How do y’all get that perfect edge-to-edge medium rare? I use an IR thermometer to temp my pan at 450-500 for searing so it’s not overly hot either. I’ve gotten a smaller grey band before with the same parameters but it doesn’t seem like it happens consistently.
Also, I’ve heard word going around that dry brining too long can cause a bigger grey band. This was my shortest ever dry brine at around 3 hours but I even had a better result with overnight last time.
by fanessed
41 Comments
I think “it’s not overly hot” would be what to look into, the longer it has to be on there the deeper the band gets so more or less as high a heat as your oil will tolerate will quicken the sear time so it has less time to increase any internal temp
What was internal temp before cooking? Might need to let it come up all the way to room temp
Let it come to room temp before you put it in the pan, it was too cold.
Added to clarify: I did a reverse sear not a front sear, as indicated in the flair, so I cooked until 115F internal, pulled it out, let pan and oil come to temp, then seared for 45 sec per side
front sear may have been the better option
Too blue
Why do you care? I bet it was awesome.
How long do you think your rest period was while you let your pan warm up? I usually let the steak rest a few minutes and then I start warming up my cast iron which takes like 8-10 min. So like 12 minutes rest is what I usually do. Sorry if you already answered this in your additional comment I can’t see it for some reason. Looks like a great job even with the small grey band though!
That looks good to me!
How long did the steak sit out before cooking? How often did you flip the steak?
Just wondering if there was a lot of surface moisture? Any moisture on the surface when you place it in the pan has to cook off before it starts to sear. But during that time the meat is browning.
Not cold enough before you put it on. Also, maybe a little more heat
Reverse sear still cooks from the outside in. Also yes salting any protein will cause that cure ring to appear although I would say 3 hours is probably not long enough for it to have a significant effect. If you want to get a steak that is like seared hard with very little grey the best way is sous vide then sear, second best way is to do the whole cook on extremely high heat like a grill with a ceramic plate or a konro grill but you’ll definitely get a good char on it so it’s not for everyone.
Did you do the sear on the lateral sides? If not I wonder why the gray band circumferential.
I never tried reverse sear so I don’t know the physics at all…
When you reverse sear, let it rest for a while before searing. Helps with grey band.
https://preview.redd.it/hj4xzcq41jff1.jpeg?width=3011&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=70047743d2c72e3af8431a2eeb1a58deaa8eac8a
Likely didn’t rest it for long enough before the sear. You can shortcut this by putting it in the fridge/freezer to rest.
Awesome!
Several possible reasons I can think of:
1. Dry brined in the fridge for too long, drying out steak.
2. Did not rest on a rack after grilling. Resting on a plate or board causes the bottom of the steak to steam in its own juices.
3. I found that cutting the steak immediately after grilling shows the least grey band. It’s when you rest the steak that the grey band shows up more prominently. And that’s fine.
Razor thin char doesnt add much flavor or create a crust. Also, the grey ring doesn’t impact flavor or texture. It’s just oxidized. And wtf is with the burned garlic and charred rosemary? If you can’t eat it, get it off the plate. It’s not adding any aromatics.
All these fancy techniques have been proven to be a waste of time. Stop trying to reinvent the wheel here.
Buy steak. Let steak get to room temp. Heavy salt it and let sit for another 20min to bring out surface moisture. Pat dry. Lightly brush some avocado oil. Not EVOO as it has a lower burn temp. Crush black pepper and season streak. Put it over red hot coals making sure all flames are out. Grill for 3-5min on both sides. Slide in a 425 degree oven to finish if needed.Tent in foil and let it rest.
I used to be a one flip guy but I see the value in multiple flips. To each their own. But when it comes to streak, KISS.
IME you gotta let it cool off some before searing if you want wall to wall pink on a reverse sear. Problem is the outside is still 115 or more so when you slap it on to sear it takes very little to get to 140. Downside is the whole steak cools so if you like your steak hot you gotta accept a small grey band. In my book I’d eat this all day long.
I absolutely love reverse searing a good steak.
What I usually do differently, though, is I cook to slightly higher internal temp (maybe all the way up to 128F), and then I do an extremely quick sear with the Searzall. It allows me to do it very quickly and get a nice sear, so the internal temp raises very little (maybe an additional 4-6F).
Just let it cool down before searing. Leave it on a plate for 10-15 minutes
What temp did you reverse sear at?
Whatever you do its gotta be mostly dry
I find dry brining dries out the outer layers and I get a big grey band if I’m not careful. But it also means you can get a sear faster. So I generally do a quick sear for dry brined steaks and it turns out pretty good
Didnt let it come close to room temperature before cooking. 💯
Great post. I had the same problem but I am searing on 1500 degree infrared after sous vide. I think freezer method will be the next thing I try.
https://preview.redd.it/egbr1eqcajff1.jpeg?width=2467&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=16bd80babdeabd70067af63dac83ca110da42772
Tenderloin? Teres?
My guess is pan was a little too hot during searing.
Gotta love that half the comments say it was too cold and half say it wasn’t cold enough.
The real answer is: this is completely reasonable and this sub freaks out too much over gray bands. It looks excellent.
I think you’re nit picking. This looks better than 90% out there
I’m sorry I know nothing about steaks this sub just got recommended but I would DEMOLISH that steak
Colour’s right. Texture says yes.
If you separated the 45 into 3x15s it’d help to prevent the grey band since it stops the steak from cooking through as you keep flipping. However, it might sacrifice the searing by a tiny bit, so maybe you could do 4x15s instead.
honestly looks amazing i’d eat that
Did you baste it after searing? If so, was the butter cold? That can cause it as well.
Still looks good though.
Looks oxidized. I’m a sous chef, I’ve cooked thousands and thousands of steaks. This happens to the steaks that aren’t as fresh
Moisture does this mostly. Remove moisture with salt and pat dry
You could try flipping more
Pretty weak render, too. I’m sorry to say it, but you might want to try your luck with an immersion circulator.
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