no juice t-rex steaks

greenwillie

hey gang,
wondering if i'm doing anything wrong with the t-rex method. 1 3/4 --2" beautiful strips. room temp, sear about 2 1/2 per side on nitro hot cast iron grill. when i pull the steaks for the 20 minute rest the plate is full of tasty juice when i return the steaks to the 400 degree grill after a 20 minute rest. turn after 4 min, leave on another 4 minutes, pull and let rest 5 minutes prior to eating. there is a little juice but not much..sometime none at all... any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

mad max beyond eggdome

2 1/2 minutes is an awful long time to sear for a t-rex steak steak. .. rule of thumb is 30 seconds per 1/2 inch of thickness at 700 degrees + per side whether on the grate or on a cast iron pan. .. so if you had 1 3/4 inch thick steaks, i wouldn't have gone more than 90 - 100 seconds per side on the sear. . .and that is one area that i'm very exact on, watching the second hand on my watch the whole way .. . .and you shouldn't be seeing any juice at all on you plate during the rest period. ..you aren't using a fork to pick up those steaks are you?? or otherwise poking any holes in them? ....you should only be using tongs on those steaks. ...and then during the dwell you can stick a thermopen in them once or twice to check final temps for doneness to make sure the juicess don't run out. ...

4Runner

Those times seem a bit long to me. I sear for 1 ½ mins a side and then rest for approx 10min before returning for the roasting. Also, don’t hesitate to pour some of that tasty juice on the steaks after plating. I read if you let the meat rest too long the juice will just run out. Try a 10min rest next time.

mad max beyond eggdome

no, 20 minutes isn't too long to rest a thick steak during the t-rex process. ...i've followed the original t=rex methodology for over 7 years now to a "t" and it works perfectly for me every time with both ny strips and with tenderloins in thicknesses from 1 1/2 up to 3 inches thick. . ..the key to me is searing at over 750 degrees (i like to get up in the 800+ range) and being exactly at 30 seconds per 1/2 inch of thickness per side. ...then the 20 minute rest. ...then the dwell right at 400 degrees. ...i get very juicy steaks every time. ...the other important thing is to get well marbled meat. ...at least good "choice" steaks, if not "prime". ...no "select" meat. ..its just too lean....even some stuff marked as "choice" is too lean for this. . .need that fat content!!!

Gator Bait

I had the same problem when I t-rex. I gave up on the t-rex, I don't think any of my steaks are thick enough to warrent it. What I do now is to heat egg to 450° - 550° and grid low. I use a timer and turn and rotate my steaks ever 2 minutes. This gives me a uniform cook over the whole steak and nice grill marks (the least of my worries). When internal temp hits 123° - 125° I pull them and cover with foil, not a tight wrap but covered. This is a London Broil I did the other night and it was perfect, probably a little more rare then it looks in the photo.


Gator

vidalia1

I put a pat of butter on each steak about a minute before I take them off...always delicious

stike

you don't say if the steaks are medium rare, or cooked more than that.

is the steak at least choice or better? select steaks aren't that great, and won't be as juicy.

i think the 2-1/2 minutes sear is a long time. the idea behind the Trex (or any two-stage, "sear-and-then-roast-the-steak" method) is to sear to your likely as quickly as possible, so that the exterior is seared, but you are not cooking the steak very much more beyond the surface. the rest and follow-up roasting at 400 are what elevate the internal temp. if you are overcooking the exterior, you'll have a deep area of well-done steak surrounding a small area of rare (or medium rare). that well-done steak will always be dry.


poking steaks with a fork isn't a good habit, but it isn't going to drain your steak of moisture, all the cell damage is pretty localized. it's not a water balloon. the mositure is in the cells of the meat, and only those that get poked will lose moisture. remember that there are a good many folks who enjoy a jacquard (needle device) to transform tough cuts into something more mechanically tender. even a hundred needle pokes won't drain the moisture. there's plenty of moisture elsewhere in the steak. it's not like poking a chicken and having all the juice run out from under the skin, for example.

i think, from what you describe, that your steaks are just overcooked. maybe not, but the only thing that dries out steak is overcooking, or lower quality. salt and poking cannot reduce a steak to pot-holder-level dryness

mad max beyond eggdome

you're right about thin steaks not being good choices for t-rexing....t-rex only works well on thick steaks like strips, tenderloins, and rib-eyes (and i've done it with tri-tips as well). . tougher, thin steaks like hangers, london broils, flat irons, skirt steaks, etc. just don't benefit from sear/roast methods.. .they are much better served from direct heat till done methods. .. .it typically grill them in the 450 - 500 degree range till done, with or without various marinades, sometimes on cast iron or not depending on what i'm doing. ..

PhilsGrill

Like most have said, 90 seconds per side, 10 min rest, pull at 135-140 degrees.

Beanie-Bean

Sounds like a long sear time. I do the sear with a timer in hand. Sorry to hear about the nice steak not turning out well for you.

greenwillie

thanks! the meat is prime and i guess i'll cut back on the sear time. I sear with the top open so i'm never sure how hot it is but flames and smoke everywhere. I use an xl so its hard to get the meat close to the fire.

I've usually got good grill marks after the sear but the entive steak does not look all that seared ?

Little Steven

greenwillie,

If you sear, or cook, with the top open you will lose moisture. You may want to try the hot tub method til you get used to it.

Steve