Large Egg and Trex method for steak

nocturtle · August 2011

I've had my large Egg for about a year now. I've cooked a lot of things with almost always great results, but it seems the trickiest thing to cook is steak with a high temperature sear. Maybe it's just because of how critical the timing is for pulling a done steak. I've tried the Trex method and it seems to work well. I use entirely new lump hardwood charcoal as suggested, with the largest pieces at the bottom, clean out any old ash before the cook and can pretty easily reach a sear temperature of 700 degrees. Tonight I cooked 3 ribeyes, searing for 1.5 minutes a side with a cast iron grate and pulled to rest for 20 minutes.

My problem is that the timing seems unpredictable for the dwell. At a temp of 400 the steaks seem to want to cook too fast after resting. I've tried not covering them with foil, reducing the dwell temp to 350 and even resting an extra 5-10 minutes. After flipping at 2 minutes often the internal temp measured by my Thermoworks will be 115 degrees, and by a minute or two later 130-140+. The nakedwhiz write-up (which is for a medium egg) claims it takes 6 minutes a side to cook a 1.25 inch ribeye, but I usually have to pull mine at 2-4 minutes and it's often just in the nick of time. My question, for those who have experience with a large egg, is is this normal? Luckily my steaks turned out great tonight but I just want to be sure there's nothing I'm doing wrong here or could do better.

Misippi Egger · August 2011

Nocturtle:

Go to www.ceramicgrillstore.com and consider purchasing the spider/adjustable rig combo he offers.

Also, a continuous reading thermometer is a tremendous help (Amazon.com - the Maverick 732)

TRex (just did these Tuesday night)- Ribeyes. Egg at 400*. Smal BGE cast Iron grid on the spider (about 4 inches from the lump). Seared 90 seconds on each side (dome open) with only S&P on steaks. Closed bottom vent completely Removed to a pan. Placed adjustable rig in place with BGE grid on top, opened bottom vent for about 400* setting (nothing on top - wide open). Put Rubs on steaks and waited a few minutes until grid was hot, (dome =400*). Put steaks back on (elevated direct, 400*) with temp probe in middle of thick part. Watched temp until it reached 125* internal (no flip). Pulled, foiled and rested 10 minutes. Perfect Medium rare!

4Runner · August 2011

Plus 1 on ME's post. I have a large and use the spider (from my adj rig combo) and the small CE grate for searing. It really saves a good bit of lump having the meat down close. I used to get my temp up to 700+ b/c the meat was so high and like you posted, a whole bag of lump to make it happen. Then I had to work hard to get temp back down to roasting temp. It worked but took more effort and time. I even tried pulling out the fire ring to get my full sized large grate down to the fire. That did the trick but let me tell you....much easier using the spider/CE grate! The adj rig combo is well worth the $$$$.

Hillbilly-Hightech · August 2011

I have also given up on getting the ENTIRE Egg up to searing temps, as it just consumes too much lump, and it takes too long to get it back down.

So, what I do is as stated above - I use a smaller grate, but I put mine right on top of the coals.

I then sear, and then remove the steaks, and while they are resting, I'll take the small grate out, put in the standard grate, and start adjusting to get the Egg to the temp I want (usually ~350-400). I also don't worry too much about an "exact" temp - if I hit somewhere between 350-400 & can stabilize, that's good enough...

HTH,
Rob

Whittsend · August 2011

EGG newby here, but I did my first every cook on our new grill last night (delivered yesterday morning. )

I cooked ribeyes per the instructions in the manual (700+ degrees, 2 minutes, flip, 2 minutes, flip, close all draft doors, 2 minutes, off, 5 minute rest) and both steaks turned out fantastic. They were about 1 to 1 1/4" inch thick ribeyes.

2 cents.

Misippi Egger · August 2011

Whittsend, Welcome to the world of the Egg and the best grilled/smoked food you've eaten.
That method is often referred to as the "Sear and Dwell" method and works great. As you get more experience with your Egg, you will learn other techniques that may or may not become your preference - like the TRex steak method, hot-tubbing steaks, etc.

When your bank account builds back up, you might look into after market accessories. If you have a large egg, save this: www.ceramicgrillstore.com Their 'spider and adjustable rig" combo is pretty popular among eggers. You should also purchase a Thermapen instant-read thermometer from Thermoworks. Most pro and good chefs use this. Amazon sells the Maverick 732 continuous-read thermometer. I use this on almost every cook I do - cooking by internal temp will 'trump' cooking by time all day long.

FYI, there is also another Egg Forum at www.greeneggers.com , if you have unanswered questions here or are just interested in additional Egg info.

Best of luck and enjoy your Ultimate Cooking Experience!

4Runner · August 2011

EGG newby here, but I did my first every cook on our new grill last night (delivered yesterday morning. )

I cooked ribeyes per the instructions in the manual (700+ degrees, 2 minutes, flip, 2 minutes, flip, close all draft doors, 2 minutes, off, 5 minute rest) and both steaks turned out fantastic. They were about 1 to 1 1/4" inch thick ribeyes.

2 cents.

First congrats and welcome. Next, man your first cook turned out better than mine. My first cook melted the adhesive on the gaskets so they came off and fell onto my grate. Hamburgers. Once I got that all straightened out, I then followed the old BGE cookbook for ribeyes and they ended up well done. I just TREX now and I have gotten pretty good consistent results. Anyway, don't worry if you mess up a few cooks is my point. That just means you need to practice more and with practice comes more time to drink beer while you watch your BGE do its thing! Enjoy.

Large Egg and Trex method for steak

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