FireCooker Forums

I’m going to go ahead and say the *perfect* steak is not cooked on a gas grill. Not that it’s not a great thing (fire/meat) but charcoal brings us closer to perfection for this endeavor.

I’m curious about methods though. I heard last weekend that you should flip the steak every 15 seconds on the hottest part of the grill until both sides are seared and then move it to the side and let it finish cooking. Ever tried that? Thoughts? What’s your technique?

I don’t have a great technique for cooking steak, I’m afraid. But I’ve heard that you should sear it once on both sides and then finish cooking it without more flipping.

I expect that there’s a benefit from the possibility of a more even heat from the gowing charcoals.

agree a good steak has to be on charcoal for perfection! I never flip them more than once so the flavour stays sealed in..

I’ve also had some excellent beef cooked on the BBQ as a roast, and then sliced before serving.

Would you turn that to avoid having one side become overdone? Or maybe it would be best on a rotisserie?

personally i’d put something like that on a spit… there is no way a piece of beef that thick would cook properly through the midle just on the grill…

stav - 26 June 2009 03:49 PM

personally i’d put something like that on a spit… there is no way a piece of beef that thick would cook properly through the midle just on the grill…

This is why I don’t like doing beefy cuts on the grill… the fear of biting into it and seeing that
it’s not done.  And if you have to start something like a roast in the oven first,  it doesn’t get
too good… it’s dried out from having lost a lot of the juices before it even hits the open fire.

Don’t ever overlook what is possibly the most ignored of kitchen appliances—your broiler. OK,  a broiler is typically just a setting on your oven, but the point remains. The broiler can turn out a seriously good steak. Just make sure you put the meat so that it’s about 1 1/2” - 2” from the coil/burner and leave the door cracked. Google around and experiment.

John

I’ve had great success with steaks by getting a good sear on both sides, 4-6 minutes per side.  If the steak is thick enough that it’s still not done by then (I like mine medium rare) I’ll move them indirect and close the grill for a few minutes to let them finish.

Recently I’ve cooked some tri-tips that were fantastic by using the reverse sear method.  Start them off indirect, then sear.  I cook them to 135* internal and I’ll leave a probe for a digital thermometer in the thickest part of the tri-tip, cooking to 100* internal before moving it over direct heat.  Then I’ll split the difference, half and half on each side for the remaining 35*.  I’ve gotten amazing results cooking this way, and I’ve talked to several people who like to cook thick steaks this way too.