Cooking Directly on the Coals

Kinger

I have read in a few places about folks searing steaks directly on the coals. Has anyone here tried it? Do you end up with charcoal bits stuck to the steaks? Do they come out dusty or gritty? [p]JNK

Super Glide

JNK,[p]I used to do it all the time on the campfire. Haven't done it with the egg yet, but I will at some point, probably soon.[p]You can cook on the coals easily, and it works not only with steaks, but chicken, sausages, and well, just about anything. Its probably best for fatty thinner steaks though. Most other things would be better on a grate... but not as much better as you might think.[p]If the coals are good and hot and burning, you won't get much if any dust or grit, though I suppose you might if you are using old dusty lump... but who does that anyway [p]Don't be afraid.[p]

thirdeye

<p />JNK,[p]Several have remarked about good results directly on the coals, I think Alton B did it on one show too. I have been too chicken to try it. This is about as far as I have come, some expando at the top of the fire box, still about an inch away.[p]Hoping someone will post some pictures during and after the cook.[p]~thirdeye~

CampCook

JNK,
I learned to do that here on the forum. Leg of lamb was fantastic. Got it good and hot like thirdeye's picture and did a couple of minutes on all sides. Then put grate in and finished the leg on the grate to about 124 internal. Absolutely excellent.
Dave
PS, I think the naked whiz has this procedure spelled out on his site.

fishlessman

CampCook,
leg of lamb is the only meat i cook directly on the coals. it really brings out a great flavor. to make it easier, dig out a hole in the coals roughly the size of the roast, this way you only need to flip it once while searing

Roadkill

JNK,I sear my Ribeyes, Strips & T-bones on the coals @ 700 for 2 minutes per side then pull them to dwell while I put in the grate and close down the dampers. Some of the lump may stick to the fatty areas - just knock them off. Typically finish off the steaks on the upper grill for another 2-3 minutes per side.

The Naked Whiz

JNK,
Alton Brown shows how to do this in his episode "Raising The Steaks". I've done it numerous times. Make sure you have a uniform fire. You don't want part of the meat on red burning charcoal and part of the meat on black non-burning charcoal. My personal favorite is to do fajitas like AB does in his show. However, I usually don't leave the meat on long enough (he recommends 60 seconds per side, and I think 90-120 is more like it) so when I slice it, if it isn't done enough, I toss the meat in the cast iron frying pan that I just took the veggies out of. The meat picks up all sorts of nice flavors from the remains of the veggies. Damn, I'm gettin' hungry now....[p]TNW

thirdeye

JNK,[p]Are you using flank or some other cut, and how thick?[p]~thirdeye~

thirdeye

nmsg

Unknown

thirdeye,
Thanks for the help with this. I think that my first try at this will be some tri tip steaks that are around the thickness of a typical flank steak. (maybe as big as an inch but probably a tiny bit under). Depending on the results I may try doing a strip or ribeye that way sometime down the road. Do I need to worry about coating these with olive oil? Will the oil make it flame up too much or is it just more fuel for the searing,[p]The picture that TNW painted about the flank steak and veggies made me ready to eat. The problem is .... I just ate.[p]JNK

WessB

<p />JNK,
Here`s a shot of BobbyQ doing a flank steak on the coals at Eggtoberfest 05...maybe he will chime in with some insight, I cooked right next to him and honestly don`t think I got to try any....LOL[p]Wess