FINALLY...got out to grill something today!

E

energyzer

is one Smokin' Farker
Joined
Aug 23, 2010
Messages
760
Reaction score
703
Points
0
Location
Nebraska
It has been a long winter already. Reading about everyone in good weather out BBQing has made me stir crazy.
My plan for tomorrow is T-Bones. Gonna try something that I've never done on steaks. I read where some baste the steak with butter when it is done cooking. Anybody else done this, and what is your opinion?
 
Make a compound butter. Many recipes out there. I don't know that it's so much basting as it is just putting a nice chunk of butter on top right at serving while the steak is still hot. Good steaks stand on their own in the flavor dept with little more than just salt and pepper, but a little extra fat on it, is nice too.
 
I like to hide the butter under the steak, that way it marrys with the juices from the steak and becomes part of it.

It also helps save your @$$ when you've (gulp, God forbid) over cooked a steak and you're worried about it's juiciness... it may not be as red/pink as they wanted, but as long as it's not dried out there's usually not a complaint filed against you.

You should try Patio Daddio's heavy salted method (can't recommend the wooster sauce idea he has) it makes for a fantastic steak!! I do a very similar thing with salmon fillets to lock in the juices.

http://www.patiodaddiobbq.com/2009/02/steak-average-to-awesome.html

I recommend adding some herbs to the salt party and then after the rinse adding some simple herbs & spices like rosemary, fresh cracked pepper, crushed red pepper (if you like it a bit spicy) and dried garlic granuals or dry minced garlic. Let it all sit for about 10 min for the moisture in the beef to activate the herbs/spices and allow the meat to come closer to room temp (helps achieve a warmer med rare on thick steaks)

Preheat your plates with hot tap water to keep the steak hotter for longer.

Pop a pad of budda' under that sucker when it's done and watch the crowd go wild!:clap2:
 
KnucklHed BBQ said:
I like to hide the butter under the steak, that way it marrys with the juices from the steak and becomes part of it.

It also helps save your @$$ when you've (gulp, God forbid) over cooked a steak and you're worried about it's juiciness... it may not be as red/pink as they wanted, but as long as it's not dried out there's usually not a complaint filed against you.

You should try Patio Daddio's heavy salted method (can't recommend the wooster sauce idea he has) it makes for a fantastic steak!! I do a very similar thing with salmon fillets to lock in the juices.

http://www.patiodaddiobbq.com/2009/02/steak-average-to-awesome.html

I recommend adding some herbs to the salt party and then after the rinse adding some simple herbs & spices like rosemary, fresh cracked pepper, crushed red pepper (if you like it a bit spicy) and dried garlic granuals or dry minced garlic. Let it all sit for about 10 min for the moisture in the beef to activate the herbs/spices and allow the meat to come closer to room temp (helps achieve a warmer med rare on thick steaks)

Preheat your plates with hot tap water to keep the steak hotter for longer.

Pop a pad of budda' under that sucker when it's done and watch the crowd go wild!:clap2:
Click to expand...

Thanks. I'm definitely going to try the heavy salt method and I love Worcestershire Sauce on my steak, so we'll see.
 
martyleach said:
Thanks. I'm definitely going to try the heavy salt method and I love Worcestershire Sauce on my steak, so we'll see.
Click to expand...


Go for it! I didn't care for the wooster on it because that's all I could taste... I lost the beefy-ness.

Might be pretty good with salt and herbs - rinse and then a spash of wooster when you toss it on the grill...
 
I'll have to check my steaks and see how thick they are. If they are thick enough, I might try this method!
 
I like a reverse sear for thicker cuts, say, more than 1"...

Heat 1 side of the grill up and place the steak on the "cold" side and cook indirect until the center of the steak (or other piece of meat that you would normally grill, tri-tip for example) gets close to the target temp you want it at maybe 20 degrees short of it, and then move it to the hot side to sear each side until the center reaches your desired temp/doneness.

This will cook the piece more evenly from outside to the inside But still finish it with the seared flavor and texture that you only get from cooking hot & fast.

Maybe someone else will chime in and say what they like about the reverse sear that I missed.
 
KnucklHed BBQ said:
I like a reverse sear for thicker cuts, say, more than 1"...

Heat 1 side of the grill up and place the steak on the "cold" side and cook indirect until the center of the steak (or other piece of meat that you would normally grill, tri-tip for example) gets close to the target temp you want it at maybe 20 degrees short of it, and then move it to the hot side to sear each side until the center reaches your desired temp/doneness.

This will cook the piece more evenly from outside to the inside But still finish it with the seared flavor and texture that you only get from cooking hot & fast.

Maybe someone else will chime in and say what they like about the reverse sear that I missed.
Click to expand...

That sounds good, I'll have to try that. I'm guessing that extends your cooking time by a lot? My steaks that I typically get is around 3/4", would it work the same with them?
 
Not as long as you think it would, you still have hot air circulating around, is just not direct. Since you're using a gasser, if it has front & rear burners, you might try turning on just the rear and grill indirect on the front half.

I personally don't think a reverse sear is necessary for anything less than 1". If you think about it, on a 3/4" steak you're pushing heat only 3/8" inward, so its pretty easy to get the center heated to the desired temp before over cooking the outer surface.
As you increase the thickness however, it takes longer for the inside to start heating. 1.5" thick, now means youre pushing heat 3/4" to warm the center and you'll end up with a steak that is very well done on the outside and rare in the middle.

By heating it slower at first you give the whole piece of meat time to warm up together, then you can sear it to get the flavor & texture that distinguishes a piece of roasted beef from a steak
 
KnucklHed BBQ said:
Not as long as you think it would, you still have hot air circulating around, is just not direct. Since you're using a gasser, if it has front & rear burners, you might try turning on just the rear and grill indirect on the front half.

I personally don't think a reverse sear is necessary for anything less than 1". If you think about it, on a 3/4" steak you're pushing heat only 3/8" inward, so its pretty easy to get the center heated to the desired temp before over cooking the outer surface.
As you increase the thickness however, it takes longer for the inside to start heating. 1.5" thick, now means youre pushing heat 3/4" to warm the center and you'll end up with a steak that is very well done on the outside and rare in the middle.

By heating it slower at first you give the whole piece of meat time to warm up together, then you can sear it to get the flavor & texture that distinguishes a piece of roasted beef from a steak
Click to expand...

I typically don't get steaks that thick, but this sounds like something I will try if I do. How hot do you run the "hot" side of the grill? I have a charbroil grill with one burner. Each side is controlled seperatly though.
 
Hmm, I haven't tried it on a side by side gas grill, but what I would do is have the hot side as hot as you can get it (that's how I usually sear a steak thats 3/4" or less, direct and as hot as possible, then move it off to a cooler zone to finish). With the reverse sear, youre still grilling the whole time, its just that you grill (temps above 300°) with indirect heat (convective heat) that is slower at first, then you move to the direct heat (conductive heat) for the sear.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

J
Long Post of Disappointing Rants and Dreaming of a LSG Pellet Grill
Replies
4
Views
1K
jrTheSmoker
J
L
Mama's gone!
Replies
10
Views
908
locolobo
L
cayenne
Well, I pulled the trigger: Blue Smoke Smoker ordered today!!!
2 3
Replies
57
Views
5K
K.W.
K
B
First impressions: Flip Flop grill
Replies
15
Views
2K
WilliamKY
WilliamKY
S
Yet another grill recommendation thread...
2
Replies
27
Views
3K
Scoobiebug
S
Back
Top