The Most Amazing Steak In The World!
Steak is one of those foods that is almost always good. Even bad steak is usually better than no steak. But how do you make a steak that people are going to remember long after they have eaten it?
One of the best ways to consistently make fantastic steak is using a technique known as reverse searing. When you cook a steak on your grill, you sear it, and then the inside continues to cook after the outside is seared and the juices are locked in. With reverse searing, you cook your steak part of the way to your desired temperature, then you sear it to finish it off. The result is a wonderfully tender and juicy steak. You can achieve this a number of ways, with the most popular being sous vide or smoking your steaks. With sous vide you can bag your steak along with fresh herbs, marinades, or other seasonings, and then use a sous vide machine to bring it to an exact temperature. If you choose to smoke your steak, you can marinate your steaks, use a rub, or just use good old salt and pepper, then you can place it on your smoker at a low temperature for an hour or two. If you don’t have a smoker, not a problem! You can use a tool called a smoke tube that allows you to add smoke flavor to food. You fill it with pellets or wood chips, place it in your grill, light it, then close the lid and let the grill fill up with flavorful smoke.
What you need:
Steak - thicker is better, and I recommend using steaks at least 1.5 to 2 inches thick. This process works with almost any type of steak, you can do expensive ribeyes or less expensive sirloins or London Broil, the results will be fantastic every time!
Seasoning - I personally prefer to use salt and pepper
Smoker or Grill - Smoke it on the lowest setting you can. If you don’t have a smoker then you can use your grill and a smoke tube.
Searing method - you can use a broiler, such as a Schwank Grill, your gas / propane grill, a cast iron pan, or even your broiler in your oven.
A good instant read thermometer - The most important part is knowing your internal temperatures, especially when you are getting ready to sear your steak. You want to make sure you don’t overcook your steak.
The steps are simple:
1. Season your steak on both sides. Since I am going to use my Schwank Grill that reaches 1500 degrees, I am only going to use salt. If you are going to sear using your gas grill, you can use salt, pepper, and rubs with no sugar as a general rule. Nice you season your steak, put it back in the fridge until you are ready to start cooking. Common wisdom is pull your steaks and let them come to room temperature before you grill them, but for this process you want them refrigerator cold so they can spend more time on the smoker to absorb that flavor.
2. Smoke your steak. Generally I smoke my steaks for about an hour at 180 degrees, which is the lowest setting on my pellet smoker. If the steak is thicker and/or has a bone in it, I will go longer. Keep in mind that you want your steak at a temperature you like, so you don’t want to cook your steak too far at this stage. I usually cook my steaks to a point abou 40-50 degrees below the desired doneness, so if I want to eat a medium rare steak with an internal temperature of 120*, I cook it until the internal temperature is at 70 or 80 degrees. 
3. Sear your steak. Once you get to the 40-50 degrees below the desired doneness, take your steak from the smoker. Preheat your grill, cast iron pan, or broiler and let it get good and hot. A key part of this is getting a good crust via the Maillard reaction, which causes the meat to develop an almost crispy crust but not burn. Finish your steak to the desired doneness, and use your instant read thermometer to check for doneness frequently. Remember to take you steak off a few degrees less than your desired doneness to allow for resting.
4. Rest your steak. After cooking, meat needs to rest. The resting process allows for meat to finish cooking and reabsorb all of the juices that were released during the cooking process.
5. Eat it! You can finish your steak off with a flavored butter, some coarse sea salt, or even a flavored oil!
