Steaks
How to Cook Ribeye: Three Methods for a Restaurant Kitchen
Thawing in the vacuum bag, steak thickness, when to salt, grill, cast iron with butter and reverse sear for thick steaks. Plus a doneness temperature table.
MYASYA team4 min readupdated
Preparing the steak
Half the result is preparation. A ribeye that was thawed and dried properly will take a good crust on any heat source.
Step 1. Thaw in the vacuum bag, in the fridge
Put the bag on the bottom shelf at 0-4 °C. A portion steak thaws in 12-24 hours, an Astra roll of 1.2-1.5 kg in 24-36 hours, a Frigon roll up to 3 kg in 36-60 hours. Never on the counter or in warm water: the surface warms up while the centre is still frozen.
Step 2. Cut steaks 2.5-3.5 cm thick
A whole roll is easier to cut while still slightly frozen: the steaks come out even. A steak thinner than 2.5 cm overcooks inside before it browns. Leave 3-5 mm of outer fat.
Step 3. Let it stand 30-60 minutes
A cold steak on the grill gives a crust outside and a raw, cold centre. But don't keep raw beef in the warmth for more than an hour.
Step 4. Dry and salt
Pat dry with a paper towel on all sides. Salt with coarse salt 10-40 minutes before cooking and pat dry again before it goes on the heat. Pepper goes on after cooking: on a hot pan it burns.
How to store beef at −18 °C and thaw it without losing juice.Read →
Method 1. Grill
Heat the grill to 250-300 °C: you can hold your palm over the grate for no more than two seconds. Clean the grate and oil it with a folded towel. Don't oil the steak itself: it goes on the grill dry.
Step 1. Don't move it for 2-3 minutes
Let the crust form. For grill marks, turn the steak 45° halfway through.
Step 2. Flip and give it another 2-3 minutes
Stand the thick fat edge on the grate for 30-60 seconds, holding it with tongs.
Step 3. Check with a thermometer
If the fat flares up, move the steak to a cooler zone and let it finish there.
Method 2. Cast iron with butter
Cast iron holds its heat and doesn't cool down when a colder piece of meat goes in. Heat it until it just smokes and add a tablespoon of an oil that tolerates high heat: refined sunflower or grapeseed.
Step 1. Sear 2 minutes per side
Don't move the steak for the first few seconds.
Step 2. Add butter and herbs
Turn the heat to medium. Add 30-40 g of butter, 2-3 sprigs of thyme and a crushed garlic clove. Butter goes in only after the crust forms, otherwise it burns.
Step 3. Baste for 1-2 minutes
Tilt the pan and spoon the butter over the steak, turning it every 30 seconds. Pull it by the temperature in the table below.
Method 3. Reverse sear for thick steaks
On high heat a thick steak can't warm through inside before it overcooks outside. Reverse sear flips the order: the meat first comes up slowly in the oven, and the crust is made at the end. For a restaurant it is also handy because the first stage can be done ahead of time.
Step 1. Oven at 100-120 °C
Place the salted steak on a rack over a tray.
Step 2. Bring it to 43-45 °C inside
That is 10-12 °C below the medium-rare target. A 4 cm steak takes about 35-50 minutes.
Step 3. Rest 5-10 minutes
Meanwhile get the cast iron or grill as hot as it goes.
Step 4. Sear 45-60 seconds per side
And along the edges. Almost no rest is needed afterwards, 2-3 minutes.
The crust comes out even, and there is almost no grey band under it: the meat warmed up gradually.
When to pull the steak
Insert a probe thermometer into the thickest part, away from large fat seams. Pull a few degrees early: while the steak rests, the internal temperature keeps rising.
Rare
- Pull at
- 49-52 °C
- After resting
- 52-55 °C
- Cut surface
- red, warm centre
Medium rare
- Pull at
- 52-55 °C
- After resting
- 55-58 °C
- Cut surface
- pinkish red, hot
Medium
- Pull at
- 57-60 °C
- After resting
- 60-63 °C
- Cut surface
- pink, clear juice
Medium well
- Pull at
- 62-65 °C
- After resting
- 65-68 °C
- Cut surface
- faintly pink centre
Well done
- Pull at
- 68-70 °C
- After resting
- 71 °C and up
- Cut surface
- grey-brown
For a well-marbled ribeye such as Frigon, medium rare and medium work best: the fat inside has time to melt and makes the steak juicy.
All six doneness levels, how to use a probe and what to tell the guest.Doneness guide →
Resting and slicing
After the heat, put the steak on a warm board for 5-8 minutes: closer to five for a thin one, eight for a thick one. The juices settle back into the meat. Don't wrap it tightly in foil, or the crust will go soft.
Slice 1-1.5 cm thick across the grain. A ribeye has two parts, the central eye and the marbled cap along the edge, and their grain runs in different directions. It is easier to cut the cap off and slice it separately.
Astra and Frigon ribeye: today's price, roll weight, minimum order 5 kg.View in catalogue →
Why ribeye is the juiciest: what marbling is and what drives it.Read →
