How to Reverse Sear a Steak on the Grill

reverse sear steak sliced and served on plate

How to Reverse Sear a Steak on the Grill

Learn how to cook a thick steak perfectly every time with the reverse sear method.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 1

Total Time 1 5

Servings

Calories 593kcal

Author Jordan Hanger

Ingredients

20 oz rib eye steak 1.5+ inches thick work best.
1.5 tsp Kosher salt
1.5 tsp Black pepper Coarse ground works best for developing the crust
1 tsp Vegetable oil
1 tbsp butter

Instructions

Apply a thin coat of oil to steak and then season generously with kosher salt and black pepper.
Leave seasoned steak for up to an hour to come up to room temperature while you get the grill ready.
For the first phase of the cook, you want to get your grill up to about 200 – 250°F. I used about 2/3 of a chimney of lump charcoal and had the vents fully open until the grill hit 180°F and then closed the bottom vent about 3/4.
Optionally place two small pieces of smoke wood like hickory on the charcoal for extra flavor.
Place steak on the cool side of the grill with the fattier or bone side pointed towards the charcoal.
For medium rare remove steak from the grill when it hits an internal temperature of 110 - 115°F. Place a pat of butter on steak and wrap loosly in foil.
While your steak is resting, lift the grill grates and add more charcoal on top of the lit pieces. In about 10 minutes, the charcoal is hot enough to sear and finish the steak.
Finish the steak with a quick sear, flipping every 30 seconds. Remove steak from the grill when it hits 130-135°F for medium rare.
Slice steak and serve

Notes

1. What steak to use?

The reverse sear method works best with any thick-cut steak such as ribeye, porterhouse, T-bone, tomahawk, strip, tri-tip or filet mignon.

Aim for at least 1.5 inches thick. Bone-in or boneless are both fine, and the bone can help protect the steak during the initial cooking phase.

2. Grill Notes

These instructions are for a charcoal grill, but you can reverse sear with a variety of cooking equipment. I will often do the low and slow phase on a pellet grill, and then finish the steak over a charcoal or propane grill, or even a cast iron pan.

If you have a gas grill, you can turn on the burners furthest away from the steak to create two cooking zones.

3. Steak seasoning

You can't go wrong with a simple salt and pepper seasoning, but if you want a little extra flavor, you could use a coffee rub or try our beef brisket rub that works great on steak.

4. Cooking for multiple people

I like to buy the biggest steak I can and slice it up before serving so everyone can help themselves.

If you are cooking individual steaks for different people, you can cook each steak to different doneness levels by leaving the steaks on for a little longer during the first phase while the other steaks rest.

Then you can sear each steak for the same period of time, so everyone is ready to eat at the same time.

Nutrition