The Best Grilled Steak: Reverse Sear or Sear and Move?

Thank you to Certified Angus Beef for the New York Strip steaks used in this week’s posts.

I want my steak grilled, and cut thick. I want pink meat surrounded by a browned crust, with a hint of char at the edges. Thick steaks need special handling - don’t cook them over direct heat. The outside will burn before the inside reaches even the bloodiest rare.

Years ago, I learned the Sear and Move technique:

• Set the grill up with a two zone fire, one zone of high heat, and another without any heat at all.
• Start the steak directly over high heat, and sear it until it is nicely browned on both sides.
• Move the steak to the indirect zone, away from the direct heat. Close the lid, and cook to ten degrees below your target temperature - 125°F gives me medium-rare with carry-over heat.

This is how I’ve cooked steaks for years, and it does give me that beautiful pink center, and a crackling brown crust. But…it also gives me a bulls-eye of doneness between the two. There is a band of gray surrounding the pink center. That didn’t bother me, until…sous vide came along.

I’m spoiled by sous vide steak, cooked to the exact temperature I want, edge to edge pink, with a sear on the outside.

Now I’m experimenting with the Reverse Sear method, simulating low and slow sous vide cooking on the grill by reversing the heat order of grilling:

• Set the grill up with the same two zone fire, high heat on one side, no heat on the other.
• Start the steak on the indirect heat side, away from the fire. Close the lid, and cook until the steak is twenty degrees below your target temperature - 115°F for medium rare.
• Move the steak over the fire on the direct heat side, and quickly sear the outside, about two minutes a side, flipping often. Carry over heat plus the searing will take you to the final temperature.

Note that both methods rely on a good probe thermometer - don’t trust a steak to a ticking clock, and the uncertainty of a grills’ internal temperature. A thermometer is the only way to be sure. That said, probes can burn out in the heat of a grill. Unless your probes are rated for high temperatures, keep them away from the fire on the indirect side of the grill.

I’ve enjoyed my Reverse Sear steaks - I loved the even pink in the middle - but I noticed that I wasn’t getting quite the same grilled crust. And, they certainly seemed to take longer - sometimes much longer - to finish cooking. Is the reverse sear really worth it? That’s when a care package arrived from Certified Angus Beef - a box of four gorgeous New York Strip steaks. 1Gift steaks? I love being a food blogger. Time for a head to head test - what method reigns supreme?

I fired up my trusty Weber kettle, baskets of charcoal pushed to one side. The steaks go on the grill grate - two over the coals, two over indirect heat.

Griller’s log:

• Steaks on the grill: 5:42PM - Sear and move over direct heat, Reverse Sear over indirect heat. Lid closed except when flipping every two minutes
• Sear done - 5:48PM - 6 minutes elapsed. Move the Sear and Move steaks to the indirect heat side of the grill. 2I charred the edges of one of the Sear and Move steaks - it had a thick fat cap, and flared up while I had the lid closed.
• Sear and Move complete: 5:56PM - 14 minutes elapsed - 125°F internal, take the Sear and Move steaks off the grill. (Reverse Sear steaks at 95°F internal). 3I left the probe in the Sear and Move steak after I took it off the grill. The internal temperature temperature peaks four minutes later, just below 135°F, then slowly starts to drop.
• Reverse done: 6:02PM - 20 minutes elapsed - 115°F internal. Move over direct heat to sear, flipping every minute.
• Reverse Searing complete: 6:06PM - 24 minutes elapsed - Reverse Sear steaks are browned, take them off the grill. 4Reverse searing browns quicker, and has less flareups. My understanding is the surface of the meat dries out as it cooks, speeding up browning - water on the surface has to boil off before browning can occur. We also render some fat during the low and slow part of cooking, cutting down on flareups.

Looks aren’t everything…

Here’s how they looked:

The Sear and Move steak was noticeably darker; its sear is a dark brown. The Reverse Sear was less seared - and the sear had a reddish-brown color. I let them rest for 15 minutes, then cut them open:

The Reverse Sear has more pink, but the Sear and Move steak was closer than I thought it would be - only a narrow band of gray around the outside, most noticeable on the top left.

…how do they taste?

Next comes the taste test - also known as Saturday night dinner. My wife, who loves the charred edges of steak, went directly for a Sear and Move piece. I tried them both. There was a distinct difference in flavor - the Reverse Sear steak was noticeably more tender, with a buttery flavor. 5Science aside: My understanding is the buttery flavor is because enzymes work on meat while it cooks, between 100°F and 120°F, tenderizing it as part of the cooking process. The longer you’re in that temperature range, the more tender the meat. Reverse Sear keeps it in that range for much longer, due to the slow rise to the finished temperature. Sear and Move, because it is already heated, moves through that range much faster. The Sear and Move steak had the charred crust, but the Reverse Sear crust isn’t bad. I was a fan of the Reverse Sear, and its combo of the buttery meat and browned crust . My wife, however, tried a piece of the Reverse Sear, said “mmm…that’s good”, and immediately went and demolished her Sear and Move steak. She wants an extra-charred crust more than the buttery interior.

How do you like your steak?

So, which is better? Um…it depends. Yes, I know, Mr. Wishy-Washy. But…it really does depend on what you’re looking for:

Sear and Move if you want…

• Quicker cooking - done in under 15 minutes
• Thick, dark crust on the outside
• Good pink center - but a little well done around the outside edges

Reverse Sear if you want…

• Beautiful pink edge to edge
• Tender, buttery meat
• Decent sear on the outside
• To take your time, relax, and enjoy a beverage while the steak slowly comes up to temperature

Recipes

Want to try both methods yourself? Stay tuned for later this week...

• Grilled Thick Cut New York Strip Steak, Sear and Move Style
• Grilled Thick Cut New York Strip Steak, Reverse Seared Style

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Favorite way you cook your steak? Talk about it in the comments section below.

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