Reverse-Seared Ribeyes (or New York Strips): The Method That Changed How We Cook Steaks Forever

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There are steak methods… and then there are steak methods that earn permanent status.

The reverse-sear technique is one of those. It gives you a steak that’s evenly rosy from edge to edge, with a deeply flavorful seared crust.

Fair warning: don’t try this method unless you’re prepared for the consequences. In our house, the moment we first learned how to reverse sear, it became the way. Not a way. Nope, this is now our gold standard, and I am routinely reminded of it by The Grill-Meister if I even think about cooking a steak another way. The only variables these days are how I season the steaks and what I serve with them.

Whether you slice it for a more composed presentation or serve it whole in all its juicy, glistening wonderfulness, this method delivers every single time.

Recipe: Reverse-Seared Ribeye (or New York Strip)

Yield: 2 servings, if you’re doing whole steaks, or 4 if you’re slicing (see notes)
Prep and Cook Time: About 1 hour (including resting, unless you pre-salt)

Ingredients

• 2 thick ribeye or New York strip steaks (about 1 pound each, but could be more or less)
• Kosher salt, to taste (see seasoning options above)
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• or Zippy Everything Rub (optional, in place of salt and pepper)
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 4 tbsp butter
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 long stems fresh rosemary, cut in half (or a small bunch)
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed with the side of a knife

Cooking Instructions

Remove the steak from the refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking and pat it dry thoroughly with paper towels. Preheat the oven to 250°F. Season the steak according to your preferred method (see Seasoning Options above).

Place the steak on a wire rack set over a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and bake for about 32 minutes. This is how we do it to reach our perfect warm red center. You can also use a meat thermometer and cook until the internal temperature reaches about 115–120°F for medium-rare.

Remove the steak from the oven when it is done and tent loosely while you heat the canola oil in a cast iron skillet or stainless steel pan over high heat until just smoking. NOTE: we recommend that you only do this outside. There will be a lot of smoke.

Sear the steaks for 45 seconds on one side, then flip and sear for 45 seconds on the other side. Using tongs, briefly sear the edges for about 10–15 seconds each to render the fat and build flavor. Remove the steaks to a platter and cover loosely with foil.

Immediately add the butter, rosemary, thyme, and crushed garlic to the hot pan. Move the butter around with tongs until melted and fragrant.

Pour the melted herb butter and pan drippings over the steak. Cover again loosely. If you plan to slice the steaks, let them rest for 10 minutes. If you’re serving them whole, let them rest for at least a few minutes while you plate everything else. Optional: use a small ladle to retrieve the pan drippings from the platter and serve in a small ramekin on each plate, or spoon over the steaks again.

Notes

• This method works beautifully with thick cuts; we’ve tried it with ribeyes (bone in and boneless, New York strips and even filets. Bone-in steaks will not be quite as done, but we like it that way; they’re too big to eat them all, and the leftovers won’t be overcooked if you rewarm them.
• Slicing the steak makes for a lovely presentation, especially when you want to show off that perfect interior. But serving it whole has undeniable steakhouse drama—and is how we most often enjoy it at home on the night we cook them. But there are always leftovers because the steaks are gargantuan, and slicing the steak is a great way to serve it on Day 2.
• Don’t skip the herb butter finish. That pour-over after searing brings everything together and is absolutely worth it.
• Amounts: my friends, this recipe as written serves 2 if you’re doing whole steaks for the presentation, but what that really means is, “serves 2 for the first meal and then two more meals as leftovers”. If you’re going to slice the steaks, it will easily feed four and probably even six.

Pairing Suggestions

The steak will always be the star when you use this method, but sides matter. A starch is never unwelcome; here are a few of our faves from the Glover Gardens recipe archives:

• Best Mashed Potatoes Ever
• Citrus-Herb Jasmine Rice
• Creamy Mascarpone Grits with Corn (this one does double duty as a starch and a vegetable)
• Garlic-Rosemary Potatoes
• … and a sweet potato hash cake with chile relish that isn’t documented yet

For freshness, you could start the meal with a salad course, before you sear the steaks. But we’re usually in too much of a hurry for that! A nice broccoli or pea salad alongside the steak works just fine, or you could try our Black-Eyed Peas and Broccoli Salad.

We also always like to have a nice bread which we unabashedly use to sop the pan juices; my focaccia is perfect for it.

Regarding sauces: you don’t really need them. The pan drippings are spectacular. However, a nice chimichurri drizzled atop the steak will never go awry.

Wine-wise, while a hearty, tannin-laden red like Cabernet Sauvignon is traditional, we prefer a slightly lighter touch when pairing red wine with these steaks, like Pinot Noir or Malbec. For more info, Total Wines has published a nice list of wines to pair with different cuts of steak.

Reverse-Seared Steak, Step by Step

I usually take pictures when we cook steaks using this method, but I’ve never had the patience or focus to do a full photo shoot the whole way through a single instance of making the dish. So the pics I’m sharing here are from several different reverse-sear steak successes at several different locations, but they should give you an idea of what to expect. Join me in the kitchens, my friends!

Prepping, Seasoning and Cooking in the Oven

You can see we choose large steaks for the reverse-sear method. We LOVE having leftovers of yummy beef. Below are three different batches; the first is a mix of boneless ribeyes and NY strips that we pre-salted for 4+ hours, the next is giant ribeyes with Zippy Everything Rub, and the final is bone-in ribeyes, one of which is a tomahawk, with Zippy Coffee Rub. They were all fab!

It’s important to line the baking sheet with foil for an easy cleanup, and you should always use a rack so that the heat is evenly distributed when you pop the steaks into the oven.

Sear in a Smoking Hot Pan

A really hot pan is an important key to success. Reminder: we do this outside because the smoke is no joke. And don’t forget to sear the edges.

Bring on the Butter, Garlic and Herbs

The butter, garlic and herbs go into the pan immediately after you remove and cover the steaks. Swirl until the butter melts and the garlic is browned, but not burned, then pour the lovely pan juices atop the steaks.

Plate It, Wherever You Are

The most recent reverse-seared steak dinner at Glover Gardens, our response to a request from one of our special Gen Z peeps.

We’ve also used this method at the Little House in the Rockies—at 10,000 feet—and it still delivered beautifully. There’s something especially satisfying about pulling off a perfectly cooked steak at altitude, where everything is just a little less predictable. But the reverse-sear method held steady, and after plating, we sat down to one of those meals where everyone just looks at each other and says, “Wow… this is really good.”

Closing

If you do try this method, just know… you’ve been warned.

There’s a very good chance that someone in your household will start insisting that this is the only way to cook steak going forward. You may hear phrases like, “But it’s just better this way,” or “Why would we do anything else?”

Around here, I just smile, pour another glass of wine, and admit the truth:

there are some arguments I don’t want to win.

Especially when dinner tastes this good.

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