Mild steel for searing rather than cast iron

AnsonWilson

Hi guys.

We use a lot of mild steel here at work, and I have access to steel as thick as 1-2 inches.

I was walking thru the shop, and was thinking "wonder if that could be used to sear a steak?"

Can it be done? I feel if it could be done, then I would have already seen it done.

The only downside that is very obvious is that the steel could warp, but that wouldn't be that big of a deal.

Any thoughts? Warnings?

Little Steven

I have a French top on my stove that is mild steel. It is about 3/4" thick. I use carbon steel pans in the egg. Woks and paella pans are steel or hammered iron.

Steve

AnsonWilson

Little Steven wrote:

I have a French top on my stove that is mild steel. It is about 3/4" thick. I use carbon steel pans in the egg. Woks and paella pans are steel or hammered iron.

Steve

So would you think that 3/4 to 1 inch thick plate would be good for steaks or no?

Also, i guess you haven't experienced any warping?

thirdeye

For many years steel mill workers cooked meat on slabs of hot steel. Not red hot mind you... but hot enough to sear them quickly on the outside, and keep them rare on the inside. This style of cooking was called black and blue, and sometimes Pittsburgh rare.

I worked in a refinery in the '70's that had steam griddles in the boiler house and some of the unit control rooms, basically a box made out of 1/2" plate that live steam would circulate through. They were used to reheat lunches but were hot enough to fry bacon, burgers or thinner steaks.

Little Steven

AnsonWilson,

What little I know about steel normalization and tempering is that temperatures need to exceed the curie point or temperature which for carbon steel is over 1400* F. I don't think you would get that high in the egg with a thick piece, bear in mind the curie point is far less than the melting point. If you have access to a milling machine mill the surface down to a circular pattern to reduce friction.

Steve

AnsonWilson

thirdeye wrote:

For many years steel mill workers cooked meat on slabs of hot steel. Not red hot mind you... but hot enough to sear them quickly on the outside, and keep them rare on the inside. This style of cooking was called black and blue, and sometimes Pittsburgh rare.

I worked in a refinery in the '70's that had steam griddles in the boiler house and some of the unit control rooms, basically a box made out of 1/2" plate that live steam would circulate through. They were used to reheat lunches but were hot enough to fry bacon, burgers or thinner steaks.

Awesome. Thanks for the info!

What I'm thinking now is that it probably is a whole different cooking style cooking on a 1" plate than simply searing on a grid.

I'm looking forward to experimenting.

thirdeye

When I bought my small Egg they did not make a plate setter for them, and I built this one out of 3/8" plate. I suppose you could design something that would still allow airflow and use it for a set-in type of griddle.

These are called discada's, and are a shallow griddle made from the discs from a disc harrow, sort of a conditioning plow.





Something else to keep in mind, I keep a thick round on my workbench, Other than using it as a hammering surfacce, it makes a great block when I turn wood chunks into splits.

thirdeye

Heheee. Yeah, no need to worry about any phase transformation on a piece of 1" plate. And once the mill scale is removed, you can get a nice surface with a flapper disc. I'm thinking a rolled piece of 1/4" rod would make a nice rim for it. And you would need a couple of handles....

Little Steven

thirdeye,

Maybe he could make one for all of us :laugh:

Steve

AnsonWilson

thirdeye wrote:

Heheee. Yeah, no need to worry about any phase transformation on a piece of 1" plate. And once the mill scale is removed, you can get a nice surface with a flapper disc. I'm thinking a rolled piece of 1/4" rod would make a nice rim for it. And you would need a couple of handles....

There's an idea!

I just went and picked out a nice 10" x 10" x 3/4" piece to try on my Medium egg. I'll let you guys know how it turns out.

AnsonWilson

thirdeye wrote:

Heheee. Yeah, no need to worry about any phase transformation on a piece of 1" plate. And once the mill scale is removed, you can get a nice surface with a flapper disc. I'm thinking a rolled piece of 1/4" rod would make a nice rim for it. And you would need a couple of handles....

Any clue if mill scale burns off and if that would be a bad thing to do in my egg?

thirdeye

Sometimes it pops off if you blast it with a rosebud torch, but I think gradual heat in the Egg is not going to do it. Not sure if a MAP Pro torch is hot enough. You can smack it with a hammer or use a punch, but the punch will mark the surface.

I use a disc like this on a grinder.

Richard Fl

Is that round solid or like an upside down pie pan?? If solid what is it's weight apprx?

thirdeye

It's solid. I would guess 25 pounds or more.

NibbleMeThis

Yes, it can be done. I had one made by Huntingdon Customs this year. They use a CNC to cut it to design.



Does it sear as good as cast iron? Not really, but close. But I have to give it points for the "x" factor.

deepsouth

swibirun wrote:

Yes, it can be done. I had one made by Huntingdon Customs this year. They use a CNC to cut it to design.



Does it sear as good as cast iron? Not really, but close. But I have to give it points for the "x" factor.

sweeeeeet.

NibbleMeThis

Here are some more shots of the mild steel grate:

Kokeman

thirdeye wrote:

It's solid. I would guess 25 pounds or more.

It weighs 26.1 pounds. (92 cubic inches X .2833)

thirdeye

Cool. Petty good guess on my part, shooting from the hip and all.

Now, I forgot to mention I had to deal with the kerf. That might have taken 5 or 6 of 1/16th inch X 36" tig rods to fill it. And layer or two of some 7014 for the finish. Of course most, of that was ground away.