The Reverse Sear: Internal Temperature Control

J. Kenji López-Alt at Serious Eats developed and popularised the reverse sear method as a science-driven improvement on traditional steak cookery — cooking the steak low and slow in the oven first to bring the interior to the desired temperature, then searing at maximum heat to produce the crust. The method was controversial when introduced because it inverted the classical sequence. The results are consistently superior.

A thick steak (minimum 2.5cm) cooked at low oven temperature (120–135°C) until the internal temperature reaches approximately 10°C below the target final temperature, then seared in a ripping-hot cast iron pan for 45–60 seconds per side to develop the crust. [VERIFY temperatures]

• Sous vide then sear (same principle of temperature-controlled interior first, crust second — different heating method for interior), Japanese low-temperature yakitori (similar interior-first principle

The reverse sear produces a steak with an even pink interior from edge to edge, no grey band, and a deeply browned, flavourful crust — the best of both objectives simultaneously. The classical method always sacrifices one for the other. For a steak of any quality, the reverse sear is the correct technique.