Reverse Sear Steaks on a Gas Grill: with Pics

Reverse sear steaks on a gas grill is a step by step, pic by pic, foolproof grilling recipe on how to get that sultry smoke and glorious char on NY strip steaks while cooking on a gas grill. We outline how to turn the gas grill into a smoker and then get the perfect coast-to-coast flavor crust with a little beef tallow and a cast iron griddle, as well as the edge-to-edge pink that minimizes the dry, grey band around the outer edge. For added measure, we did some seared scallops as well for my favorite surf and turf combo.

Charcoal Snob No More

I used to be the biggest charcoal snob on the planet. Thus, I gave the folks who cooked with gas grills all kinds of grief. “Why not just wheel the stove out on the deck and make yourself a casserole?” Aaaaannnddd then I had kids. A lot of kids. I have four kids at home ranging from 7 to 15 years old. While most people think that I’m eating brisket, ribs and pulled pork at least twice a day, the reality is most of my meals on the grill are far simpler and quicker, and most often on the gas grill.

One of the knocks on gas grills is they can’t do low and slow or add smoke flavor to a dish.

I’m here to tell you that this is false. In fact, I’m going to show exactly how to reverse sear steaks on a gas grill!

I’m also going to add some scallops to do my favorite form of surf and turf. 

Ingredients for Reverse Sear Steaks on a Gas Grill

• 3 NY Strip Steaks, at least 1.25 inches thick
• Your favorite BBQ rub, preferably for beef (we used SPG Seasoning)
• Scallops, the bigger the better
• Beef Tallow

Before we go much further, know that we absolutely LOVE reverse seared steaks in particular and the reverse sear method in general. We have documented this passion many times on GrillinFools.com. Here are all the recipes for reverse searing all kinds of proteins from steaks to pork chops to fish to lamb. 

Back to turning our gas grill into a smoker so we can reverse sear with gas.

We kept it simple with this cook and stuck with a basic SPG seasoning for both the steaks and the scallops.

SPG simply means Salt, Pepper and Garlic.

Season the Steaks

Season the steaks on both sides with the SPG rub and then roll the outer edge of the steaks in the seasoning that is on the cutting board to season all the way around:

Now it’s time for the magic. Go to the gas grill and turn on the burner on the far side, in this case the left side.

My gasser has a grill grate that can be lifted up and held into place with a metal rod.

You might have to lift the grate off over the fire and set aside.

Please do this carefully as it doesn’t take long for that grate to get super hot. 

Blue Rhino and Operation BBQ Relief

In order to reverse sear steaks on a gas grill, we need heat and we need smoke. Some cast iron is a plus too. For heat, we need propane. I recommend Blue Rhino propane. We all know the immortal words of Hank Hill on why propane is so good. It burns clean and allows only the wood smoke to penetrate the meat, unlike those briquettes and all the petroleum fillers. I love that Blue Rhino supports Operation BBQ Relief.

If you look back through this website (and in this post), you will see an OBR bracelet on my wrist that I have worn for close to seven years. The earliest I found the bracelet appearing on this site is 2019 in the video in this tri tip taco post. The amazing folks at OBR mobilize for natural disasters to feed people who are displaced. Indeed, what’s not to love about barbecue for a good cause?

Back to the recipe.

How to Turn a Gas Grill into a Smoker

The simple answer is to turn on one burner on the far side of the grill and place a chunk of small split of smoke wood on top of that burner. Place the meat on the other side of the grill with no direct heat underneath and close the lid. The wood will smoke, filling the chamber which will turn that gas grill into a smoker. If all you have is wood chips, place a couple fistfuls of UNSOAKED wood chips on a sheet of aluminum foil and then form the foil into a ball around the wood. Poke some holes in the foil with a knife and then, using tongs, hold the foil ball right on the lit burner until it starts to smoke. Then put the grill grate back and place the foil ball right over the lit burner. 

If you want to know what smoke woods go best with beef (or pork or chicken or seafood), we have you covered.

