What should the oven temperature be to cook steaks

Unfortunately, at that time, sous vide devices were much too expensive for home cooks. Instead, I tried to devise a method that would deliver similar results with no special equipment.

It's called the reverse sear because it flips tradition on its head. Historically, almost every cookbook and chef have taught that when you're cooking a piece of meat, the first step should be searing. Most often, the explanation is that searing "locks in juices. Searing does not actually lock in juices at all; it merely adds flavor. Flipping the formula so that the searing comes at the end produces better results. But what exactly are those better results?

The temperature gradient that builds up inside a piece of meat—that is, the difference in temperature as you work your way from the edges toward the center—is directly related to the rate at which energy is transferred to that piece of meat. The higher the temperature you use to cook, the faster energy is transferred, and the less evenly your meat cooks. Conversely, the more gently a steak is cooked, the more evenly it cooks. By starting steaks in a low-temperature oven, you wind up with almost no overcooked meat whatsoever.

Juicier results are your reward. When searing a piece of meat, our goal is to create a crisp, darkly browned crust to contrast with the tender, pink meat underneath. To do this, we need to trigger the Maillard reaction , the cascade of chemical reactions that occur when proteins and sugars are exposed to high heat. It helps if you think of your screaming-hot cast iron skillet as a big bucket, and the heat energy it contains as water filling that bucket.

When you place a steak in that pan, you are essentially pouring that energy out of the skillet and into the steak. In turn, that steak has three smaller buckets that can be filled with energy. The thing is, all of those buckets need to be filled in order. Your goal when searing a steak is to make sure that the temperature and evaporation buckets are as small as possible, so that you can rapidly fill them up and move on to the important process of browning.

Pop quiz: Let's say you pull a steak straight out of the fridge. Which of those three buckets is the biggest one? You might think, Well, it's gotta be the temperature bucket—we're starting with a steak that's almost freezing-cold and bringing it up to boiling temperatures.

In fact, it's the evaporation bucket that is by far the biggest. It takes approximately five times more energy to evaporate a gram of water than it does to raise the temperature of that same gram of water from freezing to boiling. That's a big bucket! Moral of the story: Moisture is the biggest enemy of a good sear, so any process that can reduce the amount of surface moisture on a steak is going to improve how well it browns and crisps—and, by extension, minimize the amount of time it spends in the pan, thus minimizing the amount of overcooked meat underneath.

It's a strange irony that to get the moistest possible results, you should start with the driest possible steak. The reverse sear is aces at removing surface moisture. As the steak slowly comes up to temperature in the oven, its surface dries out, forming a thin, dry pellicle that browns extremely rapidly.

Want to get your steak to brown even better? Set it on a rack set in a rimmed baking sheet, and leave it in the fridge, uncovered, overnight. The cool circulating air of the refrigerator will get it nice and dry. The next day, when you're ready to cook, just pop that whole rack and baking sheet in the oven. This one is not quite as obvious, but it can still make a detectable difference: enzymatic tenderization.

Meat naturally contains enzymes called cathepsins, which will break down tough muscle protein. Their activity is responsible for the tenderness of dry-aged meat see our complete guide to dry-aging here. By slowly heating your steak, you are, in effect, rapidly "aging" it, so that it comes out more tender. When you're cooking steak at a high temperature, you have a very narrow window of time in which the center of that steak is a perfect medium-rare.

A minute too short, and your steak is raw; a minute too long, and it's overcooked. With slow cooking, that window of time is greatly expanded, making it much easier to nail the right temperature time after time. This comment belongs in: Reviews Questions.

Absolutely fantastic. When we have stake for diner Is this one 5 stars recipe! Absolutely delicious! This meal is truly an explosion of flavors! Thank you Lena! You will never ruin steak ever again. And mini tomatoes in the oven. Holly molly! Must must try. This is such a delicious steak recipe. We had it tonight and all 4 of the males in my home approve. Made this tonight and WOW!!! First time my steak actually turned out good! Absolutely amazing. Will absolutely be making these again.

Hands down! Literally melts in your mouth! Thank you for creating this recipe! This is my 2nd time cooking the steak and its the only way I know how to make it!! Meat comes out juicy and very flavorful. I used course celtic salt and finished it off on the pan not confident with grill. I shared this recipe with everyone I know!! This is a great recipe for sure! I followed the instructions most of the way, I do not have a skillet or large pan, so I finished them off under the broiler, they came out great!

Loved this recipe. Thank you Lena for putting hard work into this to provide your yummy recipes to us. We got so tired of grilling steak so I tried Lenas steak in the oven, and wow I was not disappointed!!! So delicious!! Even tho I was skeptical! The whole combo was just so delicious and all my kids loved it!

My mouth is watering all again while writing this lol. My husband requests we do it by this recipe each time. So flavorful, juicy and so easy to make. Even makes a great make ahead, roast it up in the oven the day before, throw it in the grill day of your event..

Thank you for the recipe. Def in the saves. Husband even commented on how tasty it was. Thank you Lena. You gave me confidence in my steak department.

The best way of cooking steak by far!!! The flavors are amazing. When you cook in the oven all the juices stay inside. Never thought I would make steak in the oven so delicious. Game changer! Thanks lena.

Make sure you check out our full collection of rib-eye steak recipes for even more inspiration on how to serve this amazing piece of steak. I love love love love your steak recipe, I have made it so many times. Cold meat will seize in a hot environment. Let it hang outside of the fridge for about 30 minutes while you preheat your oven.

For thinner steaks, like flank and skirt, you're better off just using the broiler. If you're using a skillet, get it HOT. This rule mostly applies to thick cuts of meat and is key for a beautifully seared and caramelized crust. If you're starting with a cold pan, the meat will turn an unappetizing shade of brownish-grey and will be totally one note in texture.

You can either stick the skillet in the oven while it's preheating, or simply heat it up on the stovetop over a flame. When you're cooking something like a skirt steak under the broiler, the super hot and direct heat will be enough to achieve the same charred affect without the risk of overcooking the meat.

Season the steak generously. For real, use more salt than you think you need. Rub some olive oil onto meat, then use more salt than makes you feel comfortable.

If there's anything I learned in culinary school, it's that I was tragically under-seasoning everything. Salt brings out flavor, people. Don't be shy. Also, please use freshly ground black pepper — not the kind in the little spice jar. It makes a HUGE difference. Sear it on one side! Again, only if you're working with a big hunk of steak, sear one side in your very hot skillet, just until it's dark and the bottom starts to pull away, making it easy to flip.

Once you turn it, it's time for the oven. Finish it in the oven.