The Reverse Sear Explained & De-Mystified: Full Tutorial & Pr0n Included!

[Moose]

I posted this a while back in response to a question in another thread, so I thought it would be helpful to devote a thread specifically to this topic.

Reverse sear is a grilling/smoking technique whereby the meat is cooked with indirect heat first, then finished direct over high heat.

Why?

For years we were taught that searing meat first over high heat "sealed" in the juices. This notion has been recently dis-proven too many times to count by test kitchens and professional cooks/BBQ chefs across the country that demonstrated considerably greater moisture loss than indirect cooking.

Essentially when you use a reverse sear, you are roasting your meat, which helps prevent the kind of moisture loss you get by cooking meat over high heat. Reverse searing is ideal for larger pieces of meats, steaks, and roasts, but I have to say, it works quite well for burgers, too! Reverse searing also produces a much more evenly cooked piece of meat, in addition to better moisture retention. The sear over direct heat merely helps to finish cooking the meat and adds a nice 'crust' to the meat.

Here's some trip tip that was cooked with a traditional direct sear:

http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae286/Pashn8one/2009_0228_0042.jpg

See that grey/brown ring? All that high heat basically cooked the beejezus out of the outer layer.

Here's some tri-tip cooked reverse sear style:

http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae286/Pashn8one/IMG_0064.jpg

And some filet roast:

http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae286/Pashn8one/IMG_0914-1.jpg

See how evenly they both are cooked? Which would you rather eat? :becky:

Do a google search for Chris Finney/Reverse Sear. He pioneered this method, although met with much scorn initially. But as they say, results don't lie!

Reverse searing for me provides the perfect opportunity to get a lot (or as little) of smoke flavor as I want - I usually add one or more chunks of smoking wood to my hot coals for the indirect part of the cook, thus imparting a smoky flavor that often tastes like the meat was cooked over a wood fire. For me this is the best of both worlds - grilling AND smoking combined.

So how do you do it?

1. Set up your charcoal grill by banking your coals to one side. I usually do about 50% 50% lit & unlit. If you want some smoke, add a small chunk or two of smoking wood of your choice on the lit coals.

2. Put your meat on the "cold" side of the grill, and close the lid. If you want smokier meat, shut your lower vents a bit, which will inhibit 02, thus preventing the wood from catching fire.

3. At this point, your cooker should be heating up to about 350. This is a good temp, give or take 20 degrees. If it gets hotter than 400, shut your lower vents a bit, which will drop the temp.

4. When your meat reaches about 80% of your desired internal target temp, it's time to put it on the hot side of the grill. A one inch steak would only need less than half a minute a side, while something like a Tri-Tip would need a few minutes per side. Take your meat off the grill when it has reached your desired target temp. Let it rest, then serve and enjoy.

And that's it! You just did your first reverse sear.

Here's a few reverse sear cooks from start to finish you might enjoy:

Pork Chops (http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=125925)

Tri-Tip (http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=124717)

Hanger Steak (http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=125656)

Burgers (http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=119945)

Lamb Chops (http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=119462)


I hope this post is helpful for those looking to explore this cooking technique.

[mbshop]

i've been doing reverse sear for years. i hated the soggy crust i was getting. so i switched up and havn't looked back.

[fingerlickin']

Great post Moose!

[Wampus]

Dammit.....hongry now.

Good stuff Moose!

[Big George's BBQ]

Thanks Moose Will definately have to try it

[Ryan Chester]

Great post. Thanks Moose!

[bigabyte]

Excellent post!

[Gore]

Don't forget prime rib.

http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt211/gvideen/IMG_4578.jpg

(smoked at 225* to IT around 120-125*, rested 20 minutes, then seared)

Here are a few of my favorite links on reverse sear:

http://www.seriouseats.com/2009/12/the-food-lab-how-to-cook-roast-a-perfect-prime-rib.html

http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/12/what-is-prime-rib-questions-how-to-cook-christmas-recipe-dry-aged-wet-aged.html?utm_source=Serious+Eats+Newsletters&utm_campaign=347332a7e5-Serious_Eats_Newsletter_December_20_2010&utm_medium=email

You can read about the juicy advantage.

[deguerre]

It was Moose that finally made me a reverse sear convert. Trust in Moose.

