Reverse seared steak isn’t something I do very often. I usually sear first and then finish off the cooking in oven.
Dedicated to SARS-COV-2 which causes COVID-19 because I got home late and didn’t have time to cook the steak by sous vide.
Find out more about the new names below
Reverse seared steak versus what
The world wide web is replete with descriptions and recipes for reverse seared steak, but what’s the name for forward seared steak? Forward seared steak just sounds weird.
I like a peppery mushroom sauce and tonight I made one with a lot of butter and cream. I also used quite a lot of cooking sherry. Friends know I don’t drink alcohol (for good reasons) but I like the flavours imparted after cooking off the alcohol.
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Recipe
It’s important to read the recipe before cooking because the timing of processes needs to be understood.
Reverse seared porterhouse steak with potato gems and green peppercorn mushroom gravy
Reverse seared porterhouse steak with potato gems and green peppercorn mushroom gravy served with a cheek of avocado and some cherry tomatoes.
Steak
- Porterhouse steak
- Iodised salt
- Freshly cracked black pepper
- Thyme
- Rosemary
Sauce
- Spring onions
- Mushrooms
- Green peppercorns
- Beef stock
- Sherry
- Butter
- Cream
Potato gems
Avocado
Cherry tomatoes
Steak
- About six hours before planning to cook (or overnight if possible) unwrap the steak from its environmentally unfriendly plastic wrapping. Pat the steak dry with absorbent paper. Season the steak with iodised salt and put the steak on a rack and place it into a refrigerator uncovered to dry out the surface of the steak and season it better.
- When you’re ready to cook the steak bring it out of the refrigerator and turn on the oven and set the temperature to 100 °C (212 °F). Insert the thermometer deep into the meat muscle and put the steak on a rack over a baking tray and put it into the oven.
- Cook the steak until it gets to about 45 °C (113 °F) and then remove from the oven.
- Have everything in place for the searing and the sauce making.
- Brush the steak with some Queensland nut oil.
- Season the steak with freshly cracked black pepper and chopped thyme and rosemary leaves.
- Heat a frying pan to a high heat and sear the steak flipping frequently until a crust has formed.
- Remove the steak from the frying pan and allow it to rest comfortably so it can reabsorb all its meaty juices.
- Once rested, slice the steak with a sharp knife. I like to use my Dick™ brand butchers knife.
Sauce
- While the reversed seared steak is resting comfortably, begin the preparation to make the sauce.
- Add some chopped spring onions and sliced mushrooms to the frying pan which was used to sear the steak.
- Add some sherry to deglaze the frying pan and to infuse the sherry flavour into the mushrooms. Keep cooking until the sherry has reduced and then add in some beef stock and allow it to simmer and reduce.
- When the liquid has thickened add in some cold butter and allow it to mix thoroughly into the sauce and finish with some cream.
- Season to taste.
Potato gems
- Turn the fan-forced oven on when you turn the toaster oven on and heat it to 200 °C (392 °F).
- Put the frozen potato gems (tater tots if you’re from North America) onto a baking sheet and put them into the oven for about 25 minutes or until thy are golden and crunchy.
- Lightly season the potato gems with salt and pepper.
Avocado and tomatoes
- Slice an avocado cheek.
- Halve the cherry tomatoes with a sharp knife.
Plating up bit
- On a dinner plate pour out the thick sauce.
- Lay out slices of steak on the sauce.
- Place the avocado and tomatoes on the sauce next to the steak.
- Place the potato gems next to the steak.
- Eat with chopsticks to support the Chinese Australians and Australian born Chinese who are experiencing racism because of COVID-19.
Blogging bit
- Shoot a photograph and a short video because Google now wants video on recipe cards.
- Eat the meal.
- Wash the dishes (hint, wash as you cook, it makes life easier).
- Write the recipe.
- Write the blog post.
- Hit publish and hope this blog post gets shared on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.
Disclaimer
I have no culinary training nor qualifications. This post is not intended to convey any health or medical advice. If you have any health concerns about anything you read, please contact your registered medical practitioner. The quantities are indicative. Feel free to vary the quantities to suit your taste. I deliberately do not calculate energy for dishes. I deliberately default to 500 Calories or 500,000 calories because I do not make these calculations.
Photographs
This is a gallery of photographs. Click on one image and then scroll through the photographs.
Questions and answers
What is easier forward searing or cooking a reverse seared steak?
I think searing first is easier. That said, in terms of timing for making a sauce, reverse seared steak makes more sense.
How did it all taste together?
Steak was good. Sauce was good. Potato gems are always good. Avocado and tomato was good.
Are you confused by the new nomenclature for the virus and the disease?
Changes in names of microorganisms can be frustrating for non-health people as well as healthcare practitioners. Not least for ageing pathologists and medical laboratory scientists (me) who also struggle to keep up to date. The names of organisms and the diseases caused are important. It’s important we get the names correct and we use the names correctly so we have clarity when communicating about microorganisms and infectious diseases.
The virus formerly known as 2019-nCoV has been named by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV). The ICTV designated the virus as Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-COV-2) and it sits in the species Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus alongside SARS-COV. The species sits within the Genus: Betacoronavirus.
The World Health Organization has designated the disease caused by SARS-COV-2 as Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Getting the distinction correct between the cause or ætiological agent and the disease or syndrome or manifestation or condition is important. It’s frustrating to read experts refer to diseases by using microorganism names and vice versa. I find it odd when looking at a list titled something like “Important agents of concern” and see anthrax listed rather than Bacillus anthracis or in a list titled something like “Important diseases of concern” to see Listeria rather than listeriosis.
As you can tell I am a pedantic old fart.
I go on a bit more at my diary blog if you want to check out that post.
Final thoughts
- Do you like taxonomy?
- Do you like cooking with alcohol?
- Have you reverse seared a steak before?
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Your meals always make me hungry Gary!
Thank you very much Jadi. That makes me feel good reading that.
I’ve never heard of this method but I’m curious enough to give this a try one day! 😀
I reckon it allows sequencing for sauce making 😃
I like the way you think. 👏
Thank you Gail 😃
I like cooking with alcohol – brandy or whisky in a mushroom cream sauce, red wine or beer with beef, cider with pork, a dash of brandy in marie rose sauce for prawns (not cooking, strictly speaking) cointreau and strawberries (again not cooking). I’ve never reverse cooked a steak before but can see how that would work well and yours looks delicious. Thanks for the explanation for the classification of the Coronavirus. (Speaking of alcohol, the marketing bods at Corona must be pulling their hair out at that one.)
Thanks, Emma. I am now imagining you have a well stocked cupboard of alcohol for cooking purposes 😃
I’ve seen way too many memes about Corona beer at work 😂