Welcome to the EGGhead Forum - a great place to visit and packed with tips and EGGspert advice! You can also join the conversation and get more information and amazing kamado recipes by following Big Green Egg to Experience our World of Flavor™ at:
Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Instagram  |  Pinterest  |  Youtube  |  Vimeo
Share your photos by tagging us and using the hashtag #BigGreenEgg.

Want to see how the EGG is made? Click to Watch

The Meat Directly On the Coals

hayman
hayman Posts: 25
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
I'm new here and also to.... cooking

I've seen a couple of pictures where people put the meat directly on the coals.

Why?

Comments

  • The Naked Whiz
    The Naked Whiz Posts: 7,777
    You get a great sear that way. Plus it is fun to shock your guests when you pretend to accidentally drop the meat into the fire.
    The Naked Whiz
  • Hoss
    Hoss Posts: 14,600
    Why not? My sear did not turn out as well as hoped for. :( I WILL try again with MORE RAGING,GLOWING lump. ;)
  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
    for that kind of cook, you don't even need an egg. just some burning wood. how cheap is that?! :)

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

  • FLbobecu
    FLbobecu Posts: 309
    Love cooking that way.. not only is it neat to see every coal GLOWING orange, it cooks extremely quick.

    I like to flip often, so it's literally a handful of seconds per side. Depending on the thickness and desired doneness (around here, it's typically the "upper" rare scale to low-end MR).
  • I have a friend who cooked his beef tender loins that way. Talk about a juicy piece of meat. It's excellent.
  • The Naked Whiz
    The Naked Whiz Posts: 7,777
    Burning wood produces ash which isn't what you want. You want lump charcoal for this.
    The Naked Whiz
  • I've seen lots of posts where folks cooked steak directly on the coals, but I'm wondering- doesn't a lot of ash get seared into the steak?

    The pictures never show it, so I assume it doesn't happen. either that or it's taken for granted that you'll have to dust off the steak when you're done.

    is that true?
  • FLbobecu
    FLbobecu Posts: 309
    Flashback Bob wrote:
    I've seen lots of posts where folks cooked steak directly on the coals, but I'm wondering- doesn't a lot of ash get seared into the steak?

    The pictures never show it, so I assume it doesn't happen. either that or it's taken for granted that you'll have to dust off the steak when you're done.

    is that true?

    Never seen it seared into the meat, where you can't brush it off. I've seen it touch the outside, where a quick shake or two, or even a soft brush, could knock off anything on the outside.

    That reason alone, I merely cook on top of the coals, not in the coals. Just makes it easier, and I don't have to worry about ash or anything.
  • The Naked Whiz
    The Naked Whiz Posts: 7,777
    Nope. You get the coals rocket hot and there is almost no ash on the charcoal. You just toss the meat on and then take it off. No ash, no problem.

    When Alton Brown did this on Good Eats, he used lump charcoal in a weber kettle, as I remember, and he did use a hairdryer to blow any ash off the charcoal right before he put the meat on, but really, no need to unless the fire has been burning a long time.
    The Naked Whiz
  • Ripnem
    Ripnem Posts: 5,511
    LIke has been said. A hot fire with fresh lump and you'll have no problems.

    IMG_1904.jpg
    IMG_1905.jpg
    IMG_1909.jpg

    The only thing that needed to be done was to flick one quarter sized piece of lump off the roast. Notice in the last picture that the area that really received a sear at all was not in contact with the lump. No ash ;)