Recipes, Tips & Techniques

Reverse Seared Cast Iron Skillet Ribeye Steaks

I picked up a couple of high quality Creekstone Farms ribeye steaks at Lakewood Meats in Lodi, CA while in town judging a barbecue contest.

Lakewood Meats in Lodi, CA

Creekstone Farms steaks in butcher counter

These steaks were about 1″ thick. I wish they’d been 1-1/2″ thick, which would have been a better thickness for the reverse sear cooking method used here.

I sprinkled the steaks with kosher salt on both sides and refrigerated them on a cooling rack over a rimmed baking sheet pan for 2 hours. Right before grilling, I applied freshly ground black pepper to both sides and pressed it on with my hands.

I setup the Summit 450 gas grill for indirect cooking, with two burners OFF on the left side and two burners on HIGH on the right side. I placed a 12″ cast iron skillet on the hot side of the grill to pre-heat.

Ribeye steaks on cool side of grill

Steak measures 96*F using Thermapen instant-read thermometer

The steaks went onto the cool side of the grill and cooked until they reached 95°F internal temperature measured with a Thermapen instant-read thermometer, about 20 minutes in total. I turned the steaks once around the 10 minute mark.

Steaks removed from grill while skillet heats up

Once at 95°F, I removed the steaks from the grill and turned all burners to HIGH, allowing the skillet to get good and hot. The steaks look anemic at this point…but not for long!

Steaks searing in cast iron skillet

I brushed the skillet with peanut oil and placed the steaks into the hot pan. Now it’s just a matter of getting some good color on both sides of the steaks; a minute or two per side should be enough.

Steaks measuring 135*F internal temp after searing

These steaks finished at 135°F, right in between medium-rare and medium doneness. By the time I got these steaks into the house and onto our dinner plates, they had rested enough and were ready to eat.

Inside view of perfectly cooked reverse seared ribeye steak

In terms of improvements for next time…as I mentioned at the beginning, a thicker steak is a better candidate for reverse searing, so I’ll try for 1-1/2″ steaks next time. Also, it’s easier getting steaks on and off a cast iron griddle vs. a cast iron skillet, so next time I’ll use my griddle instead.

Finally, it should be noted that heating cast iron over the intense high heat of a gas grill can ruin the carefully seasoned surface you’ve worked so hard to achieve and maintain. For this reason, some people use a dedicated cast iron skillet or griddle for grilling; you may want to do the same.