Ribeye

neweggieinAL

We just got an Egg last weekend.  Unfortunately while everybody I know says theirs came with a little booklet to get started ours came with no instructions.  So we started experimenting with cheaper meats using this forum.  The burger @ 350 for 2 minutes on each side came out okay but no sear on it.  It almost looked like it was cooked in the oven.  Then we tried boneless chicken breasts at 350 for 20 minutes.  They were definitely cooked but again no sear or grill marks on them and they looked so white and milky and unappetizing that we kept them on longer and by the time they had some color they were as tough as an old shoe.  Finally seeing the pictures in this forum we decided can't go wrong following those nice picture by picture instructions.  Well...the beautiful prime, aged ribeye steak was cooked to perfection but it smelled like smoke and not in a good way.  Not a good char smoke smell but kind of like a campfire or a fireplace when it first gets started.  We had that same cut from the same butcher a week before on a gas grill and it was far tastier than what we cooked last night.  We understand that cooking with the Egg is really an art form and we like to master simple grilling before we move to the smoking and other fancy stuff.  Anybody has any idea why the horrible smoke smell???  I am sure we did something wrong.  And is there anywhere on line we can find simple instructions, like a chart to give instructions on what meat at what temp for how long kind of stuff before the frustration leads us to putting the Egg on Craig's list?  

chuff

You just didn't let the lump burn long enough before you cooked it. Smell what is coming out of the chimney. If it smells good it tastes good. If it smells bad it tastes bad. Don't start cooking until it smells good. 

chuff

Also, you'll get a lot more replies on posts like this if you post it in "EggHead Forum" instead of beef. Lots of folks don't even check these sub forums. 

tazcrash

+1 on letting the smoke get "good" before putting meat on, and " If it smells good it tastes good".

Some of that lump dust can make some nasty smoke.

As far as how long to cook, do yourself a favor, get yourself a good instant read thermometer (I love my thermpapen). and learn to cook to food temp, not time.

For grilling, I always get the temp up there, 500+ to get a sear. 

Or you can lower the grid (spider, small grate on coals),

or invest in Cast Iron to get those grill marks.

So you can sear, then cook at 350, or the other way around (it's easier to adjust the temp up than down)

HTH

neweggieinAL

Thanks.  I guess if I had any common sense I should have figured that out by myself but I was under the impression that as soon as the grill hits the desired temp the meat should go on...so that is what I did... Lesson learned.  Thank you.

neweggieinAL

Thx Taz.  Good advice there on working with the temp and the cast iron.  Come to think of it this one is kind of flimsy.

stike

and 250 is a little low for grilling unless you are very close to the lump

Browninggold

http://www.nakedwhiz.com/ceramic.htm

neweggieinAL

Stike, I used 350 not 250 for the burger and the chicken.  Still too low???  I know my questions are probably really stupid, I apologize, I just don't know any other way of finding out answers without throwing half a cow out!  Going to try salmon tonite.  What temp for that one?

BRush00

I never put meat on the grill until I'm around 400+.

Rib Eyes - or any thick cut steak really, best way in my experience is a *slightly* modified T-Rex method. 

http://www.nakedwhiz.com/trexsteak.htm/

Instead of cranking the Egg way up high nuclear temps to sear the steak, I let the egg get up to 450+, then put my Grid Extender down in the egg (use cast iron in the same way).  It's a bit smaller than the Large's regular height grate - so it falls down, almost right down to the coals.  This has the advantage of a shorter "cool down" time for the second step in the cook.

Sear the steaks there - 60 seconds or so each side.

Remove the steaks, the grid can come out, or stay there - your choice - doesn't make a difference either way (I leave it, because - where better to store a hot metal grate?), add in the plate setter (legs up), regular grid, and shut the vents down a bit.  When the egg settles around 275 - 300 degrees (it'll actually settle pretty quickly because of the cold plate setter going in), put the steaks back in indirectly until they're cooked TO TEMPERATURE.  When they hit the desired temp, pull them out (I pull mine around 115 - 120), let them rest 5 - 10 minutes, then enjoy.

You should very quickly learn that TIME is not the defining factor with Egg cooking.  Temperature is.  Forget everything about your Gasser cooking days, and just take the temperature of the meat.  stop thinking, "Chicken is done in 20 minutes", start thinking, "Chicken is done at 165 internal".

pasoegg

@BRush00

chuff

All cooking is about temperature - not just on the egg. 

BRush00

All cooking is about temperature - not just on the egg. 

True enough.

I do remember my propane grill however, I could "time" things quite a bit more reliably than on the egg... maybe that's just (in)experience talking...

newegg13

I'm guessing you're from Alabama?  Whereabouts?  I live in B'ham myself.  

ratcheer

I have done the T-Rex method twice with rib eyes. The first time I got them a little overcooked. The second time they were nearly perfect.

In a nutshell: Direct heat method. Start with a very hot fire (700-800) and sear them 90 seconds per side with the lid open. Remove them to a plate for 20 minutes. During the 20 minutes, bring the Egg down to 400. Then cook the steaks 4 minutes per side with the lid closed. Plate them again and leave them under a foil tent for 5-10 minutes.

Tim