Reverse Sear

The reverse sear flips the traditional steak cooking sequence on its head. Instead of searing first and finishing in the oven, you start low and slow in the oven (or on indirect grill heat) and finish with a blazing hot sear at the end.

Why It Works Better: Traditional searing first creates a crust, then you finish in the oven — but the exterior continues cooking during that oven time, building up a thick gray band of overcooked meat between the crust and the pink center. The reverse sear eliminates this. By bringing the interior up to temperature gently, then searing at the end, you get edge-to-edge even doneness with a paper-thin crust — pink from edge to edge with just a millimeter of brown.

The Method: 1. Season the steak and place on a wire rack over a sheet pan 2. Low oven at 200–275°F (lower = more even, but takes longer) 3. Pull early — remove when internal temp hits 10–15°F below your target (e.g., 115–120°F for a 130°F medium-rare finish) 4. Rest 10 minutes while you heat your pan to nuclear 5. Sear 45–90 seconds per side in a screaming hot cast iron with high-smoke-point oil 6. Serve immediately — no additional rest needed (the meat already rested)

Ideal Cuts: Thick steaks benefit most — anything 1.5 inches or thicker. Tomahawk, thick-cut ribeye, porterhouse, whole tenderloin, tri-tip, picanha. For steaks under an inch, the traditional method works fine because there's not enough thickness to develop a significant gray band.

My Honest Opinion: I resisted the reverse sear for years. Seemed gimmicky, like something food bloggers invented to feel clever. Then I tried it side by side with a traditional sear on two identical Prime ribeyes. The reverse sear was better. Not close. I've been converted, and I'm not too proud to say so.

Bonus: The low-oven phase dries the surface of the steak, which means the final sear develops a crust faster and more evenly. The science just works.