How to Reverse Sear Steaks on a Gas Grill

With a chunk of that smoke wood, again using tongs, place it right into the fire until it ignites and then wait about 60 seconds. Then, with tongs, remove the smoldering log from the fire, replace the grill grate and set the wood right over the lit burner. Place the steaks on the side of the grill with no heat and close the lid to make the gas grill into a smoker. Then, smoke the steaks until they reach an internal temperature 10F-15F below your desired doneness. Next, open the lid, crank up the heat on the hot side of the grill. Finally, sear those steaks (and scallops) on both sides until the steaks reached your desired doneness.

Step-by-step, pic-by-pic, foolproof process:

Light the wood:

Once the smoke wood is good and lit, remove the wood from the fire with those tongs and replace the grill grate and put the chunk of wood right on top of the lit burner:

Place the seasoned steaks on the side of the grill with no heat:

Tweak as You Go

Close the lid to create a smoke chamber. This takes some practice. We want that wood to smolder, not blaze, so keep adjusting the flame height until you get that smolder.

Leave the lid closed until the steaks get to 10F-20F below the desired doneness.

While the steaks are smoking, which doesn’t take all that long depending on the size of the steaks (I think ours took about 40 minutes), let’s prepare the scallops.

Dry them completely by laying down 2-3 layers of paper towels, set the scallops on them and top with 2-3 more paper towels. We not only want to dry off the outside, we also want to draw out some of the moisture near the surface. 

Pro Tip ~ Season the scallops right before they go on the grill as the salt will draw more moisture out and moisture is the enemy of getting a good sear on the scallops. So make sure the steaks are ready to be seared and the hot side of the grill is indeed hot. We are looking for north of 500F.

SPG seasoning works great on scallops too:

Once the steaks are 10F-20F below the desired doneness, toss the chunk of smoke wood and crank up the heat on the hot side of the grill.

Leave the grill open so the steaks don’t overcook while the other side heats up.

I use a cast iron griddle and a little beef tallow to get an epic flavor crust:

Wait, you just said liquid was the enemy of browning on those scallops. Yes, I did. But the beef tallow is different. That fat will amplify the browning. Trust me. You’ll see in a few pics what I mean.

Once that cast iron is north of 400F, it’s good to go.

Indeed, above 500F is even better:

Slap down those steaks and the scallops on the griddle:

Some of you are freaking out that the scallops will be cooked and cold before the steaks are done. That’s not the case. All we need to do on both the steaks and scallops is get a sear on each side. Put them on at the same time and they will be ready at the same time.

If you want your steak cooked more or less than what I did here, cook 10F-20F degrees short of your preferred temp in the chart below:

Steak Temps Guide:

• Rare Steak Temp: 120F-125F
• Medium Rare Steak Temp: 130F-135F
• Medium Steak Temp: 140F-145F
• Med. Well Steak Temp: 150F-155F
• Well Done Steak Temp: 160F or more, but seriously, just order the chicken

Give the steaks and scallops 2-3 minutes before checking to see how the flavor crust looks.

Although, if it isn’t good and brown, wait another 60 seconds or so.

This is what we are looking for with the steaks in terms of a flavor crust:

Beef tallow and cast iron make the best flavor crust I’ve ever done. Here’s another time I did this cast iron/beef tallow combo, but over charcoal. That flavor crust is insane and these were better. 

Flip everything over and sear on the other side for about the same amount of time as the first side.

Additionally, after flipping them over, give them another dusting of the SPG seasoning.

I’m a big fan of a little extra seasoning mid-cook. Nothing heavy. Just a little dusting:

Check that crust on those seared scallops! Beef tallow is your friend here:

Once your steaks hit the desired doneness pull the reverse sear steaks on a gas grill (and the scallops) from the cast iron griddle and let them rest a few minutes:

If the flavor crust on those steaks and scallops doesn’t make you a believer in beef tallow, I don’t know what will. 

