What's on the Grill #115
A reverse sear Porterhouse with beer reduced onions and twice baked horseradish potatoes! Zoë was off with some friends last night, so I was left to my own culinary devices. As many of you know, Friday is typically Ribeye Friday. Nothing closes a work week better than some fine grilled meat. Well in order to mix things up a little bit, I set my eyes on a Porterhouse at the store and decided to try a reverse sear.
The idea behind the reverse sear is to promote even cooking. To do so, cook the meat indirectly (or in an oven) at a low temperature until the meat’s temperature hits about 90-100 degrees. Then, finish off the meat by searing it over high heat. This is a process that works well with large cuts of meat, not wafer thin steaks. The difference is that if you try to cook a large piece of meat over high heat you will have a very pink center with rapidly browning color as you approach the outside of the meat. By using a reverse sear, you will have more pink throughout the meat because of the immediate lack of direct high heat pounding on the surface.
I have found success using this process with large tenderloin filets for Zoë. She likes her meat well done, as I have sadly documented before. In order to cook a large filet for her without butterflying, the reverse sear works great because I can cook the meat evenly until it hits 140 degrees internal and then finish it off over high heat to pretty it up.
I placed my rubbed (Salt, Pepper, & Paprika) Porterhouse on a cast iron skillet over indirect heat. The hood temp was about 300 degrees, which in hindsight was a little high. Using a temperature probe, I cooked the steak until its internal temp hit 100 degrees. I then moved it over the direct high burners and seared it for about 2 minutes a side…I think. I was running around with my head cut off trying to get everything else done!
Ideally you would let the meat rest about 10 minutes undisturbed. I of course have to molest my meat by taking a bazillion pictures. By the time I finally sat down to eat, I found it a nice medium pink throughout. I much prefer medium rare, so I should have gotten my act together sooner…or at least checked the temp to see if I was there.
I have seen reverse sear discussed a number of other places, including America’s Test Kitchen and Good Eats. For me, it is something that warrants further experimentation.
Oh, I almost forgot the onions. I thinly sliced a yellow onion and then sautéed it in a cast iron skillet with 3 tablespoons of butter. I then added a bottle of Sam Adams Irish Red beer. I cooked the beer and onions until it was reduced by half. I would have preferred a stout, but I was out. I didn’t want something too hoppy either, so I choose the Sam Adams, the most malty-ish beer I had. It worked pretty well…although I may have used a tad too much butter. Of course in my world that is just an oversight, not a crime!
