Caveman steak directly on the coals...

aside from novelty, I don't see the point.

I think if I was going to do it, I'd do it with steaks I'd already cooked sous vide to get the sear. I would think you'd have a little less problem getting a good sear since you wouldn't be dropping a cold steak on the coals and maybe they'd stay hot and not stick as much.

bschoen said:

I have seen the Alton Brown episode where he did this. As I recall once the coals were ready, he used the blower end of a vacuum to blow all the soot off the coals, this also super heats them. Then he laid down the steak.

I would humbly state that "Serious Eats" was the best production from the Food Network, probably is still the best that network ever produced, but I quit watching when it became the "Stupid Contests" network.

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Good Eats?

Great video! Thanks. I have heard about cooking directly on coals before. But I’ve heard them described as “dirty steaks.” Actually that term was in an article in Esquire Magazine probably 7 or 8 years ago.

It’s interesting you say the coals cool down when you put the meat directly on them. I can see that. I would have thought it would be covered in a fine grit of ash.

I haven’t tried it but will the next time I cook steaks.

Baby Back Maniac said:

Wait, Good Eats was Alton's thing. Was Serious Eats never a show? I know it's a brand now with that guy who's name I can't remember at the moment who does all the sciencey food explanations. Was he never on food network?

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Serious Eats is Kenji Lopez-Alt. I don’t think he had his own show, but he was on an episode of Guy’s Grocery Games.


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I only did it once, decades ago at a big barbecue party where we had an open fire and well, were everyone would bring their own meats sides, potluck style. A South American brought steaks that he had marinated in salt and lemon juice for an hour, he showed us the way to do it.

He just threw them on the roaring embers at the base of the fire, and turned them once. I remember them being delicious but I can't say much more about how they differed from being cooked on a grate, as the lemon juice changed the texture a bit. Ewe were all impressed that they came off the fire perfectly cooked and with no ash.

No way I'd do this on briquettes, just too much ash and not a hot enough burn. Can't say I'm in a hurry to try it again, but if I'm ever around a campfire with a steak and no grate, I'll be prepared!

"Good Eats", not "Serious Eats". Oops.

We used to grill steaks directly on the coals, while on Boy Scout campouts. The scoutmasters always cautioned us to make sure we left the meat long enough to "release" from the coals, so we left it on until it didn't stick, then turned them. There was surprisingly little ash involved and they tasted great. Of course, everything tastes great on a scouting campout.

If anyone tries this with regular Kingsford, we've thrown the steaks on the top rack of the dishwasher on the Quick Rinse settings and it is just like sous vide prep

It also works well to put a grate on top of the charcoal chimney. Sort of a concentrated, enhanced, Slow 'n Sear effect.

The only time I grilled a steak directly on the coals I did it Argentinian style, where you enrobe the entire steak (a length of tenderloin, in my case) in a 1/8 to 1/4 in layer of salt, roll it in a wet piece of cloth, and toss it in the coals. Of course, the cloth and salt protect the meat from the coals and ash.