How do these look?

Little to no grey band on our NY strip steaks:

Finally, serve with some grilled carrots:

Recap of Reverse Sear Steaks on a Gas Grill

Sultry smoke, coast to coast pink, and most of all, edge to edge browning rather than just squares or diamonds of browning with all that grey in between. Paired with some seared scallops and grilled carrots. That’s practically health food as far as I’m concerned. I mean that’s more fiber in that one dish than I get in a month! 

If you have any questions or comments about reverse sear NY strip steaks on a gas grill or the seared scallops, feel free to leave them below or send me an email.

Also, if you could leave us a great review with lots of stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ that would be most appreciated!

Additionally, you can follow us on our GrillinFools Facebook page, Instagram, and YouTube feeds

Reverse Sear Steaks on a Gas Grill Recipe Card:

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Reverse Sear Steaks on a Gas Grill: with Pics

Reverse Sear Steaks on a Gas Grill: with Pics shows the step by step, pic by pic process of how to smoke steak and then sear them off all on a gas grill.

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr

Resting Time5 minutes mins

Course: Entree, Main Course, Scallops, Seafood, Steak, Surf and Turf

Cuisine: American, American Fare, Fish, Grilling, Scallops, Seafood, shellfish, Steak, Surf and Turf

Keyword: cast iron, Cast Iron Griddle, Cast Iron Grilling, Gas Grill, Grilling, Medium Rare Steak Temp, Medium Steak Temp, Medium Well Steak Temp, New York Strip Steaks, NY Strip Steak, NY Strip Steaks, Rare Steak Temp, reverse sear, Reverse Sear on a Gas Grill, reverse seared, Reverse Seared Beef Tallow Steak, Reverse Seared Steak, Sear, Seared, Smoke Wood, SPG, SPG Rub, SPG Seasoning, Steak Temps, Steaks, Well Done Steak Temp

Servings: 6 People

Equipment

• Blue Rhino Propane
• Cast Iron Griddle
• Smoke wood

Ingredients

• 3 Steaks At least 1.25 inches thick
• Your favorite beef rub We used SPG seasoning
• Scallops The bigger the better
• 1 tablespoon Beef Tallow

Instructions

• Season the steaks and scallops with SPG rub
• Light one burner on one end of the grill and safely remove the grill grate over that burner
• Light a chunk of smoke wood over that fire and allow it to burn for about 60 seconds
• Take the chunk of smoldering wood in a set of tongs and replace the grill grate and set the wood right over the hot burner
• Turn the burner down to keep the wood smoldering but not blazing
• Place the seasoned steaks on the far side of the grill with no heat and close the lid which converts the gas grill into a smoker
• Keep smoking the steaks until they get to about 10F-15F short of your desired doneness
• Place a cast iron griddle or pan over the hot burner and crank up the heat, leaving the lid open so that the steaks don't continue to cook
• Once the cast iron is north of 400F (above 500F is better), add a little wagyu beef tallow and place the steaks and scallops on the griddle
• After the steaks and scallops have a good sear flip them over and sear the other side
• Dust with a little more seasoning
• Once the steaks are seared on both side and have reached the desired doneness, remove from the griddle and allow to rest for a few minutes
• Slice and serve with grilled carrots

Video

More Pics of our Reverse Sear Steaks on a Gas Grill:

Scott Thomas

Scott Thomas, the Original Grillin’ Fool, was sent off to college with a suitcase and a grill where he overcooked, undercooked and burned every piece of meat he could find. After thousands of failures, and quite a few successes, nearly two decades later he started a website to show step by step, picture by picture, foolproof instructions on how to make great things out of doors so that others don’t have to repeat the mistakes he’s made on the grill.

See Full Bio

BBQ Grilling

Related Posts

Reverse Seared Beef Tallow Steak

Reverse Seared Tri Tip Recipe

Easy Reverse Seared Tomahawk Steak

Cast Iron Steak

This article was initially published on: March 27, 2023