What is the difference between striploin, ribeye and tenderloin?

Tenderloin is the most tender and mildest in flavour. Ribeye is medium-tender with rich, buttery marbling. Striploin sits in between, with a firm bite and a bold, beefy flavour. All three are premium steak cuts.

Is striploin a tender steak?

Striploin is medium-tender. It is firmer than ribeye and tenderloin but rewards you with a stronger, beefier flavour. Cook it no further than medium and slice against the grain for the most tender result.

Which steak cut is best value in Singapore?

Striploin and ribeye usually offer the best balance of flavour and price. For wagyu-like richness at a lower price, marbled Meltique striploin and ribeye are popular choices. Tenderloin is the most expensive due to its tenderness.

Where can I buy fresh steak in Singapore?

Tasty Food Affair cuts steak in its own butchery and delivers across Singapore in its own refrigerated trucks, with free delivery on orders above S$65.

Thick ribeye steak searing in a cast iron pan after slow roasting

Reverse Sear Steak Guide: Restaurant Results at Home

September 8, 2026

The principle

The reverse sear inverts the traditional steak method. Instead of searing first and then bringing the interior up to temperature, you bring the interior to temperature first — slowly, in a low oven — and then sear the outside hard at the end. The whole thing takes longer, but it produces a more consistent result than any other home method for thick cuts.

Two physical effects drive this. First, low-and-slow heating brings the entire interior of the steak to a uniform doneness, instead of the traditional banded look where the centre is rare and the edges are grey. Second, the surface dries out during the oven phase, which means the sear at the end goes from raw to deep-brown crust in 60 to 90 seconds — fast enough that no significant overcooking of the interior happens.

When to use it

Reverse sear is the right choice for steaks 4cm thick or thicker. The method's whole advantage is even doneness across a tall cross-section. A 1.5cm minute steak does not have enough thickness for the technique to matter.

Cuts that benefit most: ribeye, striploin, T-bone, porterhouse, tomahawk, picanha, thick-cut sirloin, prime rib roast (which is essentially a giant reverse-seared steak). Cuts that do not need it: tenderloin (already uniformly tender, no benefit), thin flank or skirt (wrong thickness), Wagyu A5 (too rich for the long-cook step).

The method, step by step

Bring the steak to room temperature on the counter. 30 to 45 minutes for a 4cm steak. Pat the surface completely dry with kitchen paper. Surface moisture is the enemy of a good sear.
Season generously with coarse salt on all sides. Skip the pepper at this stage — pepper burns at sear temperature and turns acrid. Pepper is added after searing.
Place the steak on a wire rack over a sheet pan. Air circulating around all sides matters; do not put the steak directly on the pan.
Set the oven to 110 to 120°C. Slide the rack onto the middle shelf. Insert a probe thermometer into the thickest part of the steak, not touching bone if there is one.
Cook until the internal temperature is 7 to 10°C below your target doneness. For medium-rare (final target 54°C), pull the steak at 44 to 47°C. The slow cook takes roughly 25 to 40 minutes depending on thickness and starting temperature.
Rest the steak briefly — three to five minutes — while you heat your sear surface. The rest at this stage stabilises the interior temperature.
Heat a cast iron pan to maximum on the stovetop until it is smoking. Add a small amount of high-smoke-point oil — grapeseed, refined sunflower, or rendered beef tallow. Do not use butter at this stage.
Sear the steak 45 to 60 seconds per side. Use tongs to hold it on its fat cap for another 30 to 45 seconds. The crust should be deep brown, not blackened.
In the final 20 seconds, add a knob of butter, a smashed garlic clove, and a sprig of thyme. Tilt the pan and spoon the foaming butter over the steak. This is where most of the aromatic flavour comes from.
Rest the seared steak two to three minutes — much less than a traditionally cooked steak needs, because the interior is already at temperature. Grind fresh pepper over the top before serving.

Why this beats the traditional sear

On a traditional sear, the outside of the steak hits 200°C+ before the centre has warmed at all. By the time the centre reaches medium-rare, the layer just under the crust has been overcooked for several minutes. A 4cm steak cooked traditionally typically shows three distinct doneness bands — burned outside, grey under-layer, pink centre — that no resting can fully homogenise.

Reverse sear eliminates the grey band. The interior is at a uniform 50 to 53°C when it goes into the pan, and the sear happens so fast that the under-layer barely rises in temperature. Cut through a reverse-seared ribeye and the colour is essentially the same from edge to centre.

Common reverse sear mistakes

Oven temperature too high. Above 130°C, the gradient between centre and edge starts to widen and the whole point of the technique is lost. 110 to 120°C is the right window.
Pulling at the wrong temperature. The steak continues to cook during the sear and the rest. Pulling at 50°C and then searing for 90 seconds per side will push the final temperature to 58 to 60°C — medium, not medium-rare. Pull 7 to 10°C below target.
Searing with butter from the start. Butter burns at 180°C. The pan needs to be 220°C+ for a fast sear. Use oil first, butter only in the last 30 seconds.
Skipping the dry-off step. If the surface is wet when it hits the pan, it steams instead of sears. The result is a grey, soggy crust. Pat dry both before the oven and again after — surface moisture re-condenses during the slow cook.

Frequently asked questions

Can I reverse sear in an air fryer?

Yes for the low-cook stage. Set the air fryer to 110°C, place the steak inside, and cook with a probe until the target pull temperature is reached. The sear still needs to be done in a hot cast iron pan — air fryers do not generate enough surface heat for a proper steak crust.

How thick does the steak need to be?

4cm minimum, ideally 5 to 7cm. Below that, the time difference between the oven phase and the sear phase collapses and there is no advantage over a traditional sear.

Should I salt before or after the oven?

Before. Salting at least 40 minutes ahead allows the salt to penetrate the surface layer and improves both flavour and crust formation. Salting just before the oven is acceptable but produces a less developed crust.

Can I do this with frozen steak?

Yes, and it is one of the few steak methods that works well from frozen. Place the frozen steak directly on the rack at 120°C and increase the oven phase by 15 to 25 minutes. The technique forgives a frozen start better than any traditional method.

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