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Searing

gte1
gte1 Posts: 379
edited August 2012 in EggHead Forum

What do you guys use to sear?  I have been using the BGE grill extender which I pulled the legs off of and I place it down near the lump.  It actually is just the right size so it hangs up on the little lip of firebox that is exposed.  After a few months however it is thrashed and getting warped to the point where it is not going to be usebale much longer.  What now?

George

George

Comments

  • tazcrash
    tazcrash Posts: 1,852
    Using the cast iron at regular level. I can get more than enough heat there.
    Bx - > NJ ->TX!!! 
    All to get cheaper brisket! 
  • I bought a smaller (13", I believe) stainless grid that I throw directly on top of the coals.  That's about as close as you can get w/out going "Caveman style" (throwing the meat on top of the coals). 

    The reason I like this way is that I don't have to worry about getting the Egg up to super-high temps & then trying to cool it back down quickly. 

    After I sear (~60 sec / side, depending on thickness of the steak), I then remove the steak(s) and the grid, and then place in the BGE factory grid, shut the lid, then start adjusting the vents. 

    While the steak is resting, the Egg is getting to the proper roasting temp, and then once it settles into the appropriate roasting temp, I then put the steak back in to finish...

    This method works EGG-ceptionally well for me, and I have mastered it :D
    Don't get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water. Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water. Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup... Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend. - Bruce Lee
  • gte1
    gte1 Posts: 379
    edited August 2012

    This is exactly what I do with the BGE extender grid but the heat has warped the thing to the point of being unuseable.  You have no issue with warpage?  I totaly agree with you about getting it down on the coals so you don't have to get the temp so high it takes a long time to bring it down.  Saves on lump too.

    George

    George
  • GTE1 - no warping as of yet (and I've had it over a year & have seared dozens & dozens of steaks on it). 

    However, if / when it "warps" - I bought it @ the local HW store for like $10 or $15 or something, so replacing it isn't gonna be too painful :P
    Don't get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water. Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water. Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup... Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend. - Bruce Lee
  • MikeP624
    MikeP624 Posts: 292
    I use a spider and a small grid that fits in it. 
  • I have heard of doing it on the Small cast iron down there, I don't have CI yet, waiting for my swing rack!
  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    edited August 2012
    at the risk of absolutely massacring an already dead horse.  you might try drying the steaks a night in the fridge, or carving them from a dry aged chunk of beef.

    two of these steaks are fresh from the store.  the other is from an aged rib eye.  they have all been on the grill the same amount of time, though one was ready to flip fairly quickly.  guess which is which.

    image

    also, remember that there is a world of difference between searing and burning.  brown is good.  black is char.  there are folks here who sear just fine at 400. more control that way too.

    i sear around 600 at regular grid height, lump a few inches below.


    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • ratcheer
    ratcheer Posts: 189
    Using the cast iron at regular level. I can get more than enough heat there.
    I do the same. I have done thick steaks once, so far, and just 90 seconds per side was a bit too much. Next time, I think I'll try 75 or 80.

    Tim
  • That cook looks oddly familiar
  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,102
    at the risk of absolutely massacring an already dead horse.  you might try drying the steaks a night in the fridge, or carving them from a dry aged chunk of beef.

    two of these steaks are fresh from the store.  the other is from an aged rib eye.  they have all been on the grill the same amount of time, though one was ready to flip fairly quickly.  guess which is which.



    also, remember that there is a world of difference between searing and burning.  brown is good.  black is char.  there are folks here who sear just fine at 400. more control that way too.

    i sear around 600 at regular grid height, lump a few inches below.


    I'm going to guess that ribeye (that is flipped) is the aged ribeye.   Cooks faster, less moisture in the muscle.
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    ;)
    was being facetious with the "guess which" question.
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • Ok, read the whole dry aged thread had no idea. I grew up Ina house where if you could not eat it 2-3 days after buying it went in the trash. SoI am undoing all those nurturing ideas. Will try dry aging at some point, now it's on the list!
  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,102
    I figgered.  The other two are strips.
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    edited August 2012
    i have a friend that throws out food at 2-3 days.

    there is no logical reason for it.  she will not budge.
    her thinking is that the sell by date is actually the date it goes bad.  tried telling her that the sell by means it is the last date it is still considered in the best possible condition (peak) and that it is supposed to be safe to eat long after that.

    eggs, for example, may be legally sold even 8 weeks if old

    A2nolaegghead: not only that, but one of them was flipped and seared and pretty obviously the 'one' i was talking about.

    :)

    there's no food that has an expiration date.

    except, again, baby formula
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • gte1
    gte1 Posts: 379

    Stike,

    I would love to eat aged beef over fresh beef anytime, but that's not happening regularly.  I need to sear those fresh one's.  It sounds like if you are getting about 2" from the lump that matches up what I've been doing by getting down to the bottom of the fire ring with my current method.  I guess I just need a new grate to get the job done.

    George

    George
  • Focker
    Focker Posts: 8,364
    edited August 2012

    I prefer the good, old skillet method

    Standard setup

    Salt only for rub

    Then a board dressing of oil, herbs, aleppo, cracked black, and garlic

     

    Brandon
    Quad Cities
    "If yer gonna denigrate, familiarity with the subject is helpful."

  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    gte1: you can dry them overnight  a bit.  that will give you an even better sear.

    it's tough when you salt the meat, because the surface gets watery.  i like to pat them dry (even if fresh and salted). that will help.

    you are right, the dry aged sears more easily.  but i'm more like four inches away. i don't get too close to the lump, because it can burn (char).

    good luck.

    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • Oftentimes I will theow it directly on the lump. Comes out great.