Looking for last minute advice on 2nd attempt at TREX

XLBalco · June 2012

my first go round at trex came out pretty good... this one however i stepped it up with some pretty thick filets...

i was going to sear about 90 seconds per side... would 2 mins serve these better?

after that i was going to roast at about 400 until done

salt and pepper and evoo was all i was using on them...

any other suggestions? these are going on shortly

XLBalco · June 2012

blurry pic off my phone.. sorry!

Hi54putty · June 2012

Sounds good. I prefer them without EVOO but it's good both ways.

XLBalco · June 2012

thanks... just wasnt sure on the searing due to the thickness.. as far as the evoo... i have only done it once and dont realy have anything to compare it to at this point

stike · June 2012

think of the sear as having nothing to do with cooking. sure, you ARE cooking with the sear, but only minimally. the idea is to sear as much as you like to sear. and then to gently finish cooking by roasting it.

if you try to cook it by searing a little longer (if thicker), then you will create a wide overcooked ('well done') ring around a tiny center of what you are after.

with thick steaks, i find you need less of an initial sear because you will have it direct over the fire during the roast portion for longer than normal. actually under-searing a bit, because the 'roast' portion of the cook is going to be longer, which means that the surface is going to continue tosear a bit during that portion of the cook too.

frankly, i now just hot tub. removes the whole 'thickness' issue, pretty much

The Cen-Tex Smoker · June 2012

I've gone away from evoo on sears as well (thanks to our dearly departed Tweeve). Scorch point of EVOO is in the 400's depending on the juice. Check them after 90 and if they need a little more, leave them on. Probably won't though. You don't want black. Just a nice brown. They wilmcaralize more on the roast- especially since they are so thick. That's my kinda cut right there. Good luck.

XLBalco · June 2012

thanks stike and cen-tex

stike · June 2012

C-T, the oil-a-steak thing is a hold-over from pan searing. it makes sense to oil a steak when pan searing, because it increases contact with the pan. but when blasting it with the much hotter direct heat of charcoal, the oil acts almost like an insulator. and of course it burns like crazy, too.

there are a lot of methods which are specific to the particular cook, and which don't necessarily improve anything (or work) when applied across the board. for example, there's great logic behind allowing a chunk of meat to warm up on the counter before searing or roasting it. there's no logic to allowing a pork butt or ribs to do the same.

i think that's what happened with steak and oil. 'hey, i do it in the pan, so it must be good on the grill'

says the guy who almost (almost) tried steak au poivre on the BGE (without a pan)

fishlessman · June 2012

if im not putting bacon on those i tie a string around them to keep them from flattening out when they cook. salt sear, then pepper, rest, roast

The Cen-Tex Smoker · June 2012

C-T, the oil-a-steak thing is a hold-over from pan searing. it makes sense to oil a steak when pan searing, because it increases contact with the pan. but when blasting it with the much hotter direct heat of charcoal, the oil acts almost like an insulator. and of course it burns like crazy, too.

there are a lot of methods which are specific to the particular cook, and which don't necessarily improve anything (or work) when applied across the board. for example, there's great logic behind allowing a chunk of meat to warm up on the counter before searing or roasting it. there's no logic to allowing a pork butt or ribs to do the same.

i think that's what happened with steak and oil. 'hey, i do it in the pan, so it must be good on the grill'

says the guy who almost (almost) tried steak au poivre on the BGE (without a pan)

You nailed it. I always used to pan sear and I just kept it going. Tweeve actually called me out on it and it made sense so I stopped.

I also have let my briskets and butts sit out too long until listening to you. I've learned WAY more on here than I have dished out. Mine's all rehashed stuff anyway but I'm glad to help when I can

Thanks for all the insight. Keep it coming.

stike · June 2012

all my stuff is rehashed too. not an original bone in my body.

lousubcap · June 2012

Rehashed, hash browns or hash...from my perspective, it's all about learning as you go and if you can help someone out along the way then by all means do so. I am a "frictionless conduit" here-Can't recall something that I haven't read or made up in the past. But somehow the BGE can adapt to very wide margins of error especially in an adult beverage induced atmosphere.

Duganboy · June 2012

One of the great things about this forum is that it shows that for MOST things BGE there is more than one way to accomplish our mission: great food.

I read one post and I think, "I'm going to try that" and then I read another one and I think "that doesn't make any sense at all", but of course it does.

My wife and I drove by an old car show last night (50's style). People were sitting out by their ride, sitting in lawn chairs, knocking back a few. I said something to indicate that I couldn't imagine spending a Saturday night doing that. Her highness point out (rightfully so) those people couldn't imagine talking to strangers about a Big Green Egg.

lousubcap · June 2012

@ Duganboy-she gets it-and so do you-and I wouldn't want to choose between a stylin' 50's machine and the BGE...

XLBalco · June 2012

thanks for the input.... everything turned out great.. nmo after pics unfortunately... in laws got here and brought back the twins and didnt really get time to snap once it was allready...

had corn as a side as well as these potatoes... no after of these as well

i seared the steaks and pulled them off... i threw these on right after and continued to keep them on thru the roasting portion of the steaks... they turned out great as well!

Looking for last minute advice on 2nd attempt at TREX

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