Reverse Seared Steak with Chimichurri

Steakhouse dinner without the steakhouse

Cooking a delicious steak at home does not need to be a daunting process. We’ve all been to a fancy (or even not-so-fancy) steakhouse where steaks are served sizzling and (hopefully) delicious. But sometimes they’re not cooked to how you order them. Or simply the sticker shock of the bill leaves a sour taste in your mouth. Did I really just spend that much money on a steak dinner?

As someone who was raised eating out in restaurants or dining on takeout, I assumed that steakhouse steaks were the best they could be. But I will be the first to admit that I was wrong. Yes, they’re often delicious. But did you know you could cook just as good (if not better) at home? I learned once I got my Traeger grill.

An amazing steak at home is pretty simple. It doesn’t require many ingredients and takes only about an hour of your time. Plenty of time to whip together a couple simple sides and a salad, and you’ve got a restaurant-worthy dinner for far less the cost, and the great memories that persist will remind people that you cooked that. Yum.

So where do we begin?

There are various ways to cook a steak at home, but my preferred approach is the reverse sear. It’s basically the opposite way of how your grandparents (and most restaurants) cooked steaks, and I promise that it’s worth the little bit of extra effort. Often, a steak is seared first and then continues to cook in an oven until it hits the desired temperature. This often leads to a good crust– some dry meat at the edges and a rainbow of cooking temperature until you hit the middle. Not bad, but wait till you have a reverse seared steak.

In this technique, season your cut of meat with your choice of rub then start by cooking the steak slowly until it ALMOST reaches your desired internal temperature. Cooking it at 225° in your smoker grill not only imparts great smoky flavor but cooks the meat slowly throughout. Using an accurate meat thermometer (my preference is a digital one), will allow you to figure out that perfect internal temperature before you get to the sear step. The recipe below can be adapted to any cut of steak– from tri tip to filet– and that’s why the thermometer is so important.

You cook the steak in that lower temperature grill (or oven) until you’re 10-15 degrees from your desired finish temperature. Then you crank up the heat, put the steak back on the grill to get an amazing crust and grill marks, and end up with a perfectly cooked piece of meat. Edge-to-edge consistency in every slice– your medium rare steak is medium rare from the middle to the edge. Perfection.

Here’s a temperature chart for your reference, so you can cook your steak to your desired temperature. Remember that it will cook a bit more while searing, and then there’s the carry-over cook temperature that happens while it rests.

A handy temperature guide

And speaking of resting– because you’re cooking your steak in this slow and methodical way, you don’t necessarily need to rest it. But give it a few minutes and you’ll be sure you don’t have juices all over the cutting board and not in your steak. Enjoy!

And if you want to get nerdy on reverse searing, check out this article from Serious Eats.

Final Cook	Pull Temperature	Final Temperature
Rare	105°-110°	120°-130°
Medium Rare	110°-115­°	130°-135°
Medium	115°-120°	135°-145°
Medium Well	125°-135°	145°-155°
Well Done	135° and up	155° and up (I don’t recommend)