This Is Why I Laugh.....

....when someone tries to talk to me about "searing" a steak on a pellet grill.

And it is why I laugh especially hard when someone tries to tell me about a $2,000.00 pellet grill and "searing" a steak on such a grill, which might reach 550° at it's thermometer on a good day.

Now as the owner of a pellet grill, A Rec Tec RT590 Stampede, two Weber Smokey Mountains, and a Kamado Joe Classic with nearly every available accessory from the Joetisserie, down to cast iron grates and griddle, and so much cast iron in the house from skillets to Dutch Ovens, to cast iron Oyster trays, I feel that I am in a position here to talk.

As a long time DIYer, with just about any tool that you can name, and working on anything from cars to carpentry, I'm a firm believer in the right tool for the given job. Every good DIYer knows that a big part of the battle, is choosing the right tool, and knowing how to use it.

You don't remove 7/16 bolts with Channel Lock pliers or Vise Grips, when you have a 7/16 socket and all the extensions, universal joints, swivels and wrenches you need. Unless you just want to make it hard on yourself.

Yes, you can remove some 7/16 bolts with Channel Locks and Vice Grips. But why?

You can drive nails through 2x4 studs with a socket wrench if you hit them just right and hard enough. But again, why?

Likewise, when it comes to cooking. I'm a big believer in that same adage, "the right tool for the given job".

Anyway, one of my Father's Day gifts, was this laser thermometer, and I have been playing around with it, adjusting it for different surfaces. The pics below, show it measuring the temperature of my cast iron griddles on my Kamado Joe with stoked Royal Oak lump charcoal providing the heat, not pellets.

Anyway, without further ado, and this is not even with the KJ pegged as I have been known to do.



Now, we're talking at least.



This isn't the greatest grade of meat, but here goes.







A little garlic butter for this snack, Wrap it and let it rest for 5 mins.



Plate it, and that's some good eating.






Much love to the pellet grill/smoker folks, as I am one of you as well.

But the right tool for the job.

SonnyE said:

I'm sorry but your post is quite snarky.
I'll shut you down because you don't know that a 7/16" wrench or socket fits a 1/4" bolt. Either 1/4 x 20tpi (National Course), or a 1/4 x 28tpi (National Fine).
....

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Which one would you remove with a pair of Channel Locks or Vise grips if you had the correct socket in your tool box?

That was the point.

sudsandswine said:

As a kamado and a pellet grill owner, i get what youre laying down and I agree generally, but you wouldve gotten a much better sear on that thing using just the regular grates...I see only about 60% Malliard Reaction coverage, and the bone makes it especially difficult on a griddle or cast iron that relies almost solely on direct contact with protein.

I can get a near 100% sear surface coverage on my Primo with cast iron grates and a 400* dome temp.

5ish minutes on the first side, 4ish on the next, 400* dome, cast iron grates direct vvv

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I'll keep that in mind, so thanks for the insight.

I was just throwing on a light snack here. This steak came from my local supermarket, and if you look closely, the cast iron grate is adjacent to the griddle, so yes, I could have used the grate, and will next time as per your observation.

drunkenmeatfist said:

This is literally my preferred method to remove 7/16 bolts. I wouldn't do it any other way.

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More power to you.

I'm sure that somewhere out there, there are those who prefer to drive framing nails with a tack hammer, for whatever reasons.

I'm not saying that it can't be done, and I'm not saying whether it's necessarily right or wrong. Each to his own.

drunkenmeatfist said:

Okay that is just weird. I use a sledge hammer exclusively.

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:mrgreen: I'm planning on building a shed for my riding mower and some other landscaping equipment. Would you be able to lend a hand?

SonnyE said:

The one that was FUBARed by a previous turd.
And I've had better luck with Vice Grips because they can hold better. Until I have to drill and use an appropriate Easy-Out, left handed drill bit, Drill and tap to remove the trashed bolt, or repair it with a Helicoil. Short of resorting to welding to repair the part.
My Channel Locks are used for conduits and pipes.

My point is, and was, you are berating others and using an uncalibrated tool as your reference.

