What is YOUR #1 preferred method for searing steak (beef in general)?

[rwalters]

For those of you that have tried various methods/tools, I am curious to see which surfaces as the winner. If the goal is to produce a fantastic all over crust, one that is super flavorful and has a nice crunch to it, how do YOU go about achieving that?

High end steak houses often use high temp overhead broilers. That is an option I am currently looking into (Otto Wilde or Beefer), but really would like to see how most of the Brethren, especially those of you that cook a lot of steak, achieve an ‘other worldly’ crust. Extra points if you post a pic or two of a finished steak after using your preferred method

 

[Jrogers84]

Old, thick cast iron skillet. Raging hot


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[rwalters]

Old, thick cast iron skillet. Raging hot


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With butter, oil, aromatics or none of the above?

 

[Shagdog]

I have tried it all, but I am very partial to a charcoal WGA, full of glowing lump. A chimney steak takes a close second, but the WGA rules. I use mine 3 times a week, easy.

 

[rwalters]

I have tried it all, but I am very partial to a charcoal WGA, full of glowing lump. A chimney steak takes a close second, but the WGA rules. I use mine 3 times a week, easy.

A cooker I have not tried. Easy setup for sure. Pics?

 

[tom b]

Hot coals / Fire

 

[KORND4WG X]

I like the hot coals but it can be kind of hard to control unless you can adjust grate height like in the M1 or hasty bake. I’ve a done a few on the sear grate of my KBQ and probably crossed the the line between crust and legit burnt :mmph:

For convenience and control the Otto is hard to beat. The downside could be the size.

 

[Shagdog]

I found a few old ones. Not much of the cooker though. Just look up Weber Go Anywhere. Super easy to use, and they don't use much charcoal either. Very conservative

 

[rwalters]

Hot coals / Fire

Killer pics, Tom! Out of all methods/cookers you just posted, which would you say is your #1 fave? Gotta pic 1 [emoji1306]

 

[rwalters]

I found a few old ones. Not much of the cooker though. Just look up Weber Go Anywhere. Super easy to use, and they don't use much charcoal either. Very conservative

Fantastic!! I am familiar with the cooker as far as knowing they exist... I have just never cooked on one. Hmmmm [emoji848]

 

[rwalters]

I like the hot coals but it can be kind of hard to control unless you can adjust grate height like in the M1 or hasty bake. I’ve a done a few on the sear grate of my KBQ and probably crossed the the line between crust and legit burnt :mmph:



For convenience and control the Otto is hard to beat. The downside could be the size.

The Otto is on the small side, but for forward/reverse searing I am thinking I’d be able to move numerous steaks through the searing process in short order. Sound accurate?

 

[tom b]

Killer pics, Tom! Out of all methods/cookers you just posted, which would you say is your #1 fave? Gotta pic 1 [emoji1306]

1-? tough to beat the pizza oven finish...

 

[Titch]

Old, thick cast iron skillet. Raging hot


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Me too:thumb:

 

[rwalters]

1-? tough to beat the pizza oven finish...

They all look gooood... but based on appearance alone, your Blackstone pic is my favorite. The Otto Wilde seems to produce steaks with much the same look/crust and that really has my attention

 

[KORND4WG X]

The Otto is on the small side, but for forward/reverse searing I am thinking I’d be able to move numerous steaks through the searing process in short order. Sound accurate?

Yep the process would be to lower the grate, put on the steaks, raise the grates to level 1, hold for 30-60s or so (do not recommend to walk away :mmph and then repeat for the other side.

The adjustability and speed is a real positive for me - I hustled up a couple ribeyes in about 10mins last night and they came out really good.

 

[rwalters]

Yep the process would be to lower the grate, put on the steaks, raise the grates to level 1, hold for 30-60s or so (do not recommend to walk away :mmph and then repeat for the other side.



The adjustability and speed is a real positive for me - I hustled up a couple ribeyes in about 10mins last night and they came out really good.

I am looking for more of a complement to my MAK than a stand alone cooker. Quick sear and toss on MAK to finish or vice versa. Looking for something quick/easy/effective that’ll play nicely w/ the MAK... or should I say make a great tag team partner [emoji1306]

 

[Battleborn]

Vortex in a kettle, makes it easy to manage cooking things besides the steak too.

 

[gtsum]

When on pellets, I got the best results directly on the stock grates at end of reverse sear with the Memphis. Grill grates produced inferior results for me. Most of my steaks are 1 1/2” thick minimum so I tend to reverse sear

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[rwalters]

When on pellets, I got the best results directly on the stock grates at end of reverse sear with the Memphis. Grill grates produced inferior results for me. Most of my steaks are 1 1/2” thick minimum so I tend to reverse sear

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Beautiful! Just wait until you have the M1 with the ability to crank the screaming hot fire up to the point it’s almost touching the protein

The beast rapidly coming to life with the assistance of a BBQ Dragon fan (fan not necessary)...

 

[Happy Hapgood]