Reverse-Sear Timer
Reverse-sear runner with a low-oven phase to a pull temperature below your target, a rest, then a hard-sear countdown per side, walking through each phase in strict order with distinct chimes.
Built by the AbraCalc team
How to play
- Choose your target doneness and drag the thickness slider — the oven pull temperature and estimated oven time update automatically.
- Tap Start Reverse Sear for a fullscreen run: the LOW OVEN phase counts down to your pull temperature, shown in both F and C.
- A REST phase follows automatically — use it to get your pan or grill ripping hot before the sear.
- SEAR SIDE 1 and SEAR SIDE 2 run short, high-heat countdowns in strict order, finishing the crust without overcooking the inside.
Reverse-searing flips the usual steak order: a slow, low oven brings the whole cut up to temperature evenly first, and a screaming-hot sear at the very end builds the crust in under a minute a side. Because that final sear adds real carryover heat, this timer pulls the steak from the oven about 10°F/6°C below your actual target doneness, giving the sear room to finish the climb without overshooting. It walks through low oven, a short rest while your pan or grill comes up to full heat, then a hard sear per side, in that fixed order with a distinct chime at every handoff. Thicker cuts get longer in the oven; the sear itself stays short because the interior is already at temperature.
Frequently asked questions
- How is this different from the Steak Doneness Timer?
- The Steak Doneness Timer covers the classic method: a hot pan the whole way through, searing each side for a few minutes with a flip in between. This tool is specifically the reverse-sear method — a low oven brings the steak to temperature slowly and evenly first, and the pan or grill only comes in at the very end for a short, hard sear. They're two different cooking methods for the same cut, with genuinely different phase structures, not just different labels on the same timer.
- Why pull the steak from the oven below the final target temperature?
- The hard sear at the end doesn't just brown the surface — it drives real heat into the meat just beneath the crust, and that carryover keeps raising the internal temperature for a short while after the steak leaves the pan. Pulling the oven phase about 10°F/6°C under your target leaves room for that sear-driven rise to land the steak exactly where you want it instead of overshooting past medium into medium-well.
- Can I skip the rest between the oven and the sear?
- You can exit early, but the timer runs the rest deliberately: it gives your pan or grill time to reach genuinely high heat, which is what produces a fast, dark crust instead of a slow, gray one. A short rest here also lets the surface dry slightly, which helps the sear catch faster once the steak hits the pan.