First sear on Mini ignites handle!

Pigasso

... and gasket.[p]Here's the scenario. One two-bone standing rib Angus roast cut in half - about 2 3/4" inches each. One seared at a time as that was all that could fit on the Mini. Lava temp, decided to sear 3 min per side, rotating steak 90 degrees after 90 seconds. (Was that my mistake - too long a sear?) Here is a pic of side 2 of the first steak
[p]After reading T Rex directions once again I was not worried about the excessive flames until the gasket started to peel away and the handle caught fire! [p]The steaks were excellent however. [p]

mad max beyond eggdome

Pigasso,
wow matt, great pics. ...and what an exciting cook. . .i'm no mini expert as i don't own one (yet), but i've read recently about reversing the "bale" on the handle so that it doesn't hang over the fire like that. . .as far as gaskets go, welcome ot the melted gasket club. . ..actually, gasket shouldn't melt when searing with the dome open as the flames are typically spread out. ..usually (at least from my experience) gasket melts when dome doesn't seal tight, and super hot gasses are working their way between the dome and base (kinda like the space shuttle a number of years back). .. .[p]i'm sure some of the mini experts will chime in with better info... .[p]glad the steaks were good [p]btw, bge gasket is cheap and easy to install, i keep an extra roll of it around just in case. . .. call em with a charge card and they'll ship some out to you pronto. .. .

tn slagamater

Pigasso, sorry about the handle, but the beef looks great! Someone posted pictures of a custom wooden handle for the mini made by Lawn Ranger. Mike does incredible work .You might want to e-mail him.

Pigasso

mad max beyond eggdome, yes indeedee that was an eye opener! I had reversed the bale prior to the cook as suggested - I'd hate to think what would have happened had I not!

Sundown

Pigasso,[p]I've had my large Egg for over 5 years and my Mini for about 3. I've done high temp sears (800º - 1000º+) hundreds of times but, never with the top open. Am I missing something?

Car Wash Mike

Pigasso,[p]I've never been able to get my mini that hot. TNW would the size of lump determine if you get a high sear with the mini?[p]CWM

The Naked Whiz

Sundown,
TRex sears with the lid open, fwiw. It's in his steak method:
TNW
[ul][li]TRex Steaks[/ul]

The Naked Whiz

Car Wash Mike,
Clearly you need two things to get a hot fire, lot's of fuel and lots of air. So, too small and you block the airflow, too large and you don't have enough burning surfaces to generate the heat. There is probably some ideal middle size.
TNW

Sundown

The Naked Whiz,[p]Dang! I never really paid attention to the T-Rex method all this time. Learn something new all the time.