I tried to follow every step from this sub. I dry brined overnight, probably 16 hours, baked 225 until they were about 120, let em rest, put them in the freezer and heated cast iron and seared probably like a minute each side (flipped twice each side)
Just surprised by the amount of band and still not as much crust as I see in this sub
by RumDumpStar
44 Comments
How long did it take to get to 120?
How hot was your cast iron? Did you pat the steak dry after the freezer?
I’ve seen someone say that after ~12 hours dry brine no matter what they always have a grey band
To me, it looks like the seasoning stuck to the pan. Perhaps the pan wasn’t as hot as you needed it to be, Also it seems like you kept them on for longer than you think.
Dihsteak
Because dry brining a steak more than 6 hours ruins it. This sub has proven time and time again an overnight brine “cures” the steak. Every steak that looks like this or worse, has one thing in common, way too long of a dry brine.
Thought that was salmon
not enough heat probably
Buying weiner shaped meat.
That’s not a Popeyes blackened tender?
………that looks like a dick
You guys are thinking way too hard. Let rest out for a bit then season or season before if you want. 8 or so minutes on a hot grill and rest and eat. Total like an hour.
You probably didnt have the steak co eted well enough (that causes the grey) and your pan wasnt hot enough. The pan has to be scary hot to get a really good crust, get a digital thermometer and make sure its up at 500.
I dry brine overnight, (Usually about 16 hours, similar to you) and I don’t have any concerns about it. My steaks come out super juicy and tender, with a great crust.
Besides the recent trend in comments on this sub, I haven’t seen anything objective about why an overnight dry brine is bad. I usually see that comment tied in with other mistakes in their process. Assuming one is using a thicker cut, which is kind of the whole point of the reverse sear process, I don’t think you’re curing much more than the outer edges of the meat, if at all in a 16-hour time span.
I run the oven at 180 and pull at 105, and they climb to 125 after I sear them in a pan. If the center climbs to 125, that means the temp is higher towards the edge. If you pull at 120 it’s probably getting to 140 or higher, and the edges even more so, which could contribute to the banding.
I do not put my steaks into the freezer. From the oven they go right into the skillet for the sear. I would suggest pulling at a lower temp than 120, and try flipping every 30 seconds for the sear, each side twice, then go a little more by sight depending on how it’s looking.
Your pan might not have been hot enough. I use a cast iron skillet that I preheat with avocado oil until it’s just slightly smoking.
The steak looks tasty even if it doesn’t adhere to reddit steak nerd standards. I’d definitely come over for dinner if that’s what is on the menu!
Looks delicious 😋
Agree with pan wasn’t hot enough. It still looks pretty tasty, 7/10!
Where does one buy dong meat?
yall saying 12hr dry brine doesnt work are wrong, you just need to be flipping it more frequently its easier to band up sure but definitely not impossible
Where did you go wrong…?
You dry brine for 16hrs.
Slow cooked at until 120 internal..
You put it in freezer
You followed this sub.
Got it. Chef here. Don’t follow this what people on the Internet say, especially if you’re new to cooking steaks.
Dry brined for 16hrs? Why? Just salt? Did you remove excess moisture? Do you know what a brine does, the ratio of the brine etc?
Then you went for a reverse sear and froze it at some point?
Buddy it’s simple. Pull the steak out of the fridge, season both sides. Let it come to room temp. Pat it dry. If you’re going cast iron do this: people always say get your cast iron hot. NO get it HEATED. This takes a few minutes. Medium heat. If you try and crank it you’re gonna burn. You’ll feel every inch of that pan get heated, it’ll almost feel like your stove dials won’t work anymore if you turned it down because it’s holding heat. Oil in there, steak. Flip, flip, bast. Rest as long as you cooked.
Don’t over complicate it.
That’s a weird way to cook this. Never heard of that. Just put it on the cast iron skillet once it’s hot at max heat and starts smoking.
You seasoned it with something besides the basics
I lost a friend
You put it in the freezer???
