Questions about Temperature

PackerFan

Hello,[p]Tonight was my second cook on the egg. I did the TREX Steak method with ribeyes 1.75". They were great. A little under cooked but practice makes perfect. I have a couple of questions. First when I got the egg going full throttle my temp was well above 750. If I put daisy wheel on fully open it would stay at 725. Is it ok to cook with top of to sear steak or is it to hot? Also after I removed steak for the 20 minutes I was not able to get dome temp to drop below 550. Why? I had no difiiculty the nite before controlling temps between 300 to 500. Did I get the fire too hot?[p]Thanks in advance for your help,
Kenny

Pakak

1) "Is it ok to cook with top of to sear steak or is it to hot?"[p] - My understanding is TRex does his with the dome up but he didn't specify either way, originally. What resulted was some do it one way some do it the other. Doesn't seem to make much difference either way.[p]2) "Did I get the fire too hot?"[p] - No, you didn't get the fire cool enough. Seriously, I don't think you can get the fire too hot (within reason) for the sear. BTW - The temp was still high yet you say the steaks were underdone. I'm trying to understand this!? Just how did you gauge the doneness of the meat? Don't you have a meat thermometer? They solve this problem once and for all.

Unknown

PackerFan,
I have done numerous steaks this way and all of them have come out excellent. All the steaks that I cook are pretty thick. Heat your egg to 650, sear the steaks for 3 minutes on each side, then close the top (I put the ceramic top back on just to make sure absolutely no air is getting in) and also shut the bottom vent completely. Turn you steaks one more time and follow this chart
leave on for
4 minutes for rare
5-6 minutes for medium rare
6-7 for medium, etc.[p]I am too impatient to wait 20 minutes to put steaks back on etc...

The Naked Whiz

PackerFan,
You can sear the steak at any temp you like, and 750 is not too hot. The longer you leave the cooker at a high temperature, the hotter the ceramic itself will get. Once the ceramic heats up, it will now take longer for the temperature in the cooker to drop because the ceramic heats the air as well as the fire. If you take the cooker straight up to 750, sear the steaks, and then close it up, you should have no trouble getting the cooker back down to 400 in 20 minutes. If you leave it at 750 for a period of time, letting the ceramic get hot, then sear the steaks, it will take longer to drop the temperature.[p]TNW

PackerFan

Pakak,[p]I was told you are not to cook with lid open unless using wok. I was told it will burn the gasket.[p]As far as being under cooked I didn't use thermometer because I didn't want to poke a hole in them. I guess after bringing steaks inside to rest for 20 minutes and then placing back on grill for 5 on each side my carnivore instincts took over and we ate them. These babies were beautiful, Nice straight black sear lines, no shrinkage. Looked like something you would pay $50 for in a restaurant. Tasted better. I think I will try again later this week. I will also invest in a nice thermometer.[p]Thanks,
Kenny[p]

PackerFan

The Naked Whiz,[p]Oops! That is exactly what I did. This was my first high temperature cook and I think I admired the rolling flames inside while I sipped a Corona for a few before throwing steaks on. Thanks for the input.[p]Kenny

PackerFan

River Liver,[p]I agree. It was a hard to wait 20 minutes for the steaks to rest. They were making kitchen smell tasty and my wife said if they didn't go back on the grill she would eat one as is. The wait made me pull them prematurely. It happens to rookies. LOL. I gave them the finger test and felt a little rare but ate em anyway. [p]Kenny[p]