Caveman steak. Give it a go. Some pics and how to make it happen-

lousubcap

Been awhile since any caveman steak cooks have been seen-thus the below:
Ran around 240*F (indirect) on the dome (reverse sear cook) til the desired finish temp (120-125*F for me). Two lb prime ribeye here.

Then the fire- about 45 seconds+/- per side.  Long tongs for the flip and extraction.

Did have the proverbial flames thru the top while getting the lava ready but hosed that pic.  Open the dome and shut the lower vent to get the fire to spread across the entire lump bed.
And then the reward-

Shoulda grabbed a pic of the full on crust.  That is where this cook shines.  
Thanks for lookin'
Stay healthy and safe out there- and give it a run-you will be glad you did!

Philly35

Looks amazing. I have yet to do a caveman ribeye. My worry is that the steak would get covered in ash. How is that avoided?

paqman

Philly35 said:

 My worry is that the steak would get covered in ash.

It doesn’t, sometimes a piece of lump will get stuck but you just remove it with tongs

paqman

Nicely executed!  Love the pic with the flames!

caliking

Marvellous!! My favorite method for steak, but,  sadly, don’t get to do it often enough. 

dmchicago

Outstanding. 

shtgunal3

 I agree with @caliking I don’t do this often enough. Yours looks great!

littlerascal56

Did a 3# prime rib last night on the Napolean gas grill at 325.  When it hit 115, I turned grill up to 600.  Only took a few minutes (roaring fire & flames) to get it to 125, and pulled and foiled for 20 minutes.  Awesome prime rib.

GrateEggspectations

Still have yet to do this, but every time I see you mention this technique, I am reminded that I am missing out. Looks great. Bet it’s hard to beat the texture that can be achieved this way. I will get there at some point. Sadly, I have yet to use my Eggs this winter. Not sure how that can be. 

lkapigian

Looks amazing, still have not done this… potatoes, onions yes but ready to give this a go

WeberWho

Beautiful! Hard to go wrong caveman style. 

bubbajack

Great cook Cap! Love the crust!

Foghorn

Philly35 said:

Looks amazing. I have yet to do a caveman ribeye. My worry is that the steak would get covered in ash. How is that avoided?

@Philly35, just to be clear - that CAN happen.  I have done it.  The key is the timing.  You put the steak on bright orange hot coals - before there is ash buildup.  If a hot orange coal sticks to the steak, just knock it off.

gmanrva

Looks amazing Cap. Still have not tried this method but need to.

Eggdicted_Dawgfan

Looks great Captain! I keep saying I’m going to try this but it never happens.

loco_engr

Add me to the list öf still need to try this" 

lousubcap

Upon further review- if you have a thin cut steak (not touching the one-half inch rail) you can go straight caveman.  Once you get above around an inch in thickness then the reverse sear with caveman finish is the way to go.  
Experiment and if you like steak with a crust...As with any cook the finish temp is the driver.  Should you go reverse sear then pull within 5-7 *F or so (below) of your desired finish temp before hitting the cave for the finish.  There will be a slight bit of carryover creating the crust.  FWIW-

GrateEggspectations

The reverse sear has always been dangerous territory for me. The balance between proper IT and a crust that’s just where I like it is done within such a small window. Traditional method lets me control only one variable at a time - first texture with the sear and then IT. With the reverse, I tend to find myself either having to sear short of where I’d like for fear of overcooking or instead overcooking because I am chasing the sear I want. Maybe I just don’t have the chops. May have to revisit my reverse sear game to further hone the skills. 

littlerascal56

Been doing 1” ribeyes on the Napolean gasser at 550.  About 5-6 minutes on each side and they come off grill at 125.  Rest for 5-10 minutes, and they are 128-130 med rare with lots of nice grill marks. 

Foghorn

GrateEggspectations said:

The reverse sear has always been dangerous territory for me. The balance between proper IT and a crust that’s just where I like it is done within such a small window. Traditional method lets me control only one variable at a time - first texture with the sear and then IT. With the reverse, I tend to find myself either having to sear short of where I’d like for fear of overcooking or instead overcooking because I am chasing the sear I want. Maybe I just don’t have the chops. May have to revisit my reverse sear game to further hone the skills. 

@GrateEggspectations, I have struggled with the same.  Did only forward sear for a while after multiple misses with the reverse sear - overcooking chasing the perfect crust.  It took me fewer "reps" to dial in a good brisket cook than it did to get proficient at cooking steak.

I've been able to lock in my reverse sear game over my last dozen or so steak cooks with the following modifications:

- I have a swing grate on my XXL, and I use a cast iron plancha on the main grid as my heat blocker to prevent direct cooking during the initial roasting phase. (I don't think this is critical - any indirect setup will do, this is just what I do because it is easiest for me as the cast iron will also serve as the source of the sear.  There is no necessity to lift a hot ConvEGGtor out with this setup).