Of course if you are drinking Scotch, that would explain a whole lot of your attitude. I'd sooner drink Paint Thinner than Scotch. :becky:

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And if it wasn't FUBARed, but in perfect condition and you could get a wrench on it vs a pair of pliers or Grips?

You are confusing "berating" with "poking fun at". Lighten up. :becky: I actually own a pellet grill, just like I own Channel Locks and Vise Grips. And use my pellet grill around 5 times per week. I know it's limitations.

What would you have me "calibrate" by laser tool against? A blast furnace? If it's practical, well then I'll do it.

When I first started playing golf years ago, I used to play the entire course with a driver, an iron of my choosing for that particular day, and a putter, because no one ever told me that the other clubs had a use for specific circumstances and distances.

I used to play 150yd par threes by choking down on that driver.

Had a buddy who would "play a slice". Aligned himself way far left and would hit the ball from about a 10 or 11 o'clock position, depending upon how wide the fairway was, hit the ball and let it "slice" it's way onto the fairway.

One day he drove the ball smack dab into a tree to his left, the tree being in the way before the ball had a chance to break and slice right.

I laughed my ass off. I tried to hold it.... didn't want to laugh. Got all the way back to the cart so that we could look for the ball that struck that big oak tree dead solid...... Didn't want to "berate" him.......but after a few seconds, well, after giving it my all, I lost it. I laughed. But it was "with" him, not at him. It wasn't mean spirited or "snarky". None of that.

I look back on those days now and laugh. Laugh at myself. Laugh at him. But back then, I didn't know any better. Neither of us did. :mrgreen:

Were you to rib me about that now, I would hardly look at it as "berating".

Kanco Connection said:

991* is another level. I’m no pellet guy but we’ve got several pellet guys here who have turned out some excellent cooks complete with good sear on their pooper. Guess they did it with something shy of 991*. In any case, I bet your steak was good.

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It was, for what it was. An impromptu snack from a pack of 3 such steaks after seasoning my grates, and griddles yesterday.

sudsandswine said:

I cooked a tbone in cast iron on the stove Saturday that looked almost exactly like yours as far as coverage goes. If you put enough fat (butter, oil) into the pan to maintain contact with protein you can often work around an inconsistent surface due to curvature or a bone. But once you lose that contact or let water build up between the metal and meat surfaces, its hard to overcome.

I'm not saying my way is THE right way, but I have found some methods that work for me.

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This was olive oil, but I do get what you're saying and thanks for the tip.

SonnyE said:

You Sir are full of bananas.

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Perhaps

SonnyE said:

...To what did you calibrate your Infrared? And who's to say it is accurate at all?

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What would you have me calibrate it against? The sun?

Better yet, what temperature do you think that fully lit lump charcoal can reach?

Here you go:

https://www.finecooking.com/article/lesson-8-lump-vs-briquette-charcoal

"......Lump charcoal burns hotter than briquettes. A briquette fire can get up to 800 to 1000 degrees, while lump can get up to 1400° F."

https://betterhomesteading.com/homestead-kitchen/smoking/smoking-with-lump-charcoal/

'.....At best, a briquette fire can go up to a maximum of about 1000 degrees F. Lump charcoal can go to temperatures as high as 1400 degrees F."

That was fully lit and stoked Royal Oak Lump as stated in the first post. As far as charcoal goes, it is all that I use. In this case, I was using about 1.5 plus Kingsford Chimneyfulls of it. Closer to 2 full chimneys. Inside of a ceramic Kamado, with the bottom and top vents wide open until the dome temperature had just reached 800°F.

What, are you doubting the dome temperature now too?

And yet you're somehow doubting that a piece of solid cast iron sitting over top of that fully stoked lump charcoal, capable of burning at up to 1400°F, in a ceramic Kamado, arguably the best vehicle for burning lump charcoal in if we're talking about cooking with it, that this piece of cast iron can't reach 991°F?

It's looking like I'm not the one full of bananas.

Oh, and BTW, cast iron is said to melt at 2100°F-2190°F. I'm well short of that.