I love cooking with different textures and flavours, and it’s no secret that I enjoy a good BBQ. I find that the combination of good quality meat and vegetables, combined with spices, smoke, and time, can create some of the most delicious and complex flavours.
The ribeye steak is often considered a gourmet delight in restaurants and the best cut of steak according to our ultimate rankings, but have you tried the reverse seared method?
Reverse searing has the potential to elevate your ribeye to new levels, with an easy technique and a few minutes of prep work that will ensure restaurant quality ribeye every time.
Reverse Seared Ribeye
The ribeye steak is a gourmet's delicacy. It has juicy flavour, is rich and satisfying, with a distinct tenderness that melts in the mouth.
Equipment
- Smoker
- Grilling tools
- Small pan
- Basting brush
- Meat thermometer optional
Ingredients
Ribeye steaks
- 1 kg bone-in ribeye steaks 4-5 cm thick (nicely marbled cuts will add tenderness and flavour)
- 2 tbsp olive oil or Dijon mustard
- 50 g spice rub of choice (Recommended: SPG, Big Tex or Smokey Espresso)
Garlic butter basting sauce (optional)
- 125 g butter
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 4 sprigs thyme
- 1 slice lemon peel
Instructions
- Preheat smoker to 125 °C
- Rub the olive oil or mustard over the steaks until they're thoroughly coated. The oil/mustard acts as a binder for the spices, which will stick to and coat the meat.
- Generously season the steaks with the Big Dog Spice Rub of your choice and gently pat the spices onto the meat.
- Place the steaks in the smoker and cook until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 55 °C Note: This will ensure a rare to medium-rare to medium ribeye steak
- Preheat the grill to 260 °C to finish the steaks as the garlic butter sauce is simmering.
Prepare garlic butter sauce
- In a small pan, melt the butter.
- Add thyme, garlic and lemon.
- Simmer together for 2-3 minutes.
Finish the steaks
- Place steaks on the hot grill and baste with the garlic butter sauce.
- Remove steaks and allow to rest for at least a few minutes before serving.
Notes
Basting brush
For a unique basting brush, tie several sprigs of thyme to a wooden or stainless steel stick.Resting your ribeye steaks
Resting the steaks is vital to allow the juices to redistribute, retaining moisture for tender meat. The steaks will stay warm as the temperature continues to rise a few degrees (a process called carry-over cooking).Sides for ribeye steaks
You can pair your steak with your favourite vegetables or brush slices of hearty bread with garlic basting sauce and grill until light brown and crispy. Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
How to Reverse Sear a Ribeye on the Bone
In the past, restaurants typically cooked ribeyes by searing them over high heat and then finishing them in the oven on low heat. The reverse sear method simply flips the process by cooking the meat for a long time at a low temperature with the bone in and then searing it over high heat before serving.
While you can cook steaks in many other ways, reverse searing is my favourite as it gives you a great crust and a melt-in-the-mouth smokey flavour.
Smoking the meat before you finish it off on the grill or over an open flame is perhaps the best way to do steak and my personal favourite method. No other method compares to the flavour and texture you get from smoke.
It is important to note that reverse-seared steaks don’t have to be done with a wood fire. The smokey flavour imparted by the charcoal can be reflected by an indoor gas grill or a smoker box on your gas grill.
Advantages of Reverse Searing
I love reverse searing for many reasons. These include:
- Substantially better browning than meat cooked by traditional methods.
- Rather than having moments between doneness when cooking on high heat, you can monitor the temperature and achieve total perfection at all levels of doneness.
- No matter how you like your steak—rare, medium-rare, or well-done—reverse-seared meat will be equally juicy and flavourful from edge to edge.
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