WHAT’S COOKING: Sirloin steak on the bone seared in reverse gear

There aren’t many recipes for meat that combine the slow food ethos with that of grilling something over very high heat, but both techniques come into play for reverse-searing a steak. It turns the traditional way of doing so upside down: you start by cooking it in a ridiculously low oven or kettle braai, or high above hardly any coals at all, and you finish it with a short, sharp hellfire sear to get that lovely golden and crunchy outer coating that all true steak lovers adore; the umami of the burn that makes such magic on the palate.

My good friend Gordon Wright introduced me to the notion of a reverse-seared steak in person as well as in his best-selling books, Veld to Fork and Karoo Food. Not that the Karoo can claim reverse-searing as its own, but it does somehow fit in with the pace of life in those towns and plains.

Gordon, like many contemporary cooks, owns a meat thermometer which he actually uses. I own one too, I think – somewhere, maybe – but I’ve never got into the habit of using it. I’m an old-fashioned boy and an old-fashioned cook, and I like a tactile approach. I use my instincts, nose and sense of touch. That’s when I’ll know it’s been slow-cooked for long enough without going too far, and be ready for that final sear. In Karoo Food, his second book, there is a fearsome chart for reverse-searing a tomahawk steak in a kettle braai, and another for reverse-searing a rib-eye using the oven and pan method. It sets out the target temperatures in the kettle or oven for rare, medium-rare, medium and medium-well, then gives the final target temperature and approximate time in the oven for each. That’s all far too technical for the likes of me.

The key is this, and it’s emphatic: the steak must be thick-cut, not less than 3cm to 5cm, preferably more; for the tomahawk recipe they should be 5cm to 8cm thick, or more. It needs some good fat on it too, to take advantage of the lusciously moreish tender centre while scorching it on the outside later on to crusty-fatty perfection. And the steaks should be well aged, none of those bright-red bushy-tailed ones for this method. It’s the brownish hue of age that you want. Virtually on the turn? Even better!

The sirloin steaks in this recipe were 4cm thick, and being on the bone meant they could only lend more flavour and depth. Gordon warns that there is no value in using the reverse-sear method for a thin steak since they cook too fast, defeating the object.

The MasterClass.com website espouses three benefits of the reverse sear for a steak: an evenly cooked interior; a browned, crispy crust, and flavourful pan drippings. Conversely, in the traditional method, your chef will sear and seal the steak first and then finish it gently in the oven to cook it to the level you like.

And the reverse-sear method can be used for chicken cuts and pork chops too; again, choose breasts on the bone and thick-cut pork loin chops for best results. The steak cuts that MasterClass recommends for the technique are rib-eye, tomahawk, tri-tip (picanha), T-bone, porterhouse (sirloin), New York strip (short loin) and filet mignon (the thinner end of the loin). I would add to that the Chateaubriand, being the thicker, fatter part of the beef fillet, which strikes me as being ideal for reverse-searing, given its thickness.

Tony’s reverse-seared sirloin steak on the bone

Ingredients

2 x matured 700g thick-cut sirloins on the bone (ours were 4cm thick)

2 Tbsp fresh rosemary needles, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 Tbsp rosemary salt

⅓ cup olive oil

Zest of 1 ripe lemon

½ tsp coarsely ground black pepper

Method

Remove steaks from the fridge an hour before you need to start cooking them.

Stir the rosemary needles, chopped garlic and lemon zest into the olive oil.

Brush this over both sides of the steaks, retaining the rest for basting while cooking.

Season both sides generously with rosemary salt and pepper.

Leave them to absorb those flavours, at room temperature, while you light a fire in one part of a braai while leaving another part free for the slow cook. You’ll need to ensure a red-hot supply of coals for when the time comes to do the sear.

Transfer a few coals to the edges of the area you’re using for the first cook. Place the grid high above it, and a pan for drippings at the bottom.

Put the steaks on the grid and turn frequently to ensure a very slow cook, for about 30 to 45 minutes depending on the thickness of the meat.

Use the good old-fashioned finger test as I do (you get a feel for it, literally); it’s a pliable tenderness to the touch that you’re after. If you’re using a thermometer, you’re looking for an inner temperature of about 50℃. Again, I’d sooner trust my fingers.

Keep the steaks to one side, uncovered and in the ambient temperature but not close to heat, and set over the dripping pan to catch any more juices. It doesn’t matter that they cool down, they’re going to be finished over high heat anyway.

Shovel hot coals where the dripping pan was (which you have removed), lower the grid and sear those fat steaks for 3 minutes on each side.

If using an oven, first cook them for 30 to 45 minutes at 120℃ and cook over a dripping pan for medium rare, before doing a quick sear in a very hot skillet or on hot coals for 3 minutes per side.

Use the dripping to make a sauce in a pot on the stove. Deglaze the pan with liquid beef stock, add a glass of red wine and reduce it to thicken. Season with rosemary salt and pepper. DM

Tony Jackman is twice winner of the Galliova Food Writer of the Year award.

Follow Tony Jackman on Instagram @tony_jackman_cooks.