New York Strip Steak on the Yoder Wichita
Our friend Matt Craven shares his go-to method for a reverse sear on the Yoder Smokers Loaded Wichita. “I don’t care if I’m cooking one or if I have the whole Wichita loaded up with strip steaks, reverse sear is still my go to for making a perfect steak!” Let’s get to it!
Meat Selection:
Take the time to find thicker cut steaks. You can really add some smoky flavor when it can come up to temp gradually in the smoking chamber. One inch is generally my cut off for thickness, any thinner and you are better off with a Hot & Fast Method.
Seasoning:
With your steak at room temp, seasoning should be done right before it is put on the grill. Too early and you can start to pull out moisture from the steak and we don’t want that. There is dry or wet brining methods but for this we are keeping it classic.
Heat:
This isn’t and all day fire, grab a good quality Lump Charcoal and get a healthy fire going. It still needs to be bigger enough to get you chamber to temp and then keep some blocks of Hickory or smaller splits just to add that flavor when your steak is coming up to temp!
Temp:
For the main smoking chamber I am looking for a constant temp of 200-225F. If I have a large number of steaks in the smoker, I will be giving them a flip and rotation around the grill every 15 minutes or so. When the steaks hit an internal temp of 120-125 it’s time to get them pulled off and resting. Also now is the time to spread out your coals in the fire chamber and install the grilling grate.
Rest:
The longer the smoking time the longer the rest but on average I am going to let my steaks rest 10-12 minutes. Put a little bit of butter on top of each steak, and lightly cover with tin foil. You will gain a little more internal temp and then it is going to start letting those juices return back into the grain of the meat. To me this rest period is the most important part and can make or break how well your steaks turn out.
Sear:
We have already hit temp, but we still need those crispy edges! We are not searing for long, you don’t want to raise that internal temp any higher. So this is 30 seconds over the hottest part of the fire, flip and 30 more seconds, that’s it! Crispy edges and all that flavor is locked in!
Slice:
Now that we are done with the sear, I love to add a compound butter to my steaks and let that melt in right before slicing. New York Strip steaks are a little different as the grain of the meat is side to side. As you are slicing down through the steak, tilt your blade at an angle to get a nice cut that still goes against the grain!
Enjoy:
Reap the spoils of your work and enjoy your Reverse Seared New York Strip!
Learn more about the Yoder Smokers Loaded Wichita: https://www.yodersmokers.com/offsets/the-loaded-wichita/
