When you grill a steak...

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Wayne02

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- Are you a proponent of the "sear in the juices" concept before finish cooking of the steak?

- When you grill a steak (post sear, if used) do you grill it on direct or indirect heat?

- Lid open or closed?

- Do you get many flare-ups in your grilling process. If so do you attempt to keep them at bay somehow or let the steaks "flame broil".
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- How do you handle it when members of the family insists that their steaks be well done with no-pink? Are you able to cook to a true well-done stage without charring the thing all to heck?

I'm having a heck of a time getting my grilling process dialed in these days on my big stainless gas grill. I use the sear burner to sear the steaks and that works ok, but the finish cooking doesn't seam to be working so well. This situation is aggravated a bit by the fact that most people in my family like medium as the absolute minimum doneness of their steaks. I have a heck of a time achieving medium or well-done status without burning the things (especially well-done).

I've tried cooking with the lid closed over in-direct heat. I've tried turning off all but one burner. Cooking with the lid open on direct low heat. And cooking with the lid open on indirect heat takes forever and day.

What I think I should be doing is grilling over direct low heat. Even on low heat I sometimes get all kinds of flame fest going on, which is impossible to combat when the lid is closed of course. 'Baking' a steak using indirect heat doesn't make much sense to me?

I do need to get this gas grilling process figured out though as we are butchering two animals in the next several months and I will be in steak city.
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Speaking of which, I need to provide the butcher with my desired cuts. Is there an optimum steak thickness for grilling?

I need to specify ground beef fat percentage as well. 80/20 is the classic, but with all the recent health trends there is 90/10, 85/15, and 95/5 out there as well.

I'm inclined to stay with 80/20 as I don't think a 'lean' hamburger would taste very good? What is your preference?

Thanks
 
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When I cook steak, I let it sit out and warm up to room temperature before cooking. That way the meat cooks much more evenly. I do that with roasts too.

I sear the outside and then lower the heat and finish it with the lid down.

Using an instant read thermometer is very helpful too. Barbecue Beeper Digital Thermometer . This is great indoors and out.
 
Direct sear with season salt/Montreal Steak seasoning rub, followed by a buttering of bacon grease, steaks dry and allowed to come up to nearly room temp before beginning process. EXTREMELY hot grill for a seared cross hatch both sides, then indirect. "Set time" in a warm (not hot) oven. Should net you a rare to medium rare through out, W/O the overcooked first 1/4"-3/8" of steak on your way too the properly cooked interior.
For burgers? 85%/15% used to be considered "ground round" and for me anyway, any thing leaner is too lean for grilling.
All above JOMO?
 
I use charcoal. Different than gas.

And I'm the only mammal eater in my family.

Visitors get what I cook, which either makes them happy or they go hungry. I have tried to do "medium" or other abnormal versions with little success....after all, if _I_ don't like it in the first place, how can I tell what 'good' is like?

I like steaks to be thick enough to be warm & dark red in the middle while being crispy in the fatty areas on the outside. The flare-up is an essential part of the charcoal cooking process and helps me judge the essential 'just right' cooking time.

I do not do indirect heat, as it is foreign to my goals and overcooking the center has been the universal result.

Grilling steak is an art form entirely satisfying to the cook himself. All others can be participant/eaters, but if they want it "their" way....let THEM do it themselves.
 
First, remember that if you are using gas, you're not grilling, you're just cooking outside
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Then it depends on the thickness of the steaks...using real wood give it a good sear (and that inimitable flavor) with whatever degree of carmelization suits you. Move it around a bit if flare-ups are an issue, to the side a ways if the steak is particularly thick-very easy to control and get just what you or your guests want (though I nearly cry at the thought of a fine piece of meat done past medium or medium rare) Grill top closed after the sear, only one flip necessary, and as stated always begin with room temperature meat.
 
Using a top of the line gas grill - Sear for about 4 minutes on each side with burners on high - lower heat and cook for another 8 minutes. Total time is 16 minutes. This comes out med to med well. Add another 2 to 3 minutes for well done. Keep lid closed - if you see flareups, use spray bottle filled with water to knock down flames. Take steak out of fridge about 1 hour before cooking. Best to marinate overnight for next day grilling. Everyone has a cut they like, but for me, it's rib-eye every time. Can't beat those rib-eye steaks.
 
While the idea of searing the outside to keep in the juices has been proven to not actually work, it does create the delicious brown bits on the outside.

Like others have said, the real key is letting it sit for 10 minutes or so after cooking. It is a test of will power, but well worth it.
 
I let the steak come to room temp, use Montreal Steak rub, and cook with a Weber gas BBQ, the heat set in the medium range, around 350-375F.

I keep the lid covered, as I don't like flare-ups and charring. With practice you can manage the "cross-hatch" presentation; the trick is, let the unit heat up thoroughly. The the hot metal grill bars provide the cross-hatch effect.

