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Steel!

Carolina Q
Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
edited May 2014 in EggHead Forum
As many of you know, there is a commercial product  called a baking steel available for about. $80 or something like that. 1/4"x14"x16". Supposed to be great for pizza. They also have a 1/2" thick version with a drip groove in beta testing. It will be $150.

Ok, so a few weeks ago, I bought a piece of scrap steel plate to test it out. I bought a 1/4" thick piece (almost exactly the same size as the "official" steel for pizza. Paid $1 per pound... $14 total. New steel, no rust  (a cutoff from a job I imagine. Still haven't used it for a pie. Haven't even cut it down to fit my egg yet! However, I'm not even sure I will because it does fit my Weber kettle perfectly and tonight, I decided to see how it worked for a burger and some caramelized onions.

Filled the chimney starter with lump and when it was going good, I dumped it all on one side of the kettle. Then added the grid and 14x16" steel. Let that heat up for a bit and tossed some onions 'n oil onto the cooler end of the steel. No idea what the temp was. On either end. But it worked! And I love having a large surface area to toss things around on.

When the onions were about done, I added a burger to the hot end. The sear was awesome! No "grill marks", just a wall to wall sear! Flipped it and seared the other side until it got to 130°. Oh, and somewhere along the line, I added a slice of cheese/

Mixed up some mayo, dijon and chives as a condiment, toasted a bun on the steel (it's great for that too) and had one of the best burgers I've had in a very long  time! Tomato would have been good too, but I didn't have any.

Pretty sure I won't bother trying to cut this steel down to size for the egg. I really like it on the Weber! Will be great for quick sear-type cooks - steaks, burgers, chops and veggies. Mallmann's burnt carrots or tomatoes should be awesome!! And the extra real estate sure is nice! And it's perfect for my preferred oven pizzas. I will probably buy a smaller piece for the egg next time I'm near the steel dealer. Should be about 10 bucks.

If you bought the baking steel through the recent group buy, don't restrict yourself to pizza. If you didn't buy one, call a local steel yard or scrap dealer and see what they have to offer. You're looking for A36 steel, the most common stuff out there. Plain vanilla. File the edges if needed, rub it with cooking oil and heat. There. Seasoned.

image

I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Michael 
Central Connecticut 

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Comments

  • Eggcelsior
    Eggcelsior Posts: 14,414
    I've only used mine for pizza twice. I've used it as a griddle a bajillion times. It's awesome. Looking good!
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  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
    Yeah, I've never cooked on a large griddle before. Didn't know what I was missing! Wish I had thought to check temps at both ends of the plate. Next time. Thanks.


    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

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  • Cowdogs
    Cowdogs Posts: 491
    I've found I like griddled burgers more than grilled.  
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  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
    Cowdogs said:
    I've found I like griddled burgers more than grilled.  
    You might enjoy this article. Haven't tried it, but it sure looks tasty!

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

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  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,109
    I find the steel cooks the bottom of pizzas much, much faster than the stone.  Because of this, and it was a quick lesson learned, you have to change the way you cook pizza on the steel if you were used to a stone. 
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
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  • Eggcelsior
    Eggcelsior Posts: 14,414
    nolaegghead said:

    I find the steel cooks the bottom of pizzas much, much faster than the stone.  Because of this, and it was a quick lesson learned, you have to change the way you cook pizza on the steel if you were used to a stone. 

    I burnt the crap out of the first one. Second was money.
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  • danv23
    danv23 Posts: 964
    Thanks for the posting!!!  Looks like a "gotta have".

    The Dude: This is a very complicated case, Maude. You know, a lotta ins, lotta outs, lotta what-have-you's. And, uh, lotta strands to keep in my head, man. Lotta strands in old Duder's head. Luckily I'm adhering to a pretty strict, uh, drug regimen to keep my mind, you know, limber.

    Walter Sobchak: Nihilists! *uck me. I mean, say what you want about the tenets of National Socialism, Dude, at least it's an ethos. 

    Cumming, GA
    Eggs - XL, L, Small
    Gasser - Blaze 5 Burner
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  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
    edited May 2014
    nolaegghead said:
    I find the steel cooks the bottom of pizzas much, much faster than the stone.  Because of this, and it was a quick lesson learned, you have to change the way you cook pizza on the steel if you were used to a stone. 
    I'm thinking about putting the steel about 6" below my oven's broiler. Hot element above, hot steel below. Prolly cook in 1-2 minutes! I will, of course, have a backup plan.  :D

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

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  • HDumptyEsq
    HDumptyEsq Posts: 1,095
    Could be the simplest, hottest (pun intended) piece of kit yet. Gonna try and find some. Thanks.

    Tony in Brentwood, TN.

    Medium BGE, New Braunfels off-set smoker, 3-burner Charbroiler gasser, mainly used for Eggcessory  storage, old electric upright now used for Amaz-N-Smoker.

