How to Reverse Sear Steak
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Don’t sacrifice superior taste for grill marks — effective searing occurs between 350° - 500°F. So no matter what Traeger your own, you can craft sizzling wood-fired flavor with confidence.
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What is a Reverse Sear?
Reverse searing is a cooking process that starts with cooking the steak at a low temperature until it's almost done. then finishing the steak by searing it over high heat.
Reverse searing creates a beautiful sear on the outside and a smoke-infused, perfect medium-rare doneness on the inside. It combines the best of both worlds - incredible smoke flavor and a smokin’ caramelized outer crust. We’re combining low & slow with hot & fast for a full-proof way to tackle any beef cut.
Start with a low-&-slow cooking process at 225°F to infuse smoke into the meat. From there, crank the heat up to High to finish off the steak with a blazing hot sear, locking in that natural wood fire taste.
How to Reverse Sear on a Traeger:
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Set the grill temperature to 225°F.
- Place steak on grill grate and smoke for 45 to 60 minutes.
- Remove steak from the grill.
- Increase temperature to the highest setting and allow grill to fully preheat.
- Sear steaks on the hot grill grates until they reach an internal temperature of 125℉ for medium-rare.
- Enjoy the best steak of your life.
Use a MEATER wireless meat probe or thermometer to reach your ideal internal temperature with 100% certainty. Insert the probe into the meat, avoiding fat and bone, and check the internal temperature progress on the Traeger App or through your grill. Wondering what internal temperature your steaks should be at? Check out our Steak Doneness guide.
If you're looking for deep, classic grill marks, enhance your steaks with our cast iron grill grates, griddle or skillet. For additional searing tips and tricks on a Traeger, check out our handy guide here.
Traeger's mightiest grill, the Timberline, makes reverse searing even easier.
For the smoking portion, place steaks on the second tier. Set temperature to 225°F and activate Super Smoke mode for a blast of natural hardwood smoke.
After about 45 minutes, increase the grill temperature to 500°F and let grill fully preheat. When grill is hot, move the steaks down to the lowest tiered rack to get maximum heat, searing each side for one minute.
Reverse Sear New York Strip
by Traeger Kitchen
65 Reviews
Prep Time
15 Min
Cook Time
1 Hr
10 Min
Serves
4
Pellets
Signature Pellet Blend
There's no better way to do steak than a good ole reverse sear. This reverse seared New York strip is seasoned with our Traeger Beef Rub, smoked, and seared hot to tender perfection.
Ingredients
main
| 4 | (1-1/2 inch thick) New York strip steaks |
| To Taste | Traeger Beef Rub |
| 4 Tablespoon | unsalted butter |
1
If you have the Traeger ModiFIRE® Sear Grate, place it on the left side of the grill ridged side up. Preheat the Traeger with the lid closed to 225°F; this will take about 15 minutes. For optimal flavor, use Super Smoke, if available.
2
Season the steaks with Traeger Beef Rub.
3
Holding a leave-in thermometer parallel to your work surface, insert it into the into the center of the thickest steak. Place the steaks directly on the regular grill grates, close the lid, and smoke until the internal temperature is between 105°F and 110°F, about 60 minutes.
4
Remove the steaks from grill. Increase the grill temperature to 450°F and preheat with the lid closed for 15 minutes.
5
If necessary, re-insert the meat thermometer. Return the steaks to grill, placing them on the Sear Grate if you have it. Let the steaks sear for 4 minutes, then flip. Top each with 1 tablespoon of butter and continue cooking until the internal temperature reaches 130°F for medium-rare, about another 4 minutes more.
6
Remove the steaks from the grill and let rest for 5 minutes before slicing and serving. Enjoy!
