Dry brined, reverse seared steak

buzzard767

golfaknifeaholic
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This is what I did for dinner tonight. Both dry brining and reverse searing explanations are at the bottom of this post.

First of all I dry brined a rib eye. I salted it and added some Old Bay seasoning, wrapped it up in plastic and put it in the fridge for two hours.

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Once brined I put the meat in an aluminum lined baking dish and baked at 275 degrees F until the internal temperature reached 92 degrees - in this case, 28 minutes because the steak was thick.

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I always have to saute a little something to put on the fork with the steak, in this case, onions, mushrooms, garlic, and green pepper.

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Once the temp reaches 92 the steak goes into a medium/ medium hot grill pan for two minutes a side.

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Let it rest under the recovered foil for ten minutes and there it is.

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Perfect every time.

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What's not to like?

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The complete info ripped and pasted from a knife site I haunt:




First, start off with good steaks as mentioned. I'd suggest ribeyes like everyone else.

Tenderloin/filet mignon, NY Strip, porterhouse/tbones are good too. Try and get the best you can

afford. Choice or prime if you can :). Get them thick, at least 1.25 or more if you can.

Next, at least one hour before cooking, salt them. Yes presalt them. Don't lightly salt them either.

Get some kosher and cover the steak. Not super heavy, but a fair amount. Remember, this is a big

steak. All sides. Then place on a flat plate, cover with saran wrap, and put them back into the fridge

or leave them out. I put them in the fridge, I'll explain why later.

Yes this draws moisture out. This isn't necessarily such a bad thing. Dry aging gets rid of moisture

too, which concentrates the beef flavor. But what happens is, after about 1/2 an hour, the moisture

that is drawn out mixes with the salt. After being drawn out, the meat pulls this salt water back in.

After about an hour, you'll notice a lot of the water has been drawn back in. Not all but most. This

actually flavors the meat all the way through. yeah I didn't believe it, but it does. Also

"supposedly" tenderizes the meat a tiny bit. I can't say this for sure, since I'm not food scientist.

At this point, you can pat the steaks dry. Don't worry about completely drying it.

Now you can apply whatever other seasoning you want, if you didn't at the beginning with the salt.

black pepper, garlic powder etc.

The second technique I do is a reverse sear. Preheat an oven to 275. Insert a polder type probe into

the steak where you normally measure temp. Place the steak on a cooling rack and into the oven. Watch

the temp. We're looking for 90-95 here, for medium rare. If you only have an instant read therm,

you'll have to check with times, as I don't cook that way. before the steak hits 90-95, preheat a cast

iron skillet (preferable)regular skllet or grill. Medium-hot heat here. Not high, not medium,

somewhere in the middle.

Once the steak hits desired temp (i go for 92F :)), pull the steak out, pull the probe out, and sear

on each side for no more than two minutes each side. You can oil or not, your choice. If not a fatty

cut, oil will help the sear along without having seasoning/meat stick to the skillet. No more than two

minutes. Start with 2 the first time, adjust to preference later. Pull the meat, rest for ten minutes.

You should have a perfect medium rare steak all the way through, without that nasty gray band you see

on thick steaks sometimes. Adjust any of the temps and time for your equipment and experience.

So why the reverse sear? Three things. First, with a reverse sear, you dry out the surface of the

steak completely. This is good. When the steak hits a hot pan, heat must be used to evaporate the

moisture on the surface of the meat. if you dry out the steak, the surface starts to brown

immediately. This helps with achieving a better sear on the outside, without heating up the steak too

much in the middle. This in turn helps out with item number two. It reduces the nasty gray band you

see sometimes in thick cut steaks, between the browned surface and the red interior. This stuff is

dry, and tough etc. With the reverse sear, the minimum amount of time on the searing heat doesn't heat

up that area too much. Third, and quite important, is enzymes. This is stolen from cooks illustrated.

Enzymes called cathespins help break down meat (i.e. dry and wet aging). Well when heated or warmed

up, they're like enzymes on steroids. They stop working at 120 or so though. So if you can keep them

warm, for an extended period of time, you can mimic the effects of aging within the 1/2 hour or so it

takes in the oven. With the reverse sear, you're having these enzymes working in over drive for a

longer period of time, far away from their death temp of 120 or lower. They even recommend going

straight from fridge to oven, to give the enzymes even more time to work.

