When most people prepare steak, they sear it on the stove and finish it in the oven. With the reverse sear technique, you’ll roast your steak low and slow in the oven and finish it fast in a sizzling pan. Try this new and popular method from loveandoliveoil.com. It results in a juicy and tender bite every time.
Ingredients
- 2 (12 ounce) steaks, about 1-inch thick
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil vegetable oil
- fresh thyme and garlic cloves (optional)
Steps
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.
- Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Spray an oven-safe baking rack with cooking spray and place inside the baking sheet.
- Generously season both sides of steaks with salt and pepper. Place on baking rack. Insert a probe thermometer into the thickest part of the largest steak, making sure the tip of the thermometer isn’t touching any bones or large chunks of fat.
- Bake until steaks reach your desired temperature (Set the temperature alert on your thermometer to 115-118º or so for medium, 108-110ºF for medium-rare). This will probably take around 45 minutes to an hour.
- When steaks have a few degrees left to go, start preheating a large, heavy skillet set over medium-high heat. A cast iron skillet is perfect here, but it does need about 5 to 10 minutes to thoroughly preheat (a thinner skillet won’t take quite as much time). You really want this pan super hot – a drop of water hitting the pan should violently sizzle and almost instantly disappear.
- Add a few tablespoons of vegetable oil to the skillet and heat until smoking.
- Using tongs, transfer steaks (remove the probe first) to hot skillet, being cautious of hot oil splattering. Sear for 60 seconds, then flip and cook for another 6o to 80 seconds more. Once you flip the steaks you can add a handful of fresh thyme and peeled garlic cloves, if desired, for some extra flavor and color.
- If you are cooking more than 2 steaks at a time, I recommend searing them in batches of 2 so as not to overcrowd the pan. Let the skillet reheat completely before searing the second batch.
- Remove steaks from skillet and transfer to a cutting surface. Slice across the grain and serve while still warm.