[Gore]

I had to come back to stare at the tri-tip. :hungry:

[Moose]

I had to come back to stare at the tri-tip. :hungry:

And you graced us with my favorite parsley shot of all time! :clap2:

[TBASS]

Thanks for the post. I have a tri tip I am planning to try the reverse sear technique on tomorrow.:-D

[smokemonster]

Excellent post!

[El Ropo]

Awesome! I try to explain reverse sear to folks and they look at me like I'm crazy. It's their loss!

[jcpetro97]

Great info, thanks for posting. I am gonna have to try this soon

[Durzil]

Fan-Farking-Tastic post sticky please.

[FamilyManBBQ]

Great post Moose!! Big fan of the reverse-sear.

Here's a link to the "finney method"
http://www.ironpigbbq.com/Reverse-Sear.html

[Cloudsmoker]

This is one terrific post. Great job.

[JS-TX]

Is there such a thing as double reverse sear? Like searing it first and then letting it cook at a lower temp til done?

[Enkidu]

Gonna try this with some pork chops I have in the fridge!

Thanks moose!

[gtr]

Big fan pf reverse sear here. :thumb:

Great post! :clap2:

[Moose]

Is there such a thing as double reverse sear? Like searing it first and then letting it cook at a lower temp til done?

If I'm understanding you correctly, that would be the old school traditional "sear first then finish indirect". The reverse sear solves the problems this method creates. Maybe read the original post from beginning to end to understand how and why this works. :rolleyes:

[retired trucker]

Great explanation Moose. The way you laid it out makes it easy to understand the process. Sometimes out of old habits, we can't see the forest for the trees. Also makes me hungry for a good tri-tip. Now to try to find one locally.

[Tatoosh]

I have been doing sous vide cooking for awhile, which does this approach too. The family favorite is deep fried burgers, where I vacuum pack the burger, cook to the exact desired done-ness and then deep fry for 40 seconds to give a crispy exterior.

I will be doing reverse sear, sous vide pork chops, but with a warm smoke first. I will shoot for 150F or lower, smoking them with mesquite chips for 1 to 2 hours. Then vacuum pack and freeze. When I want a chop, I pull it out of the freezer, leave it in the bag and sous vide to the exact temperature I want. Then pull it out of the water, remove from the bag and sear it before eating. In fact, I may do this for a small party own the road. Mashed potatoes, fresh dinner rolls and smokey pork chops sounds like a good meal to me!

Reverse sear is a great way to finish your meat, regardless if you roast, sous vide, or confit you meat.

[DaveMW]

You've sold me on the reverse sear Moose.

[swamprb]

I just do not like charred meats, so the Reverse Sear comes natural to me.

[jkieffer]

Awesome post...second the sticky suggestions.

[bustem55]

Reverse sear is the only way I do steaks anymore. Will try on the prime rib next. Thanks for the info.

[Berock]

I will definatley give this a go on my next grill. I guess I was already doing this on my ribs, as I would add sauce and finish on the grill. Thanks,

[R2Egg2Q]

Nice tutorial Moose! I love the reverse sear!


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[juslearning]

Always reverse sear.

[NickTheGreat]

I'm going to have to try this sometime. A little backwards from what I'd always thought. :wacko:

[Patrickkva]

This method is especially useful for the caveman sized cuts of meat. I'm a big fan of the reverse sear. :clap:

[el_matt]

Love a good reverse sear. Absolute best way to do burgers.

Matt

[ddweatherholtz]

Started doing it a few months ago, and family agrees, best i have ever done for steaks, pork chops and burgers!

[touchdowntodd]

ill HAVE to go this way .. never even heard of it til now! another reason to love this site!

[bigabyte]

This should get road mapped or become a sticky, since it is a FAQ on reverse sear.

[Durzil]

This should get road mapped or become a sticky, since it is a FAQ on reverse sear.

100%

I started doing this with Tri-Tip as I wanted it smoked but to still have that flavor filled crust. I was unhappy with trying to sear then smoke as I wasn't able to consistently get good results. Meaning uneven doneness. I'm not sure who suggested it or where I picked it up from but the reverse sear Tri-Tip is consistently fabulous and I'm a convert. Made some fajitas last night doing a reverse sear with some sirloin I needed to use up. Was amazing! Great post needs to be stickied. There is no way to get better more consistent cooks that I've tried.

[buccaneer]

I have been doing sous vide cooking for awhile, which does this approach too.