This is all on the CI site for anyone interested. They have videos showing it all too. Look for "when

should I salt my steaks" and "pan searing thick cut steaks (may/june 200? issue).

Summary? Three steps. (1)Salt thick cut good steaks, one hour. (2) Put in an Oven at 275F until 90-95

degrees. (3) Immediately sear, for no more than two minutes each side on medium hot pan.
 
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Keltin

New member
Gold Site Supporter
Wow, what a trip. You cook the steak on low heat prior to searing. Some would argue that “all the juices won’t get locked in without a good sear”, by your pictures say otherwise! That is awesome. I’ll have to give it a try.

Odd thing is, I’m a big fan of thick steaks, but DW likes them really thin. A few nights ago, she launched a campaign to convert me to thin steaks, and I have to admit, thin is pretty darn good. On a hot grill, I cook a 1/2” steak 2 minutes a side for medium rare for her. She “forced” me to cook two the other night for us both so that I’d see the beauty of thin. I won’t lie, it was really good.

Still, being the caveman that I am, I can’t turn my back on a huge hunk of red meat! And, to be honest, she will take a thick steak…..if it is Filet Mignon!

Thanks for the technique, I’ll give it a go!

By the way, nice knife! Is that Damascus steel?
 

buzzard767

golfaknifeaholic
Gold Site Supporter
By the way, nice knife! Is that Damascus steel?[/FONT][/COLOR]

No. That's a hammered finish during the forging. The knife is a Yoshikane 240mm (9.4" blade) SKD. The steel is SKD-12 tool steel , semi stainless. Very hard and one of my two favorite veggie chopping knives. The handle is custom, spalted tamarind, golden amboyna ferrule (both woods ‘stabilized’ with pentacryl), tung oil finish, 139mm.

I'm more of a knife guy than a cook, but I try. :chef:
 
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Keltin

New member
Gold Site Supporter
I'm more of a knife guy than a cook, but I try. :chef:

I can tell! :shock:

That knife has more stats than my PC!!! :lol:

I do love a good knife, but I’m afraid I’m not as well versed in the lingo. You may enjoy this site. I’m seriously considering having this guy make me a custom chef’s knife.
 

buzzard767

golfaknifeaholic
Gold Site Supporter
You may enjoy this site. I’m seriously considering having this guy make me a custom chef’s knife.[/FONT]

I just spent a little time on that site. His knives geometries are unique to say the least. I love his bread knives. The scalloped edges are like my Mac SB-105 except much wider. I'm fascinated with his design concepts.

His use of 440C steel leaves something to be desired in my opinion. Although 440C is a very good knife steel, there are great steels available and more suitable for kitchen cutlery, both home and pro. Perhaps he uses some of them but 440C was all I saw mentioned. You can't really do wrong buying one of his knives, but obviously I don't care for his chosen steel formula.
 

RobsanX

Potato peeler
Super Site Supporter
Great looking steak! Perfectly cooked! I have some tenderloin in the freezer that I might try this technique with...
 

Rob Babcock

New member
Wow, the gangs all here!:thumb: Nice looking steak, Buzz- but an even better looking knife! I love that Yoshikane! I should've got one from TBT when they were in stock...I'm sure when they get another batch they'll be $60 higher.
 

buzzard767

golfaknifeaholic
Gold Site Supporter
Wow, the gangs all here!:thumb: Nice looking steak, Buzz- but an even better looking knife! I love that Yoshikane! I should've got one from TBT when they were in stock...I'm sure when they get another batch they'll be $60 higher.

Give them a call and ask. If the price is still available I'd jump on it. I love the knife and it's a keeper.

I think you should get a gold medal for the avatar. Best I've seen. Make it yourself?
 

joec

New member
Gold Site Supporter
I will be trying this and I also had rib eyes last night for dinner. I've never tried the reverse searing before but will next time around for sure. I still have a dozen good 1.75 " thick rib eyes in the freezer that I got just last week and cut myself. Thanks for the post Buzz.
 

buzzard767

golfaknifeaholic
Gold Site Supporter
I will be trying this and I also had rib eyes last night for dinner. I've never tried the reverse searing before but will next time around for sure. I still have a dozen good 1.75 " thick rib eyes in the freezer that I got just last week and cut myself. Thanks for the post Buzz.

