This is not a barbecue blog now, promise. There just happens to be a lot of barbecue in my life right now. Today, I reverse-seared steak. A couple of weeks ago I didn't even know what that meant.
Hell, a couple of weeks ago I rarely cooked steak because—confession time—I'm kind of crap at it.
But yesterday Thomas brought home a massive chunk of ribeye that his boss had given him for Christmas. (Good boss, late-stage capitalism might not be doomed after all.)
He asked me if I would cook it on the Egg.
I've been meaning to try out the reverse sear technique for a while after reading about it and watching a bunch of YouTube instructional vids. Figured today was as good a day as any.
I made up a basic dry marinade based on the Chicago Steakhouse rub, which is apparently a thing…
Ingredients
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 tbsp freshly cracked black pepper
1/2 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tbsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
Patted that down all over the meat and let it sit for an hour to come up to room temperature while I got the Egg going with some new lump charcoal I bought from a guy who supplies most of the restaurants in Brisbane.
The Charcoal Man, as he styles himself, is based in an industrial estate about five klicks east of my place, and it was kind of hell finding him once I got inside factory town. Eventually tracked him down at the end of a hidden lane, tucked away behind a place that seemed to specialise in making rusty steel girders.
I bought two big bags of extra-large Gidgee, which promised to burn hot, smokeless and long. The Charcoal Man did not lie.
It was so much better than the Big Green Egg brand of charcoal the barbecue place comped me with my purchase. That was less lump charcoal then it was 20kgs of chips and splinters.
This stuff from Da Man was big motherfucking lumps. It was easy to get going, and there was no thick white smoke at the start. It just went to blue, almost invisible smoke immediately. Stabilising at a low temperature was no trouble either. I think I'll be using this guy for all my carbon spewing planet destroying needs from now on.
But, back to the protein. I cooked it over indirect heat at about 130 Celsius for 3/4 of an hour, after which the probe said it was time for a little rest. So the rib eye came off the heat and sat under a foil tent for about ten minutes while I cranked up the air supply to the coals and sat my cast iron fry pan directly over them to suck up the thermal units.
When the pan was dangerously hot, the well-rested steak went back in to be seared for about 30 seconds on both sides with some oil and butter.
There was no need to rest it again after that. I just carved it up and we had it with a very simple salad.
Thomas said it was the best steak he'd ever had, and he wasn't lying. I've had steak which was that good, but I paid more than a hundred bucks for it in high end restaurants, usually when reviewing for Good Food Guide. I won't be doing that anymore.
I realise you'll never cook steak any other way for the rest of your life now, but for those without an Egg who are "crap" at cooking steaks Heston Blumenthal's method is fool proof and backed by SCIENCE:
What are the merits of blowing off ms insomniac and associated children and their children with a grumpy outburst just so I can buy a cattleman’s cutlet for dinner (for one)?
That looks SO GOOD. Ribeye is by far my favorite cut, too. Amazing work, sir.
I realise you'll never cook steak any other way for the rest of your life now, but for those without an Egg who are "crap" at cooking steaks Heston Blumenthal's method is fool proof and backed by SCIENCE:
https://youtu.be/nhOV89EQtJs
You interest me strangely Sir.
Lovely! My fave ribeye rub is salt, cumin, allspice and black pepper. Perfect for the reverse sear.
OMG. I quit cooking on coals some time ago because it was too much of a hassle, but looking at that picture ...
Kosher salt is basically salt without additives, particularly no iodine. So if one isn't a woman of child-bearing age, go for it.
I knew I recognised this recipe: https://www.seriouseats.com/the-food-lab-reverse-sear-beef-tenderloin-filet-mignon
What are the merits of blowing off ms insomniac and associated children and their children with a grumpy outburst just so I can buy a cattleman’s cutlet for dinner (for one)?
This fees very much like sous-vide, is that the gist of it?
Does the salt being kosher make any difference? Does this mean that it has sensibly steered clear of dairy?