Reverse Course

If you love steak, by now you’ve probably been indoctrinated into the reverse-sear method: a two-stage cooking process for cooking steak (and other thick cuts of protein). The technique begins by first cooking meat with gentle heat until it reaches a target temperature, then blasting it with high heat to build up a beautifully burnished crust.

In warm weather we like to do our reverse searing at the grill, but we add a flavor-boosting twist: Instead of simply moving the steak from the low-temperature zone to the hot side of the grill, we get a Field Skillet and sear the meat there while basting it with a mixture of melted butter, garlic, and herbs. This not only gives you more evenly browned meat (thanks to cast iron’s even heat distribution PLUS the hot butter bath), but since you don’t need to rest a reverse-seared steak, making the whole thing an easy grill-to-table affair.

This technique works on any thick cut of meat (at least 1½ inches thick), on or off the bone. Speaking of bones, it’s a myth that a bone-in steak absorbs flavor from the bone itself. What the bone does do, however, is insulate the meat around it, which means the meat closest to the bone will come out slightly less cooked than the rest of the steak. This can be a good thing, if you tend to overcook your meat, but using the reverse sear (along with a trusty instant-read thermometer) will ensure that the meat is evenly cooked, so the bone is mostly there for show—or for your dog.