Reverse Sear Steak (Perfect Every Time!)

This reverse sear steak is the foolproof way of cooking thick steaks and yields the most gorgeous crust. Minimal prep is needed and perfectly cooked meat every single time.

Why you’ll love to reverse sear steaks

There is nothing worse than badly cooked steak. To guarantee perfectly cooked steaks, we cook it using a few tried and tested methods. These include air fryer steak, sous vide steak, and reverse searing it. 

Reverse sear steak is one of the best ways to cook a steak to ensure it is moist and juicy inside with a flawlessly crispy crust. 

• It creates the perfect crust. Cooking the steak in the oven dehydrates its surface. Thus, searing the steak in hot butter for only a minute per side is enough to create the most incredible crust. 
• No need to make a sauce. As the steak cooks in the oven, it releases lots of flavorful juices. These pan drippings are the perfect sauce to drizzle over the steak when serving it (we often do this with cast iron steak and flat iron steak).
• Helps avoid overcooking the steak. The low oven temperature cooks the steak evenly without overcooking the edges.
• Just 2 minutes of prep. Along with skirt steak, this has to be one of the easiest ways to cook steak. 
• Impressive. What I love about this recipe is that it’s a way to jazz up the standard piece of steak and serve them for quick weeknight dinners or something a little fancy. 

Ingredients needed

This recipe doesn’t call for any special ingredients. A few simple spices are enough to enhance the flavor of the perfectly cooked beef. Here is what you’ll need: 

• Steak. I prefer using ribeye steak for this recipe. The steak should be 1½ to 2 inches thick. 

• Garlic. Use a bulb of garlic cut in half horizontally. 
• Salt. To taste.
• Black pepper and paprika.
• Olive oil. To bake the steak in the oven. 
• Butter. To sear the steak. 

How to reverse sear a steak

When reverse-searing a steak, you need to bake it first. So long as you follow the directions, you will get impeccable results every time you make steak using this two-step technique.

Step 1- Season the steak

Pat dry the ribeye steak. Rub it with salt, freshly cracked black pepper, and smoked paprika. Make sure the steak is well-seasoned on all sides. 

Step 2- Bake the steak

Preheat the oven to 135C/275F degrees. Add olive oil to a cast iron skillet. Put the steak in the skillet followed by the garlic head cut in half. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the steak reaches an internal temperature of 130F degrees. 

Step 3-  Sear and serve

Remove the steak from the oven and then the skillet, and let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Add a tablespoon of butter to the skillet and place it over medium heat. Once the butter melts, add the steak back to the skillet and sear it for a minute on each side. Slice and serve immediately. 

How long should you reverse sear a steak?

Depending on the thickness of the steak, it may take you from 30 minutes to an hour to cook it in the oven. Once you remove the steak from the oven, sear it for only a minute per side to avoid overcooking it. 

What to serve with steak

• Sauteed vegetables. Keep things simple with some sauteed greens, like spinach, asparagus, bok choy, or brussels sprouts.
• Starches. You can’t really go wrong with a bowl of rice, some noodles, or some crusty sourdough bread.
• Potatoes. Always a classic, you can whip up French fries, baked potatoes, potato wedges, or some mashed potatoes.
• Salads. Some delicious green salads include a wedge salad, green goddess salad, or something a little heartier like a rice salad or orzo salad.

Storage instructions

• To store: Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator, covered, for up to three days. 
• To freeze: Place the cooked and cooled steak in a heavy-duty ziplock bag and eat it within 6 months. 
• To reheat: The best way to reheat leftover steak is in the oven. Set the oven to 275 degrees and reheat the steak for around 4 minutes or until the internal temperature of the steak is 130F degrees. You can also reheat reverse sear steak in a skillet over low heat. 

Recipe tips and tricks

• Salt in advance. Salt the steaks up to 45 minutes before cooking to allow the salt to penetrate the meat which in turn yields a juicier and more tender meat.
• Choose thicker steaks. This might sound like stating the obvious, but reverse searing works best with thicker cuts of steak. Aim for steaks to be at least 1 1/2 inches in thickness.
• Sear quickly. The searing part of this method is to give the edges a gorgeous crust, not to cook the meat any longer. 2 minutes per side is plenty.
• Rest after searing. Like with any steak recipe, allowing the meat to rest before slicing/serving it will redistribute the juices and make the meat even more flavorful.

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Frequently asked questions