Reverse sear is a great way to finish your meat, regardless if you roast, sous vide, or confit you meat.
Tatoosh, sorry, but you can't reverse sear if you cook confit or sous vide.
I love sous vise and confit, congrats, they are amazing techniques!!

I want a sous vide bath real bad....next toy!:-D

[Dave S]

Moose, does it matter when the rest occurs? It sounds like you move it from the indirect side right over to the direct side and let it rest. Gore, with that beautiful Prime Rib, let it rest for 20 mins before moving to the direct coals.
Thanks

[Moose]

Moose, does it matter when the rest occurs? It sounds like you move it from the indirect side right over to the direct side and let it rest. Gore, with that beautiful Prime Rib, let it rest for 20 mins before moving to the direct coals.
Thanks

Dave, I pull the meat right after the sear is finished and let it rest like any other piece of meat before serving. Obviously, the larger the cut, the longer the rest. Letting the meat rest before the sear I think overcomplicates the process, IMHO.

[btcg]

I'm going to have to try this sometime. A little backwards from what I'd always thought. :wacko:

If it works... that's excellent.

I did this last weekend entirely on direct high-heat with the charcoal directly under the meat:


http://theteachersplace.com/andy/rs9.jpg
http://theteachersplace.com/andy/rs10.jpg

Plenty juicy - and tasty as all get out. Veggies too, which were done along side of the roast. That's the way Ruths Chris does theirs. Looks to me like both methods work.

OH, forgot: none of those were sprayed or drizzled with anything to make em moister. You can see in the 1st pic that the resting process (and my skill, frankly) resulted in some juicy meat.

And I attribute this to Myron Mixon. I entered that school as a darn good cook, as most here, are. But believe me, he'll sharpen your skills. The JOS class is well worth the money.

[The Pup]

Reverse searing since the late '60s (because that's how I learned it):

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/RCA6L6GC/IMG_7047b.jpg

[Ag76]

Don't forget prime rib.

http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt211/gvideen/IMG_4578.jpg

(smoked at 225* to IT around 120-125*, rested 20 minutes, then seared)

Here are a few of my favorite links on reverse sear:

http://www.seriouseats.com/2009/12/the-food-lab-how-to-cook-roast-a-perfect-prime-rib.html

http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/12/what-is-prime-rib-questions-how-to-cook-christmas-recipe-dry-aged-wet-aged.html?utm_source=Serious+Eats+Newsletters&utm_campaign=347332a7e5-Serious_Eats_Newsletter_December_20_2010&utm_medium=email

You can read about the juicy advantage.


Damn, Gore. That's as fine a looking prime rib as I ever saw.

[Porcine Perfection]

Off and resting.

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/11/05/jy9ana3u.jpg


"You don't win friends with salad!" - Homer Simpson

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Porcine Perfection]

A touch overdone but very tasty!

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/11/05/y8a8evyn.jpg


"You don't win friends with salad!" - Homer Simpson

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[buccaneer]

I miss moose...

[Moose]

I miss moose...

Moose is right here!

[Pitmaster T]

I ahve been tossign this idea in my head about the reverse sear. Recently I got a big ass 5 foot grill.

Now thats big and great for the three Church Fairs we have each year BUT I do not want to be farking around with cooking 50 individual tri tips.

My thought is this, and please answer. What if I could start them out reverse sear, pan them and bring the temp way down to suspend them at, say, rare. (in this way as time goes by I am still left with med rare). This means my pit would be behind me (my big ass brazos) suspended by my stoker at some temperature. I could pull a couple of tri - tips and finish them off and pass them to my slicer.

Can we theorize this for a moment. Is it possible, and for how long? Thoughts... in this case I am open to even the stupid suggestions... mostly because thats where the true genius often lies.

[BBQMaverick]

Great thread. Lots of good info.

[CarolinaQue]

I ahve been tossign this idea in my head about the reverse sear. Recently I got a big ass 5 foot grill.

Now thats big and great for the three Church Fairs we have each year BUT I do not want to be farking around with cooking 50 individual tri tips.

My thought is this, and please answer. What if I could start them out reverse sear, pan them and bring the temp way down to suspend them at, say, rare. (in this way as time goes by I am still left with med rare). This means my pit would be behind me (my big ass brazos) suspended by my stoker at some temperature. I could pull a couple of tri - tips and finish them off and pass them to my slicer.

