Reverse-Seared Rib-Eye Steak

Ingredients

• 1 (2-inch-thick) bone-in rib-eye steak (about 2 pounds)
• Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

• Step 1Take your steak out of the fridge a half-hour or so before you plan to cook it, so it loses its chill. Salt it well and, if you like, hit it with some freshly ground black pepper.
• Step 2Heat the oven to 200 degrees and set a wire rack in a rimmed sheet pan.
• Step 3Set the steak on the rack and roast it until its internal temperature is around 110 degrees. That will take something between 20 to 30 minutes, but don’t use time as your guide. Use the thermometer.
• Step 4Rest the meat for 20 minutes while you light either a charcoal grill or heat a gas one until it’s ripping. (You can definitely finish the steak on a stovetop, but you’ll get a lot of smoke.)
• Step 5Sear the meat to deeply brown, about 90 seconds a side, then check the temperature. It should be in the low 120s for rare. Rest for about 5 minutes and carve.
• This recipe scales easily, if expensively. For parties, I might reverse-sear four or five steaks to serve a crowd.

Private Notes

If you have a ceramic kamado or Big Green Egg style grill, you can start with an offset cook in a cask iron pan.

When the internal temp reads 112 degrees, pull the steak and rest as suggested. Remove the offset shield and crank under a cast iron grill to your favorite blast furnace temp.

I go for 800. Sear as prescribed.

This method is close to fool-proof and the only way I cook steak. Instead of using the oven, I use the grill with one burner set to maintain 225F.

Works great. The only thing I can counsel is that this is high risk high reward.

If you don’t get the temperature for the sear super duper high, then your steaks won’t have that outer char and grill look that people expect when they reach final temp (they’ll still taste good).