Kenji’s reverse-seared method: will this work with my unevenly cut steaks?
Kenji’s reverse-seared method: will this work with my unevenly cut steaks?
by picotipicota1
8 Comments
picotipicota1
I want to try Kenji’s reverse-seared method for cooking my ribeye steaks tonight. He wrote that his method works best for 1 1/2″ and thicker steaks, but I just realized mine had been unevenly cut in half. The fatty sides are thick enough, but the other sides are maybe 1/2″ thick. Will this method work anyway, or should I use the pan-flipping one or… something else?
Thanks for your help,
EDIT: As some poeople suggested, I tried the standard ‘sear then put in the oven’ method with mediocre results. The tick parts were alright, but the thin ones were well done or close to it. At least these were old steaks that would have gone to waste otherwise. Thanks everyone for your input, it’ll be useful in the future.
BigManLovesFood
Can you wrap each one to bring that thinner side in and even out the thickness a little?
Vanreddit1
Nope. Won’t work with thin steaks. Best bet is regular super hot sear then in a hot oven till just below desired doneness then rest and hope you get the doneness you were looking for.
bblickle
It will work but the thinner parts will of course be proportionately overcooked. I wouldn’t rely heavily on his timings, use your thermometer to figure out what these smaller steaks want.
redwoodburrito
Maybe a good case for sous vide, if you have that setup.
Davey4
Pile them up for the oven part. It’ll cook just like a fat steak. You’ll lose some drying of the exterior, but neglible.
scruffigan
It’s going to be hard to pan, grill, or oven cook a very unevenly cut steak no matter what method you choose.
Sous vide, chilled, then seared would do the trick.
Alternatively you could opt for a low and slow braise. It won’t be the texture of a seared steak but it can certainly be tender and delicious.
Another option would be to trim or pound the thick parts or so that your steaks are more uniform (albeit thinner).
I’d still consider the reverse sear too, though you just may need to accept it’ll be imperfect.
ImSoCul
I don’t want to yuck someone’s yum but being entirely honest it’s just not a very good steak.
Steak is mostly input quality and less so cooking technique; the floor to getting “pretty good” at making steak is relatively low. Might mess up by overcooking it the first few times but compared to other cooking techniques it’s not particularly difficult. Whereas a lot of cooking is turning basic ingredients into something really good through technique, steak is largely the opposite: turning a quality ingredient into a good product through somewhat basic techniques (temperature control + searing is basically it, maybe butter basting if you count spooning butter as technique).
8 Comments
I want to try Kenji’s reverse-seared method for cooking my ribeye steaks tonight. He wrote that his method works best for 1 1/2″ and thicker steaks, but I just realized mine had been unevenly cut in half. The fatty sides are thick enough, but the other sides are maybe 1/2″ thick. Will this method work anyway, or should I use the pan-flipping one or… something else?
Thanks for your help,
EDIT: As some poeople suggested, I tried the standard ‘sear then put in the oven’ method with mediocre results. The tick parts were alright, but the thin ones were well done or close to it. At least these were old steaks that would have gone to waste otherwise. Thanks everyone for your input, it’ll be useful in the future.
Can you wrap each one to bring that thinner side in and even out the thickness a little?
Nope. Won’t work with thin steaks. Best bet is regular super hot sear then in a hot oven till just below desired doneness then rest and hope you get the doneness you were looking for.
It will work but the thinner parts will of course be proportionately overcooked. I wouldn’t rely heavily on his timings, use your thermometer to figure out what these smaller steaks want.
Maybe a good case for sous vide, if you have that setup.
Pile them up for the oven part. It’ll cook just like a fat steak. You’ll lose some drying of the exterior, but neglible.
It’s going to be hard to pan, grill, or oven cook a very unevenly cut steak no matter what method you choose.
Sous vide, chilled, then seared would do the trick.
Alternatively you could opt for a low and slow braise. It won’t be the texture of a seared steak but it can certainly be tender and delicious.
Another option would be to trim or pound the thick parts or so that your steaks are more uniform (albeit thinner).
I’d still consider the reverse sear too, though you just may need to accept it’ll be imperfect.
I don’t want to yuck someone’s yum but being entirely honest it’s just not a very good steak.
Steak is mostly input quality and less so cooking technique; the floor to getting “pretty good” at making steak is relatively low. Might mess up by overcooking it the first few times but compared to other cooking techniques it’s not particularly difficult. Whereas a lot of cooking is turning basic ingredients into something really good through technique, steak is largely the opposite: turning a quality ingredient into a good product through somewhat basic techniques (temperature control + searing is basically it, maybe butter basting if you count spooning butter as technique).