Can we theorize this for a moment. Is it possible, and for how long? Thoughts... in this case I am open to even the stupid suggestions... mostly because thats where the true genius often lies.


I see no reason why that wouldn't work as long as you keep them tightly wrapped. I think that your limitation though would be holding them in the "danger" zone in the "rare" temp range for to long. But I'd be willing to bet that you could safely hold them for a couple of hours and then finish with a flash sear and serve. I know that I'd eat it. It's not like it's ground beef you're holding or any thing.

[Pitmaster T]

We had a discussion about the danger zone for meats....

I can't remember where the data was... I think it was in Wood Pellet thread where I was insisting something could not be done and according to the powers that be it could. I forgot the info because I figured I would never need it.

I was assuming I would be done in say... 2 hours so I would assume I would slow them down enough and hold them at 165, for instance. I am wondering on the data of how long I had in that rare. med rare zone of low enough I cook finish sear them before the buyer and throw the to the side for the slicer to do his/her thang.

[buccaneer]

In this thread, people are using the term "Reverse Sear" instead of simple searing first or last.
My thought is this, and please answer. What if I could start them out reverse sear, pan them and bring the temp way down to suspend them at, say, rare. (in this way as time goes by I am still left with med rare). This means my pit would be behind me (my big ass brazos) suspended by my stoker at some temperature. I could pull a couple of tri - tips and finish them off and pass them to my slicer. Reverse sear is a complete method.
It means to bake meat on low heat and finish by searing the external surface.
It is called "Bake and Brown" when taught as a method in cooking courses and has been around since the last century.
It gets confusing when we use the terms in place of something else.
If you start with a sear, then you can't use reverse sear.
The benefit of reverse sear is you get greater control of doneness because it gives you are much larger window in which to cook to the IT you want.
It is slightly moister (if cooked by non pro's) and is far more forgiving for less experienced cooks.
It's weak point is, it cooks in a range of heat that, for the majority of the time, it is below the temps where chemical and elemental changes happen and flavinoids develop.
As for the temp being in the 'danger zone' it is simply not relevant because the bacterial organisms that you fear are external and will be in a heat emp too high to exist, there will not be developing organisms in the internals of the meat exploding in number, contrary to common belief.
If that were so, things like hungi and other non western cooking styles would have killed off other cultures thouseands of ears ogo
In My Opinion and experience:becky:

[Pitmaster T]

I also guess that what I am saying is how long can I hold a beef cut suspended in a holder at say, 155, when the steak was stopped using the reverse method at 130-135 for instance?

I guess I actually need to do it maybe.

[Pitmaster T]

let me clarify... I do not let the steaks touch the sear at all until the end. I am not a dumb ass. Yes I understand it is a whole process.... I am aksing for data on for instance, how long can a cut be suspended from the slow smoke portion of the cook until you finish sear it.

[buccaneer]

let me clarify... I do not let the steaks touch the sear at all until the end. I am not a dumb ass. Yes I understand it is a whole process.... I am aksing for data on for instance, how long can a cut be suspended from the slow smoke portion of the cook until you finish sear it.
I know you aren't a dumbass but the way you wrote the post meant ir read the way I responded to it and we aren't the only ones reading the posts.
I have never needed or thought about it but naturally thoughts went to sous vide where the meats are suspended in low temps(115f to 185f) for a very long time.

[Pitmaster T]

I know you aren't a dumbass but the way you wrote the post meant ir read the way I responded to it and we aren't the only ones reading the posts.
I have never needed or thought about it but naturally thoughts went to sous vide where the meats are suspended in low temps(115f to 185f) for a very long time.

Don't worry about it. If I was mad i would have used an !

No I realized I wrote it wrong.

heres what I got in another thread from foxfire.

This is why I come here... this is what I was talking about the other day about genius.... I think it was in the "stew meat for burnt ends" thread.

True genius on the pit is when you look at a meat and say...how closely can I get it to do this and throw out all the rules, including the rules that got the other meat the way you are targeting, and come up with another way (like my "breaks my heart loinbacks")

I had simply underestimated the possibility that I could pull way under rare.... hold it in pans in the smoker at say 115 or 120 (which is easy to approximate) then finish off in 2 to 3 minutes.

Am I the only one who tends to pull tri tip off at 115 to rest in foil while I add another half chimney of coals to the low-and-slow fire for a hotter sear? The temp raises a bit while resting so once I sear it's a pretty quick 2-3 min per side to hit 135 med. rare. Or am I weird?

