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

Searing directly on the coals results

fiver29
fiver29 Posts: 628
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Here are my results from searing directly on the coals. I suppose I should put everything I did from the start.[p]I took Montreal Steak seasoning and sea salt and generously rubbed it on each side of the strip steak. I cooked 2 strips about and inch thick. Then I covering both sides with plain mustard. I figured I would give this a whirl and see if the mustard burns off.[p]Once my temp was at 750* I put both steaks directly on the coals for 2 minutes per side. I read in a thread yesterday the best way to cook a steak was to sear, then take the steaks off for twenty minutes, then dwell. So figured I would give that a try, too.[p]I was a little disappointed with the mustard. It didn't completely burn off. So I rinsed off under piping hot tap water what was left because I didn't want to taste plain mustard on a steak. I then reapplied more Montreal Steak seasoning and sea salt.[p]I left the bottom vent open and put on the daisy wheel opened completely. Mr. Humpty held at a perfect 600* for 20 minutes. 3 minutes before 20 minutes was up I closed up Mr. Humpty. Then I put the steaks on for the dwell at 20 minutes. I put my polder in one of them to monitor temp. I flipped every 5 minutes for 15 minutes until my desired internal temp of 163*. Thats seems to give me a perfect medium-well.[p]This steak was very tender AND juicy. Numerous times I have cooked steak and its either tender and not juicy or juicy and not tender. I don't think searing directly on the coals did it, either. To me it seems that searing directly on the coals is for impressing someone. I think what did it was taking off the steak for 20 minutes. That did the trick.[p]I'll have to try that again, but next time I won't sear directly on the coals to see if I get tender AND juicy.[p]Either way it was a delicious steak. My wife rated it a 8.5. She must have very high standards! There is no way we would get a steak like that in any restaurant.[p]Well, thats all for now.[p]Beers![p]John
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Strongsville, Ohio

Yes.  I own a blue egg!  Call Atlanta if you don't believe me!
[I put this here so everyone knows when I put pictures up with a blue egg in it]

Comments

  • TRex
    TRex Posts: 2,714
    fiver29,[p]Glad you had such success! There's nothing better than a NY strip grilled to perfection. I've been doing the sear/20 minute rest/dwell cook now for several months, ever since a chef friend of mine told me that when he was the head chef in XYZ steakhouse that they always rested their meat after searing and before finishing the cook. "It's the key to a tender steak," he told me. He also said you can rest the meat after the dwell period in lieu of after the sear (i.e., sear/dwell/rest for 5-10 minutes), but I've
    found that I don't prefer this method because the meat is not as warm when you sit down to eat it. I've had the best success with sear 1.5 minutes a side/20 minute rest at room temperature/cook at 400 for 5 minutes a side/rest for 3 minutes before serving. These times are for a 2" thick NY
    strip.[p]As far as searing directly on the coals, I have not tried this yet. Last week, however, I did put my grill rack just above the coals (resting on the firebox) and sear the steak there, but for the extra trouble of removing the firering and replacing it, and prying the grill rack out after searing (it had expanded so much as to lock itself against the inner circumference of the Egg), the increase in juiciness was not significant. My next test is to sear in a cast iron skillet which I let sit just above the coals
    until it's almost molten lava.[p]Happy searing!