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the perfect steak

Unknown
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
I have tried steak twice on my new large BGE and both times the steak was a little tough. I use the T-rex method and the second time I bought the best rib eyes that the store had cooked it to med/well 170 center like my wife likes it and she still wasn't impressed. Anybody help me out so that I can make her one and say how 'bout that humk o' meat.

Comments

  • Bobby-Q
    Bobby-Q Posts: 1,994
    Kid Q,
    Try smothering it in Ketchup, that usually works for people who like their beef cooked to 170 degrees.[p]:)

  • Kid Q, a little more detail from you would be good here, i.e. what grade beef was the stores "best", how thick was it, what temp did you cook at, did you use marinade???

  • Kid Q,
    i think about the only steak that might possibly be tender at 170 internal would be a tenderloin/filet mignon . . . rib eyes, sirloins, etc, are just not gonna be tender at well done. .. [p]you say your wife's was like that. . .but how about yours?. .. did you try one in the medium rare range to see if it was still a problem??. . .

  • Luder
    Luder Posts: 31
    Kid Q,[p]I know that this goes against everything that most say on the forum, but I have done several steaks like this and they have turned out very juicy (unless overcooked) and have a great flavor. These are the best steak that I have ever eaten.[p]1 cup Scottish Ale
    2 teaspoons brown Sugar
    1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
    1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
    1/4 teaspoon monosodium glutamate [p]1. Place any cut of steak in a shallow pan (a pie plate works great). Pour the ale over the steak and cover the pan. Place it in the refrigerator for 1 hour to marinate. Turn the steak occasionally to ensure both sides get soaked. [p]2. After 1 hour, remove the steak from the refrigerator. In another shallow pan, combine the remaining ingredients. Stir the dry ingredients until they are completely blended. [p]3. Remove the steak from ale and dip it into the dry ingredients. Turn the steak to mix and coat it with the ingredients. Rub the mixture generously over all sides. Leave the steak in the dish with the dry mixture, and cover it with plastic wrap. Place it in the refrigerator, turning occasionally, for 30 minutes. [p]4. When the 30 minutes are almost up, TRex the steak.

  • Mark Backer
    Mark Backer Posts: 1,018
    Bobby-Q,[p]sorry about the quick empty message. Bobby-q, you made me shoot mountain dew out of my nose and on to my lcd laptop display, and it was for two reasons: [p]1) I couldn't get my smart remark fast enough, and
    2) I was going to recommend a bubba burger cooked on a gas grill. If she wants it dry and over-done, that's the way to go.

  • Bobby-Q
    Bobby-Q Posts: 1,994
    Chet,
    Sorry, I am surrounded by people who will only eat well done meat and they drive me nuts. Didn't mean to vent on his wife, bless her heart.

  • Mark Backer
    Mark Backer Posts: 1,018
    Bobby-Q,[p]my wife was the same way. Even a filet had to be butterflied and burnt, and she would never eat meat that was of any thickness. But I told her the egg was different and that she needed to give me...give us the benefit of the doubt. She tried a nice med / med rare 1.5 inch thick ribeye, and it's like she forgot all other steaks that came before that one. [p]Thank you Big Green Egg.
  • Bobby-Q, that's funny, and the same with my wife and son and I drive them nuts...well maybe that new micro-broil-bake oven we bought Sat will help em out a little. I just can't hardly stand doing that to a piece of meat myself.

  • Tom Harmon
    Tom Harmon Posts: 50
    Kid Q,[p]There's well done (145 or so) and then there's ruined - By the time you get the center to 170 there is almost no telling what temp the outside of the steak is - ESPECIALLY w/a thicker steak. Then you have to remember the carry over heat is going to continue cooking your meat even off the grill for a a good 5 minutes or more.[p]There is a reason higher end steak houses will not guarantee quality of well done meat. And if they do cook it well done it is usually cut in half. [p]If you're dead set on well done you will have to do either: 1) Cut meat in half as listed above
    2) You could try searing at high temp and take it off and let it rest while you get the egg cooled down to a 350/400 range to finish. Careful of backflash when u open though. If you check the meat temp you should take off 5 - 10 degrees before your target and let the meat rest 20 mins while you do other stuff. [p]Your mileage will vary by taste and you will have to experiment. But any thick steak at 170 via TREX is garbage bound for sure.[p]Best thing you could do is work on those folks to come to the 'cooler' side. If I give my wife a steak above 125 I get complaints! ;-)[p]tlhrtp

  • StubbyQ
    StubbyQ Posts: 156
    There is no juicy, well done steak. If you cook the crap out it, it's gonna taste like crap. Maybe easier to fix her something else. [p]I have a daughter-in-law that's the same way. I finally go her to start liking medium rare at 145-150°. Now she loves it.[p]Ever go to a fancy steak house and they under cook your steak? You send it back and they cook it some more and it's always over done now. Ask them for medium rare and they have to pay attention then. Medium rare and the BGE were made for each other. Can't find a better steak anywhere, period.[p]Of course you could always upgrade the current wife for newer upgrade. (HeHe)
  • tach18k
    tach18k Posts: 1,607
    Mark Backer,
    I had friends over for prime rib, they like it well. So I figured they could eat the outside pieces, while the rest could eat the inside med rare. Not no way, these guys ate all the rare meat, said it was the best they ever had. They stated they always like well done meat like they ate that night. Knuckleheads!

