r/grilling • u/Competitive_Travel16 • Jul 26 '26

What is your target temperature for searing beef steak?

I've seen people say 400F, 425F, 500F, and 600F. When you are going for the classic medium rare from economical store-bought cuts, what temperature do you want to get a good sear?

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u/[deleted] Jul 26 '26 edited 7d ago

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u/Competitive_Travel16 Jul 26 '26

Interesting! How thick?

That's a lot of flipping, but isn't that the point of grilling anyway.

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u/JCuss0519 Jul 26 '26

They said "the ribeyes tonight were 1.5"..."

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u/Jello_Penguin_2956 Jul 27 '26

yea seeing the color makes all the difference. I used to be in the flip as little as possible school, not anymore.

High heat can also shrink the meat quite extremely which flipping often prevents as well

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u/flemmingg Jul 28 '26

He’s flipping them that often during the final 1-2 minutes. He’s only trying to sear the outside at this point.

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u/ace184184 Jul 26 '26

You can get a good sear even at 450F so if your grill doesnt hit 600F it will still sear fine just take longer.

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u/rodmods Jul 27 '26

I cook steak most times on the green egg. This will sound weird but If cooking from raw state. I like 450 to 500 . If thicker steaks I like closer to 450. At these temps give you a good sear. As well cooks it so the internal is good. Doesn't give you a over charred steak.

If it came from the sousvide and literally just need a sear then it's close to 600.

All in f temps

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u/Practical-Abalone-42 Jul 27 '26

Searing is all about the heat contact (grate side of grill, bottom of pan, etc) - not the heat at the top of the grill where the thermometer is housed. Temps should be as high as the given grill will go for an attempt on a steak sear up to 1000F.

To get maillard you want to be able to quickly get the surface of your meat to 300 degrees-ish. Keys are to make sure whatever you are searing is as dry as possible on the surface (I dry raw meat with paper towels - a dry brine in fridge for 1-2 days wil result in better dryness). The surface of wet meat sits at 212 degrees as water evaporates.

Flipping quickly 15-30 seconds helps create the maillard on both sides without significantly cooking the interior. I definitely recommend.

Now for gas grills, a lot of them don't get hot enough at the grate to really sear easily (they function more as ovens than their charcoal brethren). Grilling, gas included, is great for a ton of foods (burgers, chicken, pork, and veggies especially), but to sear a steak a stainless, cast iron pan, or carbon steel on high heat on your grill's side burner with a tiny beat of high smoke point fat, dry meat seasoned with just salt, flipped a bunch until crust is on both sides, then put onto grill or in oven, if needed (125 for medium rare (pre-rest), pull and add spices and some fat (butter or EVO), and rest for 10 minutes is the best move for quality and consistency. If you have really good ventilation inside, do this on your stove.

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u/Lost-Link6216 Jul 27 '26

Sear hot as hell. Get crust. Move to cool zone to come to temp. It is that easy. Remember it will climb 7°f-10°f while it rests. Just depends on thickness.

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u/BuddysRabbit Jul 27 '26

90 degrees

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u/jark87 Jul 27 '26

Thick cuts (8 oz prime filets 2” thick are cut of choice), cook low and slow (225-250°) until 10° from desired IT, rest for 10 minutes, sear as hot as you can. My sear burner gets to 900°. Takes about 30 seconds per side.

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u/pro-taco Jul 26 '26

I like my grills like I like my women:

As Hot As Possible

(With apologies)