Searing Steak/Cast Iron Skillet/Temperature?

[jstrand]

I have an SRG that i'm cooking with. Lately I've been cutting up taters, thowing them in tinfoil with butter, little louies, and bacon jalapeno rub. When I put those on I set my cast iron fajita pan on with them. So it heats up for about 25 minutes and hits about 600 degrees. So thats where I'm at.

 

[RemoGaggi]

Take a look at Kenji's article from Seriouseats about searing - https://www.seriouseats.com/2014/11/the-truth-about-cast-iron.html

 

[jzadski]

So this really peaked my curiosity. I have also went by the oil smokes method. So doing a little research I looked up oil smoke points. That being said 450 is a pretty baseline for that if you are going for a good sear. I have really been liking my blackstone for that. Until I pull out my laser temp this will have to do https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Smoke_point_of_cooking_oils

 

[FrkYrPrk]

...Using high heat to bring the skillet up works fine and, to be truthful, the steaks seem to sear OK. But the engineer in me likes to have some numbers associated with a manufacturing process...

:mrgreen: It's an occupational hazard, and / or chronic behavioral issue. Don't get too far down the IR thermometer tuning rat hole :wink:

Once I get 550 - 600*F depending on where I sample the skillet temp, I load the steak. Works for me!

 

[luke duke]

Just use your chimney starter.

 

[RemoGaggi]

Is that a close-up of Mars?

 

[SmokeRingsMatter]

Searing is an opinion of personal taste. To some, a sear could mean slight browning which would involve a lower temp, and more time. While others may consider a sear a crust with some char on it which would require a higher temp and less time. And then there's burnt which requires high heat and more time.

 

[SmokeRingsMatter]

Is that a close-up of Mars?

with a meteor crashing down?