For steak, my first thought was that the objectively best way to cook steak is sous-vide + quick sear. I realize not everyone has sous-vide, but that produces the best results where the entire steak is cooked to the exact perfect doneness, and the top layer has the seared flavor.
I'd rather have a better sear than an exactly perfect temp gradient though, and sous vide offers the opposite tradeoff so I don't prefer it. Also I think this throws a wrench into the idea that you can define what an "objectively best" thing is here.
EDIT: Also please ffs no one give me cooking advice, I know how to get a good sear.
I wasn't giving you advice, and I still maintain that it is the superior method.
You can sear however and as much as you want to. The point is that your searing isn't limited and compromised for the inside of the steak. You're doing the inside and the outside in two separate steps, and you can get the perfect cooking you want on both, instead of trying to balance things.
That's also how the reverse sear method works, but sous-vide is more reliable and low effort. You can actually leave it in the water bath for longer without worrying about over cooking. There's a reason most restaurants use the sous-vide method, they leave it in there and quickly sear to perfection when the order comes in.
There is no science to backup the fact that a "temperature gradient" is better. Medium-rare steak is objectively better than well done steak, and a "gradient" is basically part of your steak being "well-done" for the sake of the inside not being "rare".