8.0 would
You didn’t.
Just turn the heat up if you want a deeper sear. This sub is allergic to simple solutions.
Patting the meat dry IMMEDIATELY before putting it in the pan is a game changer. The mailard reaction, browning, can’t happen with steam, which is released when you put a damp steak in the pan. Dry it off, better crust.
Too wet
wtf would you put them in the freezer? I’m assuming you were Going for reverse sear. If so, the steaks go from just shy of your desired temp, then onto the screaming hot surface to sear them.
I’d try your technique to pinpoint what went wrong, but steak is much too expensive in Hawaii to be playing those games.
My bet would be on the pan being not hot enough
r/mildlypenis
Damn I thought that was fish!!!!
Dry the steak first.
You lost a friend
Don’t do the freezer, that’s just going to bind up proteins. Just rest it regular after the first stage for a reverse sear. Also would recommend sous vide for that part of the cook. You can infuse flavor, keep the steak from losing moisture, and control it easier.
Cut the dry brine to about 8 hrs (best flavor, less grey band, and tenderness is best there in my experience) and make sure you’re using sea salt.
Also, make sure your cast iron is screaming hot. If your smoke alarms aren’t yelling at you, you’re not doing it right.
Lastly, that’s not a great cook, but it’s a quality one. It’s a process learning how to cook the perfect steak. Even when you get it down pat, you’ll find a thin cut or a huge cut that challenges your technique.
Have fun with the process, enjoy the art, great cooks to ya!
Did you have ghee or oil or anything in cast iron? I will make sure cast iron has nothing in it and heat it up 3 x longer than you feel it needs. Then press the meat when you sear.
Ummmm… the OP actually said: “… let em rest, put them in the freezer and heated cast iron…” Whu??? I… No. Hard No. WTF… That is not how steaks are cooked…
Steak not thick enough, pan not hot enough (not too hot though), dry the surface of the steak (or dry brine), little more oil in the pan, flip every 1 minute until crust is formed and put into pre-warmed oven until 20 degrees below desired internal temp.
Probably didn’t dry it enough after getting it out the freezer or your heat wasn’t high enough, or both. On a scale of 1-10 you want your heat to be a 7-8, but that all depends on your stovetop
Well… I’ve read 76 comments and every single point has been conflicted by someone else hahah… back to the drawing board for me
You lost a friend…. somewhere along in the bitterness.
You slow cooked it to death. Sear requires high fast heat. Will minimize the grey band greatly
use a bbq !
it will come out better!
First off that shit looks good. I would for sure demolish that steak.
I’m no expert; an enthusiast for sure. Here’s how I’ve been getting a solid crust: I do sous vide which isn’t required as the oven essentially does the same things in terms of getting the cook started. Once it comes out of the bath I let the boys rest for a little bit and then pat them BONE dry with a paper towel. Like get it as dry as I can. Next I’ll salt up the meat (have been enjoying only salt as of late). Now I’m ready to cook.
Ripping hot stainless steel pan. Like to the point that when you put water on it the water doesn’t evaporate it beads up. Then I’ll turn the heat down to medium-ish maybe a little above. High heat olive oil to coat the pan and then steak on. I give it a little press on the top to get good contact and then I don’t touch it for 2.5 minutes *not an exact science, sometimes a little less sometimes a little more*. While thats going on the first side I like to do just a little slice of butter and I rest it on the non cook side. It’ll soften a bit after about 40 seconds or so, and then I spread it around on that side. At the 2.5 min mark I flip and do the same 2.5 min on the next side. I also hit a little press on top of the meat to get contact on the new side. After 2.5 min I pull it off. Rest for 10-ish min.
I really do think over flipping the meat might be the issue. You may want to try allowing the steak to come up to 125-128 in the oven before pulling so that you only have to do 1 flip.
Take this advice or don’t. I’m just a man who enjoys meat, and I hope you start to see improvements! But seriously that cook is solid.
You chose a penis cut steak?