GOD BLESS YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!

I asked this question the other day in another thread and was looking for this advice. I love you man. I did some calcualtions and this will work. I forgot about this.... this will work for my application and you even gave me the done time.

As far as you thinking you are weird, no, you are a genius. I bet you get the feeling I do when I deliver a 25-35 pound shoulder clod and serve it rare to medium rare after a 200, 2 hour, then 400 to 130 IT degree cook, slice it and have people think I am serving prime rib or boneless steamship round. You must feel like I do when you see people in here cook a cold like they do a brisket (thereby ruining it because they are doing something to a clod that a brisket can do better - be served well done).

You sir are my new best friend and yes you are weird. Which is the highest compliment!.

[Pitmaster T]

Now from what I am reading about sous vide.... I am going to have to grill a bit first perhaps. Then bake smoke to 115, wrap a few in plastic, then hold (no I am not going to hold in water bath) then when I am ready I will pull a pack (which may have three tri tips in it.... grill to rare to med rare, then rest and slice to serve.

It broke off but I remember I had a swing in cage like rack I could literally swing into the firebox of my brazos for reasons like this. I was big enough to throw maybe three or four briskets in, sear them, in the high heat (although I would shut the door and dampers so there were not flare ups) and pull in under 5-10 minutes. I stopped using this because it made a great bark but affected my smoke ring.

I did think I could use it for a finish process for searing bark on a "done" brisket but that was before I perfected my tri level process which somehow magically the bark hardens up again after its pulled from the plastic or butcher paper.

Maybe I should try this with tri tips. I don't know.

[NorthwestBBQ]

Genius! :clap2:

[gtr]

...
I deliver a 25-35 pound shoulder clod and serve it rare to medium rare after a 200, 2 hour, then 400 to 130 IT degree cook
...

This is what I've been wanting to hear about clod. :thumb:

[RevZiLLa]

A pic is worth a thousand words

[buccaneer]

Now from what I am reading about sous vide.... I am going to have to grill a bit first perhaps. Then bake smoke to 115, wrap a few in plastic, then hold (no I am not going to hold in water bath) then when I am ready I will pull a pack (which may have three tri tips in it.... grill to rare to med rare, then rest and slice to serve.

My point is, sous vide safely holds eat at these temps so you can too using a pit.
I see no food safety issue.
I use a BSKeg and part of my method on certain cuts is to smoke and cook lowish(275-325) and take it out to rest while opening up the BSKeg and putting the meat back in for the finish, very hot.

[Scubadoo97]

Tatoosh, sorry, but you can't reverse sear if you cook confit or sous vide.
I love sous vise and confit, congrats, they are amazing techniques!!

I want a sous vide bath real bad....next toy!:-D

That's not true. The reverse sear technique involves low temp precooking followed by a high temp finish.

The sous vide water bath is nothing more than a water oven with very precise temperature controller unlike the home oven. A home oven cycles 10 degrees above and below the set point. The sous vide bath due to PID controllers may vary by .1-.5 degrees. Once out of the vacuumed bag the meat can be seared in a ripping hot cast iron pan or torched to get the crusty exterior that searing brings to the table. The meat can be smoked post SV as well. Some like to smoke at a low temp before using the water oven. There are advocates of both methods. Sous vide epitomizes the reverse sear

[JandJbuidasmoker]

i've been doing reverse sear for years. i hated the soggy crust i was getting. so i switched up and havn't looked back.

+1 this isn't new to me either! Thanks though for validating me!

[Scubadoo97]

I also guess that what I am saying is how long can I hold a beef cut suspended in a holder at say, 155, when the steak was stopped using the reverse method at 130-135 for instance?

I guess I actually need to do it maybe.

Depends on the size of the meat. A steak of say 40mm thickness will pasteurize at the surface and come to core temperature in about 3 hours at 130 degrees. Faster if at higher temp. Still within the four hour window

Another example; a boneless short rib 50 mm thick held at 160 f will be pasteurized to the core in about 2 hours. Again within the 4 hr window. Not long enough to make it tender but it will be safe to eat

These examples come from safety nomograms used in sous vide cooking. Due to the accuracy of the water oven these examples may not hold as true for a smoker.

Also it should be noted, collagen breaks down at much lower temperatures used in smoking and grilling, just takes longer