The Continuous Reverse Sear Thread!

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Well, I've got to admit I've never heard of the Reverse Sear method, but you guys/gals have me curious. I've always been a steak lover above all and anything else, my favorite steak is the one that comes off my own grill. Anyways, after reading this thread today I went and got one of my favorite cuts, New York Strip. I gave it a good rubdown with my favorite recipe, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, & seasoned salt, planning on putting it in the MES tomorrow after work. Qview to follow tomorrow...

 
Attempted my 1st Reverse Sear Steak tonight, it didn't turn out quite like I hoped, but that was due to bad preparation on my part. It only took a little over 40 mins to reach an IT of 145 (I like my steaks MW usually). I realized earlier I didn't have enough charcoal to really heat the grill up super hot to sear it after the smoke, so I threw in a few hickory chunks, hoping to get the temp up. Overall though, I can definitely see the benefits of cooking a steak this way, vs the traditional method. I could really taste the rub I put on it a lot better than I could if I had grilled it the full time as I normally do. 

Onto my MES it goes! I kept the temps around 225 to 230 the entire time. Smoke was Pitmasters Choice via AMNPS


40+ minutes later, onto my grill to sear


Finished product! I guess my only gripe was the lack of better searing marks, but that's purely cosmetic, and maybe a bit OCD on my part lol. And yes I eat on paper plates, I'm a bachelor!! Easier to chunk the plate in the garbage than to wash 
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I forgot about this thread until after I posted on my 1st Tri-Tips, but here's a sneak peek...

Simple seasoned with Sea Salt and fresh-cracked black peppercorns:


130* I/T over charcoal and hickory for smoke @ average grate temps of around 205-208* with peaks/valleys of around 225*/190* (5-hr smoke):


Same coals from the smoke went into a grill to preheat the grates for several minutes for a 2-min/side sear @ approx. 700* grate temp:




A nice med-rare all the way through...a little bit of rainbow effect, but a nice smoke ring...did I forget to mention, fork-tender @ 3/16" thick slices, and delicious??? OK, now I said it...GREAT eating piece of beef, and I highly recommend it!!!

BTW, Dave, GREAT thread you got started here...love the idea!!!  
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   I'll try to drop in a few more over time, as I do a lot of reverse sear with smaller cuts, myself....
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Eric
 
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Going to attempt this again tonight. Can someone explain to me the purpose of flipping the steak over after it reaches a 90 IT? If it's in the smoker, isn't it more or less getting uniform heat all around? 
 
 
Going to attempt this again tonight. Can someone explain to me the purpose of flipping the steak over after it reaches a 90 IT? If it's in the smoker, isn't it more or less getting uniform heat all around? 
I personally do not flip on any reverse sear's during the smoking phase and have not seen any negative side effects.
 
Well my 2nd attempt at reverse sear was a huge success!! Sorry for the lack of pics. I smoked at about 220 this time with a mix of hickory & cherry, took the steak to an IT of around 140, then seared it a minute on each side, turning it halfway through on each side for good sear marks. I diverted away from my usual steak rub, and used Jeff's rub, turned out excellent! Also, I made a vegetable salad, so to speak. Consisting of yellow & orange bell peppers, sliced sweet onions, squash, zucchini, & shredded carrots. Poured some italian dressing over it all and let it sit in the smoke for about 2 hours. Enjoy the pics!




 
So I most definitely want to try this, for both steaks and burgers. To do so, I really think I need a cast-iron griddle. (And let's face it, who doesn't need an excuse to buy a griddle?)

I homebrew, so I have some pretty strong Bayou Classic propane burners that can apply some SERIOUS heat if my gas grill isn't up to the task.

My question is: What am I looking for when buying a cast-iron griddle?

I see 20" by 10" models on Amazon, up to a 28" by 14" model that's probably as large as I'd want to go.  The difference in cost isn't enough to concern myself with, but obviously a bigger unit is heavier, harder to store, and may be unwieldy if there's no meal that will really use the extra space.

Will the larger unit be worthwhile, or overkill?  Any ideas on brands, models, etc?  I'm an Amazon Prime member so I don't have to worry about shipping costs, but if there are good in-store deals on these items, let me know.

Thanks!
 
