Reverse Seared Porterhouse

[petehalsted]

I been playing with Reverse Seared steaks the last few months. I been doing ribeyes but it is also a compromise between me and "Momma" because see doesn't like fat or any red.

So this time I decided to give a porterhouse a try. That way once completed she gets a Filet and I get a Strip.

I have been doing the Ribeye's @225 mainly because I usually have other stuff in the smoker. I notice a lot of recipes call for lower temps for reverse sear, since the smoker was empty I did this one @180

Porterhouse was 1 1/2 #, dry brine with Dirty Dalmatian for 8 hours. Done with my MES 30 and AMNPS, using my 40/40/20 (Apple/Cherry/Pecan) blend. I pulled at IT of 130 (125 would be better but got to keep Momma happy). Rested 5 minutes before sear. Seared in my carbon steel pan on stove 45 seconds per side with 2 pats of butter.

My notes/comments:

@180 it takes quite a bit longer. 2:15 for this steak.

The steak had a fantastic deep complex sweet smokey flavor, absolutely perfect.

The lower temp/extra time, dried the exterior more, which led to a fantastic sear. Notice the grill marks from the smoker still show through after the sear.

The steak had way more color to it coming out of the smoker, than my ones done at @225

My plan worked, I got the strip, she got the Fillet. After the intial sear, I cut the steaks off the bone (cook gets bone gnawing privileges!), and returned hers to the warm pan with a lid over it to finish it off a bit more to her liking.
I didn't like the Strip as well as I do the Ribeye, no surprise I prefer ribeye normally, but that line of "grissle" on the edge of a strip seemed really tough after this process. Rest of steak was great!

One thing I did like, with all the ribeyes I struggled getting a reliable temp from my probes, both from the smoke, and from my thermopop when spot checking. There are so many fat pockets in a well marbled ribeye that the temp just seems to be all over the map when testing. My smoke says I hit mark, I spot check with Thermopop and I have spots 7 - 8 degree below target and some spots above target. With this porterhouse I didn't have that issue. Would love any feedback/tips/tricks on that issue.

So on to the pics.

Dry brined and ready to spend 8 hours in the fridge.

Right out of the smoker. Notice how much color it has. I was a bit worried that it had overcooked despite all my thermometers telling me it was fine.

After the sear. This is the nicest, most even sear I have gotten, I was really surprise to see the grill marks from the smoker show through.

And the money shot. I won't subject you to a shot of her brown fillet after I finished it off <G>. I did some roasted new potatoes in our Convection Microwave. They came out better than I expected.

Next time I might just have to do a fillet and a ribeye. But I like splitting 1 steak so there are no left overs.

 

[browneyesvictim]

Looks nom-nom to me! Good ol' steak and taters is the best. Great job getting it right!

I always go by what the lowest number reading is, which is in the thickest and most dense part.

 

[chilerelleno]

Mmmm... Steak!
Looks great from where I'm sitting.

Smoked and Reverse Seared 100%

 

[petehalsted]

I get the lowest number and thickest/denser part. But on the nice ribeyes I have done, I got so mixed numbers and there wasn't any "denser" part. Porterhouse worked fine, but thick marbled ribeyes I just haven't been able to get consistant enough readings to trust them. I stick what I "feel" is the same spot and get 5 - 7 degree differences I know it's because of the fat pockets, I just don't know how to deal with it.

 

[troutman]

Really nice looking sear. I don't have the patience to grill (really smoke) steak at 180*. I usually go with the higher temps. May try it sometime and see if I can pick up that smokey note you talk about. POINT for you sir!

 

[Rings Я Us]

Nice job and good thread.
Steak tips are a wonderful thing!

 

[petehalsted]

A lot of recipes call for 180, I usually do 225 because I have other stuff in. The longer time definitely contributed to resulting sear and the amount of smokiness.

If you haven't done reverse sear definitely give it a try, it will change your life. One of the things I really like is that your rest the steak between the smoker and the sear, so you serve it right after the sear, no need to rest so you can serve a sizzling steak.

I don't have Sous Vide equipment, but from my reading the man difference folks say between the 2 methods, is that your get a better sear this way because the exterior of the steak has dried, where with Sous Vide the meat will be damp and you get some steaming with the sear and not as good of a sear. Just repeating what I have read I don't have any first hand knowledge.

Hardest part is working out what time to put it in. It is really hard to hit an exact target time and unlike big cuts, you can't hold the steak for an extra hour or so, you want to serve it right after the sear. So best to do when you can be somewhat flexible on dinner time.