Reverse Sear Ribeye Cowboy Steak

The ribeye is my favorite steak, and a bone in is even better. I have a company that I get my meat from, a subscription to it, that I can customize and get as often or not as I want. When I signed up for it, they were offering free meat with every order, with different choices. Well when this bone-in cowboy steak was one of my free choice I wasn’t passing that up. All the meat comes frozen, which I like because I don’t know how long meat sits in the refrigerator case at the grocery store before I purchase it. Meat in the freezer case at the grocery store is more precarious and more than likely thrown in the freezer just before it’s time is up. Old food is full of histamines and I suffered for several years with histamine intolerance so I buy my meat and fruits frozen now.

I defrosted this steak along with another to have one night, but plans got switched and later on I needed to use it up right away. I have never cooked a cowboy steak. I usually cook a thick steak, not as thick as this, by searing it well on both sides and then I roast it in the oven. This was almost like a roast, and I measured it to be two-inches thick. I thought about treating it like a roast, but it seemed a shame not to get that experience of having that crackling outer part playing against the tender inside. On the internet I found this method where you roast the steak FIRST and then sear it. It made the best sense doing it this way. I hate a bloody steak and this seemed like a way to remedy that issue.

Start by letting the steak sit out of the refrigerator for at least an hour, or two. This is an important step because if the center is colder than the outside it wont cook. When it is time to cook this cowboy preheat the oven to 225 degrees. Put a cookie rack on a cookie sheet and put a little lard on it so the steak wont stick.

Pat the steak dry and give it a good salting on both sides and roast it uncovered in the oven for 50 to 70 minutes depending on the thickness and how rare or well done you are wanting your steak to be. Mine was a pound and a quarter pound two-inches thick steak, and I like mine medium so I cooked mine for 57 minutes. I know I could have said sixty, but I like odd numbers, especially ones with sevens and threes in them, but I digress. When the steak is done, tent it with foil and let it rest for ten minutes before searing. For the searing get a cast iron pan VERY HOT and put on a little beef tallow and throw that steak on real quick! Sear each side for a minute and half and transfer it to a plate to cut it into slices. The other thing I like about cooking a steak this way is that you don’t have to let it rest before cutting, which always cools the steak off too much and the crust on the steak gets less crispy as well. Although I got my steak for free, I can see this steak having more value than I originally thought because it is a nice bone in this for making a bone broth.