I have a 14" x 16" C/I grill/griddle, and it is a bit of a challenge to get even heating over one burner. I try to buy USA made C/I when I can (such as Lodge), but that's not always possible (i have some Chinese C/I which always seem to have minor issues..not to mention it didn't pay a US worker to be made). C/I griddles seem to perform much better with a larger heat source than a typical gas burner can produce, or, use a charcoal fire underneath, spread out as larger as the C/I piece to get really nice, even heat. If you have a larger burner that can run on med/low flame would be the best choice for gas heating...heat the C/I slowly and evenly until it reaches your desired surface temp.

Eric
 
Thanks, Eric.

These are the two primary options I was looking at...



Obviously the Bayou Classic is a lot larger, and heck, for the price I could *almost* get two Lodge's.  I'm just wondering if there's a good reason to go either way.
 
Unless you plan on using it often for larger amounts of food, and maybe camping or gatherings, I would go with the smaller Lodge. It's size is about right for most small portable camp stoves, anyway. The large Bayou, @ 28" is actually too large for a standard camp stove, but would work for a larger two-burner units, provided it has large diameter burners for even heating, that is.

For one or two pieces of meat, to do a reverse sear, a C/I skillet in the 12-15" range will do a fine job, and is not nearly as large or heavy to carry or store as a grriddle. I have a 15" and have made large enough side dishes in it for over 20 people. Skillets are just so much more versatile for my type of cooking needs, but for you a griddle may be the most versatile.

Eric
 
I homebrew, so I have some pretty strong Bayou Classic propane burners that can apply some SERIOUS heat if my gas grill isn't up to the task.
Yeah, baby...that's what I'm talking about!  I can get mine to over 1000*, but aim for about 900* for the perfect sear (more properly, char).  My go to cast iron is my Lodge 12"...perfect for doing two steaks at a time, and with its heat retention I can do several batches pretty quickly...
 
Okay, tried the Reverse Sear for the first time tonight. Very good results, but as I was cooking 1" thick T-bones, they came to temperature very quickly, & didn't absorb a whole lot of smoke. Next time I'll try thicker meat.

I also didn't see the need to employ 2 different devices, so did both steps on the Weber OTG. At 230° +/-, they came to 120° IT in about 15 minutes. I then threw in a few more hot coals, and moved the steaks to direct heat for about 1 minute per side.

But here they are, with a generous sprinkling of Tatonka dust. And a couple of hickory chunks tossed in.


Finished and plated with a couple small, baked potatoes, and some refrigerator pickles.

 
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I did a reverse sear on 7 Porterhouse steaks this past weekend.  We had some friends over.

Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures until one of the very last bites.  I was so focused on making sure my temps were right and getting the meat straight from the searing grill to the plate that I didn't stop to take a picture until I was almost done with the steak.  Put them in my smoker at 230*, using red oak, until they reached a combined avg internal temp of 110*, then threw them on my Weber kettle grill for 60ish seconds each side.  The kettle was loaded down with a ton  of charcoal, trying to get as much heat on them as I could.  All-in-all, they were the best steaks I have ever cooked...  And really the best steaks I have had for that matter outside of the dry-aged prime porterhouse I had in NYC back in December...

 
Here's my first attempt at a reverse seared steak!  I seasoned these NY strip steaks with motreal steak seasoning and then smoked them to 110deg in my MES30 with apple pellets with my new AMNPS.  Here is a shot of them just pulled from the smoker:


Then I seared them for less than a minute each side on the Weber charcoal grill:


They got a little more char on them than I would like due to some flare-ups, but swmbo approved:


Served with mashed taters and gravy, baked beans, and a homebrew Belgian Dubbel!  Can't wait to try this again!
 
Here's my first attempt at a reverse seared steak!  I seasoned these NY strip steaks with motreal steak seasoning and then smoked them to 110deg in my MES30 with apple pellets with my new AMNPS.  Here is a shot of them just pulled from the smoker:

They got a little more char on them than I would like due to some flare-ups, but swmbo approved:



Served with mashed taters and gravy, baked beans, and a homebrew Belgian Dubbel!  Can't wait to try this again!


Hey..... They look perfect to me..... still got some twitch left in them.....
 
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