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How to Reverse Sear Steak

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Don’t sacrifice superior taste for grill marks — effective searing occurs between 350° - 500°F. So no matter what Traeger your own, you can craft sizzling wood-fired flavor with confidence.

See more tips from the pros and earn your degree in Smokenomics.


Smoke flavor on the inside, carmelized crust on the outside

What is Reverse Searing? Reverse searing creates a beautiful sear on the outside and a smoke infused, perfect medium rare doneness on the inside. It combines the best of both worlds - incredible smoke flavor and a smokin’ caramelized outer crust. We’re combining low & slow with hot & fast for a full-proof way to tackle any beef cut.

Start with a low-&-slow cooking process at 225°F to infuse smoke into the meat. From there, crank the heat up to High to finish off the steak with a blazing hot sear, locking in that natural wood fire taste.


How to Reverse Sear on a Traeger:

  • Season with salt and pepper.

  • Set the grill temperature to 225°F.
  • Place steak on grill grate and smoke for 45 to 60 minutes.
  • Remove steak from the grill.
  • Increase temperature to the highest setting and allow grill to fully preheat.
  • Sear steaks on the hot grill grates until they reach an internal temperature of 125℉ for medium rare.
  • Enjoy the best damn steak of your life.

Use a meat probe or thermometer to reach your ideal internal temperature with 100% certainty. Insert the probe into the meat, avoiding fat and bone, and check the internal temperature progress on the Traeger App or through your grill. Wondering what internal temperature your steaks should be at? Check out our Steak Doneness guide.

If you're looking for deep, classic grill marks, enhance your steaks with our cast iron grill grates, griddle or skillet. For additional searing tips and tricks on a Traeger, check out our handy guide here.

Traeger's mightiest grill, the Timberline, makes reverse searing even easier.

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For the smoking portion, place steaks on the second tier. Set temperature to 225°F and activate Super Smoke mode for a blast of natural hardwood smoke.

After about 45 minutes, increase the grill temperature to 500°F and let grill fully preheat. When grill is hot, move the steaks down to the lowest tiered rack to get maximum heat, searing each side for one minute.

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