Posted on 01/04/2026 4:28:38 AM PST by where's_the_Outrage?
Cooking a steak dinner at home is not for the faint of heart. It can be difficult—requiring a good sear and the insides cooked to the perfect doneness. A lot can go wrong, and it’s easy to feel discouraged after many failed attempts.
Over the years, I’ve learned a thing or two about steak: Pull the meat from the fridge ahead of time so that it comes to room temperature, create a dry brine with coarse salt, and allow the steak to rest after cooking to retain its juices. However, I still feel underprepared every time I make it.
So, I reached out to the steak experts to help bring my steaks to the next level. With countless opinions on the subject available online, it was quite refreshing to get this information directly from experts who cook steak for a living. And to my surprise, they all said the same thing.
The Steak Experts I Spoke To
Joe (AKA Joey Dry-aged) Fraschilla: Co-owner of Porterhouse Party
Matt Moore: Author of A Southern Gentleman's Kitchen
Jimmy Vasquez: Private chef and former sous chef at ZouZous
Nate Molina: Executive Chef of The Genesee Store
The Reverse Sear
According to each expert I spoke with, the reverse sear method guarantees a perfectly cooked steak every time.
For a reverse sear, you cook your steak in the oven at a low temperature before finishing it with a high-heat sear on the stovetop. This method allows you to control the meat's doneness and ensures a more even cook.
After seasoning the steak, Chef Nate recommends placing it on a cold sheet pan and popping it in a 175°F to 195°F oven. (Most home ovens go down to only 200°F—you can use this temperature.) Cook the steaks for 20 to 40 minutes, depending on the doneness you like. The best way to check is to take the internal temperature of the steaks using an instant-read thermometer: 125°F for rare to 130°F for medium-rare.
Just before the steaks come out of the oven, heat a cast-iron skillet on the stovetop with a little oil until smoking hot. Then, sear the steaks for 30 to 40 seconds per side.
According to Matt, if you cook steaks using the reverse sear, they “will not need to be rested, and they will be cooked edge-to-edge to the desired temperature."
Pull the Steaks Out of the Fridge Ahead of Time
Matt says that the worst thing a cook can do is fail to remove the steaks from the fridge before cooking. He says, “Remove any large steaks from the fridge at least 30 minutes and up to a few hours in advance.”
It removes the chill from the steaks. The goal is to get to an internal temperature of 68°F, but even just 30 minutes on the kitchen counter will make a difference.
Chef Jimmy agrees. “You always want to pull your meat from the refrigerator ahead of time ... the closer to room temperature, the more even the cook.”
Joe recommends rubbing the steak with a coarse salt. This will “pull the moisture” and make the meat “even more tender while it reaches room temperature.”
However, I prefer a charcoal grill, will try to modify using one this spring/summer.
These days I sous vide them and finish them with a torch.
Instead of an oven, I suspect a low level microwave for a minute would have close to the same effect.
Then the searing on the pan.
Has anyone tried this?
Sous vide and then into a hot Lodge cast iron pan for me.
Heats too unevenly, bad idea.
Also, since I like to make a baked potato with my steak (in the main oven), I make bacon bits by taking a couple of strips of thick cut bacon (I buy them by the slice at the butcher section of my grocery store), cutting them into pieces and then cooking them in the skillet that I will use for the reverse sear. I cook the bacon until the fat renders out and the bacon has a good crisp, transfer the bacon to a paper towel to drain, lower the heat on the skillet, and wait for the steak to finish in the oven.
When the time comes to reverse sear, I heat the skillet and use the bacon fat instead of oil to sear the steak.
-PJ
Pink salt and blue. I know, I’m sick.
Sounds like a method worth trying - Thanks!
I’m a broiler, not a fryer!
A time tested ritual off mine... and celebrating almost of charcoal on the barby.. 6-7 minutes on beach side and they’re done. Perfect every time!!!
Celebrating almost - certain amount***
I eat peppered meat sometimes.
Then cut the stack in half crosswise, and then stack the two halves. Now cut the stack in half lengthwise into two strips of stacked bacon.
Now take the two sets of strips and put them together side-by-side and cut-side down (the uneven edges should be facing up). Now cut the strips into about 1/2 inch pieces.
Don't worry about separating the cut bits, they will separate on their own once they start cooking in the skillet. Just keep moving them around in the skillet with a slotted spoon until they are cooked. Then transfer the bacon bits to the paper towel with the slotted spoon.
-PJ
2-inch thick New York Strip Angus well marbled.
Bought at Italian butcher not a big box supermarket.
Dry rub olive oil kosher salt coarse ground pepper.
Refrigerate for 2 days covered with aluminum foil.
No plastic wrap of any kind ever touches beef in this house.
Allow to sit out of fridge 3 hours.
Prepare oak logs and kindling in wood-burning brick oven.
Burn for 1 hour at least.
Insert Lodge skillet with olive oil coating into oven and butt rim against the burning logs.
Keep oven door ajar.
Let skillet get screaming hot.
Place steak in skillet.
3-minute sear both sides then 3-4 minutes more moved away from fire.
For perfect medium rare with a caramelized sear and smoky flavor that is unbelievable.
Built my own brick oven 2 years ago.
Almost killed me.
Then it gave me a very long learning curve getting the fires built and hot enough.
But now don’t know how I ever lived without one.
18-inch logs came from oak tree cut down on property last April.
Due to drought in Fla they are now perfectly seasoned 9 months later, and burn beautifully.
Don’t even need to split them.
Only wood I need to cut is for the kindling.
Buon Appetit.
Im a great cook. But I can never cook a great steak 😩
Need to add a pat of butter on top during the searing.
Sous Vide with temp about 5 degrees under desired for about 90 - 120 minutes, then sear on my gas grill at 500 degrees plus for about 1-1.5 min / side. Perfect every time !
Nope, I disagree with your experts.
Having tried this and many others, my wife consistently has the best sequence. Try it if you don’t believe me. It’s reproduceable, consistent, and the better the meat and cut, the better the outcome.
Use only Irish butter or high quality butter and continue to bath it during sear.
Second place.
Dry salt based rub, Smoking them slowly to 130, and final sear (after cooling) for 3 min is close second. Not as reproducible, but my favorite when it’s perfect.
Third place is reverse sear with dry brine first (wash off or to salty).
This is my humble opinion, and it hurts to say my wife indoors on her gas range outperforms me here. Still got better chicken, ribs, Turkey, and brisket than she does.
I used to work at a steak house. Hotels snd restaurants get the best beef. You and I can’t get it because there is not enough of it. Thats why you can’t recreate it at home.
What's the difference between that and frying?
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