Steak Flame Up Question

Chef Boyaree

I bought 4 beautiful prime NY strips and fired my xl egg up to 700 degrees. HAd the steaks on for 3 minutes and they looked fine when I flipped them.... when I opened up the lid after another 3 minutes, they had flamed up and been burned to an inedible crisp. The inside temp was perfect (I love steak rare), but how do I prevent the flame up?

Dave Shady

normaly mine will flare up also when you open to turn them, but if you close again and cut off all air for a few seconds... 10-15-20 ish that will kill the roar then crack it back open just a bit on the door and wheel.

Seems to solve my problem and just COOKS them HOTTTT.

stike

it's not from flaming up, it's from 3 minutes at 700 dome temp.

700 dome is 1200 or so direct radiant heat off the lump.

searing temps have nothing to do with the dome temp, really. think of the dome thermo as a roasting temp.
steaks, especially sirloin, shouldn't flare at all. chicken can be done direct for an hour or more, and it won't flare up in the egg. no spare oxygen.

if your steaks are thick, then do a two part cook, where the steak is done to a specific internal temp andthen (or even before) seared to your liking. search for Trex, Xert, and bathtub methods

stike

the flame from charcoal is relatively cold compared to the charcoal itself. flames licking around a steak don't do much to cook it, and though they look pretty, they aren't good for flavor or cooking.

you are right about flare ups when open. the egg gets a does of spare O2 and the flames appear. shutting the lid like you said snuffs them quickly

Darnoc

First did you trim any excess fat off of the steaks?If four were on at one time there would be lot of dripping going on.How thick were they?Three minutes per side is a long time as most of the cooks are about 90 seconds per side then let them rest and then cook till your desired internal temperature is where you want it.

PWise

I guess when you have enough fat (fuel), heat, and oxygen, there's pretty much nothing to do except eliminate one of the elements... the easiest being to shut the lid, but you still need to open eventually to flip or pull so again...not much to be done, like stike says, the flame temp will char the outside but won't affect the cooking...


Cheers!