Do you let your steak sit out before grilling?

Wisconsinegghead · February 2011

Just wondering how long you let your steak sit out on the counter before grilling? Do you let it come to room temp? Go straight from fridge into the egg? Let rest for a couple minutes? Let me know your thoughts and why. Thanks!

BobS · February 2011

I do not intentionally let mine sit out -- I just have not found that much of a difference.

I am a big fan of the reverse sear, where you are slow cooking the steak at 250 to get near desired internal temp and then sear the outside.

You can also look for the hot tub method. It is basically the same as the reverse sear, but I think you get more flavor on the grill.

stike · February 2011

to get to "room temp" you'd be looking at a couple hours minimum. anything less than that and it really doesn't do much to let it sit out.

i've taken to "hot tubbing" mine. there are a whole host of other reasons people do it, but i do it to warm my steak to 100 degrres or more all the way thru, before it ever hits the grill.

what works for me is to put the steak in a ziploc, seal it (no air inside) and then submerse it in a bowl of the hottest tap water i can muster.

then i head out and light the egg. before the egg hits temp, i'll probably need to pour of the now cold water and add more hot water. when the egg is at temp, the steak will be warmed too...

then sear to your liking and desired level of 'done-ness'

fishlessman · February 2011

just long enough for the salt or rub to wet in, about as long as it takes to get the egg ready after prepping the steak

deepsouth · February 2011

I find that if I leave my steaks out until the come up to room temp, it cuts out stuff such as reverse sear, hot tubing, etc. I also think the beef is more relaxed and cooks better. Not sure if that previous sentence will make sense.

stike · February 2011

i agree.

i think all those methods are ways to get the steak to be warm enough prior to searing, that you don't overcook the outer portion of the steak in an effort to get the last little cold bit of the center to your desired level of doneness.

my only real point about leaving the steak out (which i think is fine to do) is it generally takes a lot longer for that steak to go from 30 something degrees internal to actual 'room temp'

had dinner at morton's a few times (mostly pre bge days), and always enjoyed seeing a literal pile of steaks sitting on the counter ready to be fired, and the pile was large enough that it was there before i arrived, and still there when we left. :laugh:

bacteria be damned!

(you can always salt the steaks when leaving them out. that'll ice the bacteria too)

RRP · February 2011

to save time and water I just use a small cooler plus lid of course and one filling of hot water is all that's needed. Look at the temp after 1 hour!

Holy Smokes · February 2011

We found it was essential to sear the steaks quickly to keep the meat directly under the crust from turning gray. The key was to start with dry meat. We moved the steaks straight from the fridge into a 275-degree oven, which not only warmed them to 95 degrees but also dried the meat thoroughly. At this temperature, when the steak met the hot grill, it developed a beautiful brown crust in less than four minutes, while the rest of the meat stayed pink, juicy, and tender.

Never had a better steak than one that was preheated in an oven. But I suppose hot tubbing would produce similar results, but without the benefit of drying them at the same time.

Gator Bait · February 2011

It depends on how cold they are and how thick they are. The thicker the steak the more likely I am to nuke it on a low setting to take the chill out of it. I nuke for a little and flip and rotate the steak and repeat till it is about room temp. I can probably accomplish about the same thing as hot tubing. Most of my steaks will be individually packaged with my FoodSaver and I will remove one from the freezer in time for it to defrost by late afternoon. If it is still cold or just from the frig it will get nuked a little. A thin steak, lets say 1 1/4" or less, I don't worry so much about.

Blair

deepsouth · February 2011

stike wrote:

i agree.

i think all those methods are ways to get the steak to be warm enough prior to searing, that you don't overcook the outer portion of the steak in an effort to get the last little cold bit of the center to your desired level of doneness.

my only real point about leaving the steak out (which i think is fine to do) is it generally takes a lot longer for that steak to go from 30 something degrees internal to actual 'room temp'

true that. i've thought about hot tubing before, but haven't tried it yet. that would definitely help when i cook after work and don't have time to leave steaks out two or three hours....

Richard Fl · February 2011

They sit in the spa for 1 hour at 102F and then cooked 550-600F regular way nice meal.. O yes I wrap them so the spa water does not get to them. When removed from spa internal temp usually around 85F depending on thickness.

PattyO · February 2011

Always completely defrost them. Usually allow them to get to room temp.

bobbyb · February 2011

Jason,
Did my first hot tub yesterday on some 3" fillets. I was pleased with the results. Uniform color through out the entire thickness. You should give it a whirl.
Bob

deepsouth · February 2011

bobbyb wrote:

Jason,
Did my first hot tub yesterday on some 3" fillets. I was pleased with the results. Uniform color through out the entire thickness. You should give it a whirl.
Bob

thanks bob! see you at eggfest?

BobS · February 2011

Holy Smokes wrote:

We found it was essential to sear the steaks quickly to keep the meat directly under the crust from turning gray. The key was to start with dry meat. We moved the steaks straight from the fridge into a 275-degree oven, which not only warmed them to 95 degrees but also dried the meat thoroughly. At this temperature, when the steak met the hot grill, it developed a beautiful brown crust in less than four minutes, while the rest of the meat stayed pink, juicy, and tender.

Never had a better steak than one that was preheated in an oven. But I suppose hot tubbing would produce similar results, but without the benefit of drying them at the same time.

Try preheating it in that oven called the BGE, with some of your favorite wood for flavof.

Holy Smokes · February 2011

Yes, that would work too! :P

ranger ray · February 2011

i always allow them to come up to room temp..... sometimes i hot tub 'em.... cuts the cooking time....and they cook better.... nice and pink on the inside but not blood red and cold.... and a nice char on the outside rr

Mr. & Mrs Potatohead · February 2011

Right on...
Pull the meat, get the Egg ready, fired and stable.

That's an hour or most often better, dependent upon how much cleaning of ash is needed, how many beers are needed and so on.. :woohoo:
Really though an hour or two will do!

LDD · February 2011

i usually give it an hour

Do you let your steak sit out before grilling?

Comments

Categories