Joe, at 1.75" sear them for two minutes a side on medium high heat, not high. That is because the meat is already warm, not cold as they would be if you were doing the searing first thing. Steaks at 1.25" or less only need about a minute and a half per side.
 

joec

New member
Gold Site Supporter
Thanks Buzz I will give it a shot early next week when I eat another of those lovelies. I actually seared mine last night on one side for 4 minutes turned if over for 2 more then turned the heat down for 5 more minutes. Turned out a good medium rare. I've also don't the dry brine before and I've put them in the oven after searing but never from the oven to the searing. The slices looked really juicy which I found a bit surprising like the others, kind of though it would dry it out. Live and learn. :thumb:
 

PanchoHambre

New member
Buzz. that is a great looking steak and after seeing both you and Jeekinz post this MO with great results I am definitely going to try it.... You knives however really get in the way of focusing on the steak... beautiful pics
 

buzzard767

golfaknifeaholic
Gold Site Supporter
Buzz. that is a great looking steak and after seeing both you and Jeekinz post this MO with great results I am definitely going to try it.... You knives however really get in the way of focusing on the steak... beautiful pics

Funny because I was earlier nudged for my lack of photographic skills and I blamed it on a salty lensed iPhone which is more truth than fiction. My wife has a digi camera but that one sucks for closeups too. Wish I could do better. After the economy improves in about ten years I'll make it a priority to buy a quality camera free of charge compliment of the US Government. Or not. :shock:
 

Keltin

New member
Gold Site Supporter
Did a reverse sear on a monster pork chop tonight. Thanks Buzz, it’s great.

Basically, as Buzz says, start with a big cut of meat. I cooked it in the oven to 155, then pan seared it and let it rest. After that, serve! Very tender and extremely juicy.

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buzzard767

golfaknifeaholic
Gold Site Supporter
Glad you enjoyed it Keltin. DW and I are reverse searing nearly all of our steaks these days. It's just too easy and foolproof to ignore.
 

Adillo303

*****
Gold Site Supporter
I want to try the reverse sear. What I am having a hard time understanding is how to decide the temperature to warm the steak to before searing.

Both Buzz's steak and Keltin's chop look great.

Is the temperature trial and error? Or is there a guide?

Thank You

Andy
 

buzzard767

golfaknifeaholic
Gold Site Supporter
I want to try the reverse sear. What I am having a hard time understanding is how to decide the temperature to warm the steak to before searing.

Both Buzz's steak and Keltin's chop look great.

Is the temperature trial and error? Or is there a guide?

Thank You

Andy

92 degrees for medium rare. I must have posted that.... looking
 

Adillo303

*****
Gold Site Supporter
I did read that Buzz - Is that a number for any tickness steak, of for one of the thickness that you made?

I probably was not clear. When you go to the store you get meat of varying thickness. I was wondering if the temp was a factor of thickness, or a constant.
 

chowhound

New member
This was "reverse seared" on the grill. Indirect until it reached 104F, then over a hot flame.
 

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buzzard767

golfaknifeaholic
Gold Site Supporter
I did read that Buzz - Is that a number for any tickness steak, of for one of the thickness that you made?

I probably was not clear. When you go to the store you get meat of varying thickness. I was wondering if the temp was a factor of thickness, or a constant.

I understand your question now. 92 degrees is a good temperature for an average to somewhat thick steak. I've never tried a thin steak so I don't know about those. Thick steaks are good from 92 to as much as 95 degrees, but I try to catch them at 92. The searing and ten minute rest period do the rest of the work.

Vary the searing time; a minute and a quarter or so for thin steaks and a couple minutes for thick.
 

GotGarlic

New member
Wow, what a trip. You cook the steak on low heat prior to searing. Some would argue that “all the juices won’t get locked in without a good sear”, by your pictures say otherwise!

Hey, Keltin. The idea that searing seals in juices is one of those cooking myths that gets passed on forever, but it's not true: Does searing meat really seal in moisture?

That looks like a fantastic steak, and the pork chop looks great, too. Yum!
 

Derek

Banned
Buzz, That looks freaking tasty, It also looks like it felt apart in your mouth "that's the only kind of steak I eat"
 

RobsanX

Potato peeler
Super Site Supporter
This is the post that keeps on giving! I'm planning on doing some 2" strips tonight!
 

FryBoy

New member
Looks great, have to try this method.

But first I want to double check these two directions:

"Preheat an oven to 275. . . . Place the steak on a cooling rack and into the oven."

Did you mean to type 275? (I ask as it seems rather low).

What do you mean by a "cooling rack"?

Thanks.
 
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