4 minute steaks

City Slicker

The last two times I did steaks, strips last night and rib eyes last week, I did a two minute cook per side at 650 degree dome temp, then pulled them. I cut them as close to 1 1/4 inch thick as I can. They came out perfect, crusted outside and pink in middle, insta temp was 145. Before that, I was doing the 6 minute version of 2 min flip/ 2 min flip/ shut vents flip and pull after 2 min. They came out perfect the first time I did it but after that they always seemed to be over done for our liking. Could this be the different brands of lump, that even though the dome is the same temp, some of the lump just burns a heck of a lot hotter than others, so things that are getting grilled cook so fast ? Oh, at first it was always BGE lump but lately its been either Maple Leaf or (gasp) Duraflame.

Essex County

City Slicker,
If the dome temp was the same for all of these cooks, I'd have a hard time blaming the inconsistency on different brands of lump. While different brands have different densities and sizes, a 650 degree fire is a 650 degree fire. Is it possible that overcooked steaks spent a longer time out of the fridge waiting to be cooked and were warmer at the start? I shoot for 125 for my internal, so if I mess up, I get something like 135, or medium rare. If your version of "perfect" is 145 and you overcook by a few degrees, the quality of results will diminish more quickly.[p]Paul

City Slicker

Essex County,
Thanks, and I think you just hit the nail on the head. For sure some of them have been warmer to start then others. Ask me next year what degree of doneness we like. It seems to be getting rarer and rarer the more I learn how to cook on the XL

fishlessman

City Slicker,
i gave up with times, i go by looks and temp readings. there is a difference cooking different cuts, better pieces of the same grade of the same cut etc. i havent worn a watch since first grade, so i really couldnt tell you how long they take anyways