Reverse Sear Steak
When we cook steak, we're looking primarily for two things: tender, juicy meat, and a flavorful, seared crust. This reverse sear method ensures we can have both! The best part? It's super easy and mostly hands-off.
This method starts by roasting your steak at a low temperature, 225°, in the oven. This allows the steak to cook slowly and evenly, similar to sous vide cooking. When the steak is cooked almost to your liking—we stick to around 125° internal temperature for medium rare—move on to your next step: searing!
Start with a neutral oil with a high smoke point so you can really get it hot to sear your steak: canola, vegetable, grapeseed will all do fine. Once you've got a nice crust, lower the heat, and add butter and other flavorings like hardy herbs or whole crushed cloves of garlic. Tilt your pan towards you and allow the melted butter to pool with the aromatics, then use a spoon to bathe the butter over the steak to further flavor and develop the crispy crust.
The last but crucial step is to let your steak rest on a cutting board for at least 10 minutes. This allows the meat to relax, the juices to redistribute, and the carryover cooking to diffuse through the entire steak for a more tender bite. Remember to slice against the grain, then season with flaky sea salt for a fancy final touch!
Feeling extra fancy? Top your steak with a compound butter like Red Wine Butter or Cowboy Butter.
Made it? Let us know how it went in the comment section below!
2"-thick rib eye steak (about 14 oz.)
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Canola oil
butter
cloves garlic, crushed
sprigs rosemary
Flaky sea salt
- Preheat oven to 225°. Season steak generously with salt and pepper. Transfer steak to a wire rack set in a sheet tray and roast for 50 to 55 minutes, until internal temperature of steak is 125° for medium rare. (If you prefer a more well done steak, adjust timing as necessary for temperature.)
- In a medium cast iron skillet over medium-high, heat oil until almost smoking. Add steak and cook, flipping once, until a deep golden crust begins to form on both sides of the steak, about 1 minute per side.
- Reduce heat to medium low and add butter, garlic, and rosemary to the pan. Using a kitchen towel, carefully grip the skillet handle and tilt towards you so that the melting butter forms a pool at the bottom of the skillet. Using a spoon, continually baste butter onto steak to form a deeper golden crust. Make sure that the rosemary and garlic are submerged in the butter; this will help their flavors meld together. If the steak has any excess fat around the sides, use tongs to hold up the steak on its side and render out the fat.
- Transfer steak onto a cutting board and let rest about 10 minutes to lock in the juices.
- Slice on a bias against the grain, sprinkle with flaky salt and more pepper.