- I roast (cooking at 225-275 degrees depending on what else I might be cooking - but lower is better when possible) a thick steak to just over 100 degrees and then swing it out to the side.

- I close the bottom vent and let the fire spread across the surface of the coals.

- When the fire seems to be hot enough (this is the part that needs more calibration) I throw about 1/3 stick of butter on the cast iron and when it is melted I throw the steaks on the cast iron for the sear.  I sear between 1:15 and 1:45 minutes per side depending on how hot the cast iron seems to be - judged by how much the steak sizzles.  Then I put the steak back on the swing grate where it is relatively cool and check the internal temp.  If it is still lower than my target (I'll accept anything at 120 or above at that point) I can give it a little more sear.

I don't get it perfect every time.  Sometimes I accept a less than perfect crust because internal temp is more important than getting a slightly better crust.  But with this technique, my "misses" on the crust are not off by much - so my consistency is much better than it used to be.

Here are some pics - and sorry for the thread hijack.  I still think the caveman sear is a really good option as well.  And as was mentioned, it is a great option for a steak that is about an inch thick - no reverse sear required - just cook it on the coals.

GrateEggspectations

Thanks for that, @Foghorn. May give your approach a go the next time around. My wife only really likes filet mignon, so I am pretty obsessive about getting the IT just where I like it. I feel like maybe a fattier cut would give me more room to play in the margins without drying out. Trials will be conducted. Thanks again. 

Mark_B_Good

Foghorn said:

Philly35 said:

Looks amazing. I have yet to do a caveman ribeye. My worry is that the steak would get covered in ash. How is that avoided?

@Philly35, just to be clear - that CAN happen.  I have done it.  The key is the timing.  You put the steak on bright orange hot coals - before there is ash buildup.  If a hot orange coal sticks to the steak, just knock it off.

oooooohhhh, I was wondering. We got some ash on kababs once, and I hated the gritty taste ... so that's the trick to keep it off. So if you cook indirect first, what do you do, to push aside the ashes on the existing coals?

lousubcap

@Mark_B_Good you don't worry about the original fire.  See the following

The reverse sear process starts with the low temp cook as you know.  Thus not much of lump is burning.  If using one BGE for the cook, once you hit the desired meat temp, pull the indirect gear, open the lower vent wide open along with no top vent. 
Give this a few minutes to get rolling, then open the dome and shut the bottom vent.  This will bring the air in at the gasket level and down across the lump and help spread the fire across all the lump.  Once you get that or close to it, time for the caveman. 
Ideally the now lava lump bed is large enough such that after the initial drop on the coals you have enough area to drop the flip side on a previously unused section for the caveman.  No ash-perhaps a piece of hot lump may attach.  Just knock it off.  FWIW-

bluebird66

My favorite way to do a steak.

pgprescott

Pour the brown water I’ll be over in a minute. Enjoy Frank. 

GrateEggspectations

Just curious, @lousubcap, have you done caveman with any other protein? Pork chops, pork tenderloin, lamb, etc.? I’ve only ever heard of the approach in relation to steak. 

lousubcap

@GrateEggspectations - I have only done it with steak but the technique should work with any protein as all it is is applying the protein to a very hot heat source for crust formation.  I will branch out.  
BTW- you were either up too late or way too early this AM.  

Foghorn

@GrateEggspectations, I have done it with pork chops, chicken, and fish.  One day my son and I just decided to try it out on different cuts.  

At that point, we were not using it for just the sear - we were using it for the whole cook.  The short answer is that it doesn't work on fish.  And it doesn't work as a good way to cook bone-in chicken breasts or other really thick meat that wouldn't be a good match for cooking by a hot searing technique.  But it worked really well on 1 - 1.5 inch thick cuts like a T-bone or a boneless skinless chicken breast.  It worked pretty well on a few chicken wings as well and would probably work on thinner cuts like chicken thighs or skirt steak.

If just using it for a sear on something that is already cooked internally, it should work on anything but fish.

GrateEggspectations

@lousubcap

I’m often up very early, when the only other soul skulking about is @eoin as a result of his time zone. I can only imagine age will compound this affliction. 

@Foghorn

Thanks for the info. I feel like the wings would turn out great, assuming you didn’t let them get away on you. 

buzd504

Put me in the camp that doesn't really care for this method.  I've done it - it works.  But, counter intuitively, I don't find the outside cooks as quickly with as nice of a crust as with screaming hot cast iron. 

Nothing wrong with the method, but it's not my preference.  Carry on.

Sweet100s

@Foghorn how far out does the swing grill swing? (I promise I not simply trying to bait @nolaegghead with this question! ;-)