What is reverse searing and should I use it?

A steak seared first and finished in heat develops a grey overcooked band under the crust, because the outside spends the whole cook far hotter than the middle. Reverse searing removes that band by bringing the whole steak up slowly first.

Step by step

1. Decide whether the steak is thick enough.Below about 3cm there is not enough interior for the method to help, and a normal hot-pan sear is quicker and just as good. Thick-cut sirloin, ribeye, rump cap and cote de boeuf are the candidates.
2. Salt it and leave it uncovered in the fridge.At least an hour, up to overnight. It seasons through and dries the surface, which is what makes the final sear fast.
3. Cook it low.A rack over a tray, oven at 110 to 120°C. The low temperature is the point — it heats the middle without cooking the outside far past it.
4. Pull it 10 to 12°C below your target.For medium-rare at 54°C, take it out at about 43°C. The sear and the rest together add the rest. A thermometer is not optional for this method.
5. Rest it briefly and dry it again.Five minutes, then pat the surface completely dry. Any surface moisture has to boil off before browning starts and that is what overcooks the edge.
6. Sear in a very hot pan.Cast iron or heavy steel, smoking, a little high-smoke-point oil. Sixty to ninety seconds a side is enough because the steak is already hot.
7. Sear the fat edge too.Hold it on its side with tongs for thirty seconds. Rendered fat edge is one of the best parts and it is routinely skipped.
8. Rest only briefly.Five minutes. Because the steak was never far above its target, it does not need the long rest a traditionally cooked steak does.

Tips

• The whole method depends on a thermometer. Without one, cook it normally.
• The low oven stage is very forgiving on time — it is the sear that needs attention.
• It also works in reverse for a barbecue: indirect side first, then over the coals.

Common mistakes

• Reverse searing a thin steak — A 2cm steak reaches temperature almost immediately in the oven, so there is no grey band to avoid and the extra time buys nothing. It also loses the deep crust a straight hot-pan sear gives.
• Searing a steak with a wet surface — Water has to evaporate before the surface can get above 100°C and brown, so a wet steak steams for a minute and overcooks its edge before it starts colouring. Dry it thoroughly between stages.

If it doesn't work

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