill with radiators that allows some "flame searing" from rendered fat, that has been heated to around ~900 degrees, fat cap down first then ~30 - 60 sec a side or just long enough to get some flame up of rendered fat. Thoughts on grill temp, lower higher? I've heard temps as high as 1500 degrees being used. (Adrienne Grenier 3030 Ocean) I cook in the oven in a carbon steel pan then to the grill for searing. Thoughts on returning to the pan on stove top for a short amount of basting with garlic/herb butter?

Wow, someone who understands the flap is the best part of the steak! I had a friend, a chef, who once served me Nothing but pieces of flaps! A memory that will stay with me forever!

Hello and thanks for the great video!! Would you happen to have an idea of what temp your skillet is at when you do the sear?

Helen, for the sear, do you have a recommended temperature for the skillet? I have an IR thermometer and regularly measure the skillet. For me 375°F seems to be ideal.

Have you tried tenderizing cheaper beef cuts with bromeline VS baking soda? Please do a video on this topic if you know which is the best method!

Wow! This is tremendously thorough. Thank you so much. But honestly, that makes cooking a steak so complicated. I think realistically the biggest part of that video that I will retain is the flap-size advice. You had me at "flap." 😁

thank you for doing the science I don't have budget for! lol I only eat 1/2 a ribye at a time because beef is so pricey right now. But it's my fav cut, too. Thank you for teaching me about the flap! I know to look for a smaller eye now instead of just lots of fat and marbling

A mate of mine is absolutely obsessed with the reverse sear method. To avoid the temperature being different with different thicknesses of meat. He vacuum seals and Sous vidé all the steaks for 3 hours at 45°c this eliminates the temperature difference. After which he sears it like a normal steak.

Helen, in the antithesis of the spirit of you video, I completely agree with you! Less discord, more discourse! Excellent video!

How did I miss this yesterday

I love your brain, Helen. I am cooking for guests this week and making a huge 2 inch thick ribeye using reverse sear and hoping to create perfectly cooked slices to serve with an asian dipping sauce as an offering on a summer buffet. You have done all the work for me! I love your cooking math and its logic! Wish me luck.