  • Hillbilly
    Hillbilly Posts: 14
    Kid Q,
    I have that burdan to bear too! My wife believes that all meat should be cooked past well done. I got the BGE to cook my own meat the way I want it and now she wants hers cooked longer, then complains that it is dry and tough.
    God bless us everyone![p]

  • Yazoo
    Yazoo Posts: 145
    It's not often, but on occasion I am asked to cook steak well done. I'm not sure, but I think most people's fear of a medium-rare steak is not the flavor or even knowing that the tempurature is 140 instead of 170, but seeing red meat or red juices. Would it be possible to marinade the steak, in an acid marinate, to change the color of the meat all the way though? That way, they never see red or pink meat. For all they know, it's well done. I'm not sure how to deal with red juices though. Anybody tried to "hide" it like that before?
  • Kid Q,
    I have tried the Trex method as of this past Saturday. I did it by the book. I like my steak medium rare and the Trex method cooks it too done. I paid a lot of money for 4 steaks and I will do it my way the next time.
    MY WAY: get the egg up to blasting, 600 or so degrees, put on the hickory or whatever chips you like, (dry not soaked) put the steaks on for 1 minute each side, not more then 1 and a half minutes. It will come out with a really nice sear and medium rare in the middle.
    One more thing you can do to wake up the steak, rub it with cyanne pepper, garlic powder, kosher salt and black pepper before you put it on.
    Any choice piece of meat (beef steak ) should not get above 145 degrees. [p]Jerry

  • Spin
    Spin Posts: 1,375
    Kid Q,[p]I would recommend that you limit the internal temperature to no more than 150°F as this will produce a juicy, well done steak. If the better half likes to see no pink, cook it at a lower temperature for a longer time rather than hot and fast.[p]With quality steak I like to keep it simple and let the steak do the talking. Trim the fat to 1/8", dry the meat well with paper towels (helps with browning), press in kosher salt on one side and fresh cracked pepper (tellicherry is good) on both sides. Cook to desired doneness and remove for a 10 minute covered rest to allow the juices to redistribute. Just prior to serving, brush on a coating of clarified butter.[p]Very hard to beat that combination in our book. Best of luck on the next. To die for steak is in your future.[p]Spin
  • Bobby-Q
    Bobby-Q Posts: 1,994
    Jwirlwind,
    I'm guessing your steaks were rather thin. Especially since you're thinking 2 minutes at 600 degrees would have given you medium rare. I just gone down chomping down on a 1.5" ribeye that I Trex'd. I seared at about 750 degrees for 90 seconds each side, let them rest for about 15 minutes while the grill cooled down to 400 degrees, then put it back on for 5 minutes each side. I wanted Medium, but got Medium Rare and it was scrumpdillyicious.

  • StubbyQ
    StubbyQ Posts: 156
    Oh, you're just a rebel aren't you. Hey your steaks, your BGE, do it your way. What ever makes you happy. Good eatin'.
  • TRex
    TRex Posts: 2,714
    Jwirlwind,[p]How thick were your steaks? 1.5 minutes per side on a 1.5 - 2" thick steak will not give you medium-rare, it will give you rare - VERY rare. If you use my method, you need to use a thick steak, 1.5" thick minimum. Then, start with 5 minutes a side, and work up from there experimenting to find what level of doneness you prefer. [p]I'm guessing that your method uses thin steaks, probably less than 1" thick.[p]TRex
  • TRex
    TRex Posts: 2,714
    Spin,[p]Where have you been?? So good to see you posting. I still make your pizza sauce and it always receives rave reviews.[p]Cheers,[p]TRex
  • TRex
    TRex Posts: 2,714
    Kid Q,[p]Where has your wife had a steak that impresses her? If she always likes steak well done, then I'm not sure what she's looking for - surely not juiciness or tenderness. You may be able to salvage flavor, but the previous two go away when you go to 170.[p]I'm not trying to be inflammatory, but it's really hard to do good things with a good steak when you cook it to 170, no matter what Grade or what method.[p]If it's red that your wife doesn't like, then try cooking it to medium, around 150 - 155 or so, at least at that point you'll still salvage some of the tenderness and juiciness.[p]Just my humble opinion,[p]TRex