I’ve gotten good at reverse searing at home but I had an amazing steak at the 4 seasons in nyc. how did they the sear so dark and grainy. it tasted amazing. I reverse sear to medium rare in my oven and then have a 600F cast iron waiting for sear and it’s no where as nice as this or as even as this
by EDWARD_SN0WDEN
35 Comments
Don’t clean your grill for a month, then cook a steak on it
I sear with safflower oil (high heat) and 30-60 seconds each side. I pat the steak dry after the heat phase in the oven. It’s also seasoned before the heat phase in the oven
Cook it on the sun
Beef tallow, bit more than you think so it can rise into the spots where the meat doesn’t touch the pan. Also they may have used a light weight to help with a more even contact. Also after your first 30, toss in butter and its browning will help your steak with colour as well. It should be nice and foamy in the pan.
Commercial broilers get up to 1500 degrees.
That would require embers like charcoal and your meat very close to them, or they probably use a salamander in a commercial kitchen
Pizza oven.
Sal A Man Der!
Fire
Big Horn broiler
Shallow fry it in butter with a weight on top, like a burger press. You’ll get pretty close.
You can get a dedicated steak sized infrared propane broiler that will get you close to the heat these steakhouses have access too. They are much more affordable than they used to be.
Green egg with the vents open
Always have terrible lighting in your work area? Then no matter what it will look like this
Open fire. There is no substitute
If that’s a restaurant their broiler hits 1500F +
Apply way too much steak seasoning, then burn that steak seasoning.
700 degrees minimum.
otto grill.
I’ve heard a layer of mayonnaise and then heavily seasoned creates a black char
U can cheat w black pepper 🤣
Pretty sure this is like “Chicago” style. Could probably find some things on YT to aide in replicating at home.
Torch
Salt and fridge for 24-48 hours. W
Moisture leaves it looks more like jerky and then you cook it and lack of moisture = more crust
Hot pan.
2 things; seasoning and moisture.
I spent years figuring out which seasonings “blacken” and which ones burn. I use the Texas Roadhouse sirloin seasoning as a base for the sugar, garlic, and onion powder. Those three do most of the blackening.Then I add some of my own in.
I do my sear right away and keep the cook in the cast iron for 4-5 mins, screaming hot. But the secret is to dry brine it for a few hours until the moisture gets reabsorbed in the fridge. Once it looks dry again, it’s ready. Pat it down with a paper towel to make sure the surface is bone dry. Moisture is the enemy of a good sear.
Season and sear.
https://preview.redd.it/sx38tvh88w6g1.jpeg?width=2620&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dbe6ffed89ced1684e678366161e15bb25efc15e
The non-black it’s just compound butter. It’s fully seared
CAST IT INTO THE FIRE!
Sugar
Duck fat
Can’t believe no one has mentioned it yet – Mayo
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/28/dining/mayo-meat-marinade.html
Don’t even need it as a marinade – after putting in the oven as part of reverse sear, pat dry, put a thin-ish layer on the side that is immediately going to be seared first, press on the hot pan to desired sear, pat the side facing up dry and add a thin layer and repeat. The protein on the egg in the mayo in part creates this effect when seared.
The fat you’re cooking with has to be deep enough in the pan, the steak has to be dry on the surface, and the pan has to be thick enough to retain a lot of heat.
I mean… Can we see the inside? This char is easy if temp doesn’t matter.
Open fire with flames likely wood fire – if you have a charcoal grill at home you can do this by making the flames engulf the steak, infusing the seasoning.
Turning the lights off to make the sear look darker is cheating.
Burn it