Reverse-Seared Steak
Published May 18, 2022
- Total Time
- 45 to 55 minutes, plus lighting the grill
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Advertisement
Ingredients
- 1large or 2 small wood chunks (such as oak, hickory or mesquite) or 1½ cups wood chips
- Canola oil, for greasing the grill grate
- 1tri-tip steak (about 2 to 2¼ pounds; see Tip)
- Coarse kosher or sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Granulated onion or garlic (or both)
Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.
Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.
Preparation
- Step 1
If using wood chips, soak in water for 30 minutes. Set up your grill for indirect grilling and heat to 250 degrees. Clean and oil the grill grate.
- Step 2
Remove the tri-tip from the refrigerator. Generously season it with salt, pepper and granulated onion or garlic (or both) on all sides.
- Step 3
Place the tri-tip, fat side up, on the grill grate away from the heat. Insert a remote thermometer probe, if using, deep into the center of the meat. If you soaked wood chips, drain them. If using a charcoal grill, add the wood chunk(s) or chips to the coals. If using a gas grill, place the wood chunks under the grate over one of the burners, or place the chips in your grill’s smoker box. Close the lid. Indirect grill the tri-tip to obtain an internal temperature of 110 degrees, which will take 30 minutes or so. Transfer the tri-tip to a platter and let it rest for at least 10 minutes, or as long as 1 hour.
- Step 4
Just before serving, heat your grill to high. On a charcoal grill, rake the coals into a mound in the center of the grill, adding fresh coals as needed. Let the new coals burn until glowing red. On a gas grill, simply set the burners on high.
- Step 5
Return the tri-tip to the grate directly over the heat, fat side up, and reinsert the thermometer probe, if using. Direct grill until the top and bottom are sizzling, crusty and dark, and the internal temperature is 125 degrees for rare or 135 degrees for medium-rare, 3 to 6 minutes per side, turning with tongs.
- Step 6
Transfer the tri-tip to a cutting board and thinly slice across the grain. (You do not need to rest the meat a second time.) Take time to notice the even color and doneness of the meat and to appreciate the intoxicating aroma of the wood smoke. Serve at once, while the steak is still hot.
- Tri-tip, the triangular or boomerang-shaped steak cut from the tip of the sirloin, is also sold as Newport, Santa Maria, triangle and bottom sirloin tip. This technique also works with any thick steak, such as top round, sirloin or picanha or three-finger-thick porterhouses and tomahawks.
Private Notes
Comments
No disrespect to this method, but I've done the Serious Eats method a number of times and it's been perfect each time. The main difference is salting the meat and then letting it sit in the fridge overnight. It also is a non-grill method, but you can do the final sear on the grill easily enough (get it super hot!). It's brilliant! If you can plan for a day in advance, by all means, do it. https://www.seriouseats.com/reverse-seared-steak-recipe
I think that reverse searing is the steak cooking fad that’s here to stay. Sous vide was big years ago, but reverse searing makes a much better crust. I’d agree that salting early - 24 hours early if you have the time - seems to make a big difference here. We’ve also tried leaving off all the other seasonings except the salt until after searing the meat at the end. Seasonings besides salt burn, right? Adding them in a compound butter is fun; just sprinkling the spices on at the end works too.
At one of the best steak houses in Green Bay, and they are fantastic, I've seen the line cooks get the traditional steaks done on the outside with a hot grill, then grab a small stainless pan and place the steak in it and pop it in an oven for a few more minutes. Their flavor is remarkable, and always very well prepared, to the doneness we ask for. Yet they are very busy and not fussing over each steak until it alone is done. I would suggest trying it since pros seem to use this method
The instructions to heat the grill to 250 are flawed. The grill needs to be decently hot to cook the steak to 110 in 30 minutes. I followed the instructions with a 1.75lb tri-tip at room temperature when I put it on the grill. It reached an internal temp of 86 after 30 min. Also, the wood chips barely smoke with such a low flame. So I bumped the flame up to high for a final 15 min or so to reach the desired internal temp. I agree with the comment below about the Serious Eats version.
I've done something similar with tri-tip on a Weber pellet grill. It tasted fantastic. The only challenge is the searing when you turn it over on to the fat side for searing. Serious flames can erupt. Searing is good. Fatty soot, not so good.
Reverse sear produces the best results by far, IMO. It can be done in the oven (low and slow) and then seared in a pan on the stovetop, so don’t feel limited if you don’t have a grill. As far as using wood chips, please don’t soak them in water as instructed. That just produces steam. A better way to use chips is to place them below your coals in the ash pan. Small bits of burning charcoal will fall through and ignite the chips so that they smolder, producing just enough smoke.
Advertisement