Regardless, a good steak beats cross-hatching every time.

Only my mother-in-law and father-in-law were/are insistent on well-done steaks. And that's hardest of all to manage. When juices run clear, my father-in-law would insist on having his left on the fire even longer. Often it was like a leather shoe sole, but TS. That's what he wanted, that's what he got.

One more thought: on any grilled meat, take it off as soon as reasonably possible, given the preference (rare, etc) and if possible, let stand covered for 10 to 15 minutes. It will continue to cook a bit, but the meat will reabsorb the juices, and the meat or poultry will taste better. On a BBQed turnkey -- the only way we've eaten 'em for years -- let stand covered for 30 minutes.

Bill
 
Another thing you want to keep in mind is the fact that the steaks will continue to cook after you take them off the grill. This is called carry-over cooking. Steaks can cook after they come off the grill generally between a half-degree and one full degree of doneness. If you want a steak medium rare, take it off the grill when the rare stage is just on its way out.

Also, it is important with steaks to allow them to sit for a few minutes (2-3 for thin, 4-5 for thick) after they come off of the grill. When steaks sear over high heat, the juices in the meat are driven towards the inner parts of the steak. If you take a steak off the grill and immediately cut into it, those precious juices will leak out all over your plate. Allowing steaks to rest for a few minutes will allow the inner juices to recirculate throughout the meat. That way, when you cut into the steak, all of the juice doesn't come pouring out, it stays in the meat, where it needs to be.

And take it from an experienced grill cook, both personally and professionaly, cooking with a gas grill IS just cooking outside!
 
I don't ask any one how they like theirs done. I like my steaks about 5/8" think, a bit of Lawry's seasoned salt, let the grill heat to 450 degrees before I place the stakes and cook for one minute each side with lid closed, and enjoy it... delicious!

Pete
 
Just picked this up last week. CharBroil infrared BBQ and it is awesome. No flare-ups and no more burned meat. Rotisserie, side griddle tank gauge and temperature probe. The steaks I cooked last night were great. It has a sear setting and works well. Kinda pricey but I think it's money well spent.

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Nothing like that blush color on the inside of a perfect piece of beef. I didn't believe in aliens from outer space until I heard about vegans. I guess I just don't understand the "morality" of it. If man is one thing above all, he(she) is a predator. The apex predator of all the universe. The only flesh I wouldn't eat because of morality would be "long pig" and dog. I wouldn't eat cockroach either, but that has nothing to do with morality.
 
The "can't miss" Big Green Egg steak method is:

Salt and pepper a thick steak and let it come to room temp.

Fire up the BGE to 650 degrees using natural charcoal which imparts a nice wood smoke flavor. Put on steak and the close lid keeping top and bottom vents open. This sustains the high temperature but eliminates flare-ups and bitter charring. Flip after three minutes keeping lid closed for another three minutes. CLOSE both top and bottom vents completely. Temp will drop to about 350-400 very quickly. Finish off for another 3-6 minutes with the lid down until the degree of doneness is achieved.

If you have a good piece of meat, you'll beat any fancy steak house restaurant.

BTW, before opening the lid at the end of the process, "gently burp" in "a little air". Don't just whip the lid open all at once. Otherwise you'll need some new arm hair and eyebrows. Don't ask me how I know.
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My gas Weber has a thermometer in the cover and a wood bin for smoking chips.

I use Luhr Jensen smoking chips since they're so fine and actually smoke.

I start up the grill on high and let it go for 7 ~ 8 min. and by then the wood is smoking and the grill is hot.

I start off a steak @ 400F to sear the outside and give it those fantastic grill marks, then I back off the heat a touch and finish.

Let the meat sit after cooking. This is the hardest thing to do, but you can keep busy with the side dishes to absorb this time.

I prefer a RARE steak. Want it burnt? Eat a shoe.
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sounds like a lot of your issues center flareups...take the grill apart and clean the innards well....this will probably resolve all the unwanted fire
 
I use a cast iron hibachi by Lodge.
I get that sucker HOT and then put the steak on for 5 minutes-flip it for 2 minutes and then let it sit for around 5-10 minutes (This is with 1" ribeyes). I'll cook it grey for you is that's the way you want it-
 
I cook 'em on a Big Green Egg as well, but use a slightly different method. Most of the steaks I cook are ~2" thick, I first let the steak sit out and bring it up to room temp, they have been seasoned with a bit of olive oil, kosher salt and course ground black pepper. I get the BGE as hot as I can get it, which usually ends up being about 700* dome temp, I then throw the steaks on, I use a cast iron grate, for 90 seconds, flip and do 90 seconds on the other side. I then pull the steaks off, shot down all the vents and let the meat rest for about 20 minutes, by this time the dome temp has dropped to about 375*-400*. I put the steaks back on for about 4 minutes/side until I get an internal temp of 125*. Let them rest under foil for about seven minutes before eating.

A perfect steak every time.
 
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