    "I like cooking with wine - sometimes I put it in the food." - W. C. Fields

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  • Eggcelsior
    Eggcelsior Posts: 14,414
    Carolina Q said:

    nolaegghead said:

    I find the steel cooks the bottom of pizzas much, much faster than the stone.  Because of this, and it was a quick lesson learned, you have to change the way you cook pizza on the steel if you were used to a stone. 

    I'm thinking about putting the steel about 6" below my oven's broiler. Hot element above, hot steel below. Prolly cook in 1-2 minutes! I will, of course, have a backup plan.  :D

    If I recall correctly, that's how Kenji did his with the best results when he was testing the Baking Steel.
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  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,109
    Eggcelsior said:
    I find the steel cooks the bottom of pizzas much, much faster than the stone.  Because of this, and it was a quick lesson learned, you have to change the way you cook pizza on the steel if you were used to a stone. 
    I burnt the crap out of the first one. Second was money.
    Me too. 

    So the second time around (in the oven) I heated up the stone to about 450, then cranked the broiler on which fixed the problem of the bottom cooking much faster than the top.  I don't know how you'd do this in the egg - didn't try, but my intuition tells me to insulate the steel by putting a stone under it and keeping the assembly high up in the dome (which I do anyway with egg pizza).

    Obviously the type of dough and pizza has a big impact on how it needs to be cooked.  A pizza is kind of a two dimensional cook.  You have the dough mostly being cooked from the bottom and the topping from the top.  Controlling the overall temps and the ratio between the top and bottom is key.  The steel conducts heat much faster than the stone, so the setup needs to be different. 

    Of course if you just cook at a lower overall temp those differences are less important.  But the tipo 00 dough I use like to be cooked hot.
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
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  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
    I'll have to take a look. If anyone's a fan, it's Kenji! Thanks.

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

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  • Austin Egghead
    Austin Egghead Posts: 3,966
    Well that did it Michael!  I am going to go steel shopping when I get back from Houston.  Love burgers and Philly steaks on a flat top.
    Large, small and mini now Egging in Rowlett Tx
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  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
    Austin Egghead said:
    Well that did it Michael!  I am going to go steel shopping when I get back from Houston.  Love burgers and Philly steaks on a flat top.
    One of the cheaper forum-enabler purchases.  :)) At least if you do it my way.

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

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  • jimreed777
    jimreed777 Posts: 324
    Carolina Q - I am in Raleigh, NC - any chance you are close to that and mind sharing the steel shop you used?
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  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 34,571
    edited May 2014
    now that you have your steel, google la plancha recipes, lots of heathy things out there, some of these were done in pan or wok but from a plancha recipe

    image

    image


    image

    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
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  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
    jimreed777 said:
    Carolina Q - I am in Raleigh, NC - any chance you are close to that and mind sharing the steel shop you used?
    It's in Connecticut. Sorry.

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

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  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
    fishlessman said:
    now that you have your steel, google la plancha recipes, lots of heathy things out there, some of these were done in pan or wok but from a plancha recipe
    Thanks, Mike. Looks tasty!

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

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  • Skiddymarker
    Skiddymarker Posts: 8,528
    @Carolina_Q - have you done this with a CI flat top, like a Lodge? 

    Other than it may take a bit longer to heat, wonder if the results of CI and steel are similar? 

    Reason I ask is I have a CI griddle that I use on my gasser with very good results, I think it is a Weber product (came from a garage sale) and it is too big for the egg. 
    Delta B.C. - Whiskey and steak, because no good story ever started with someone having a salad!
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  • Focker
    Focker Posts: 8,364

    @Skiddymarker,

    Results are similar, with a slight favor of steel over CI.  It transfers the energy much better with little to no preheat required.  First pic is CI, second is steel.

    If you are asking about using CI over stone for pizzas.  The steel would be much better at creating radiant heat for the pie.

    Brandon
    Quad Cities
    "If yer gonna denigrate, familiarity with the subject is helpful."

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  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
    Skiddymarker said:
    @Carolina_Q - have you done this with a CI flat top, like a Lodge? 

    Other than it may take a bit longer to heat, wonder if the results of CI and steel are similar? 

    Reason I ask is I have a CI griddle that I use on my gasser with very good results, I think it is a Weber product (came from a garage sale) and it is too big for the egg. 
    I have had some mighty fine steaks and burgers from a CI skillet, both egg and stove. And this steeled burger was excellent too. Not sure I would say "better" though. I originally wanted to try the steel for pizza based on the comparisons made on Serious Eats as apparently the differences are noticeable with pizza. Still haven't done that yet.

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

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  • Canugghead
    Canugghead Posts: 13,663
    edited May 2014
    Carolina Q  Thanks for the inspiration, I visited a local metal place and picked up a couple of pieces in 44W steel, I was told it's the canuck equivalent of A36.  Pictures and separate post to follow.
    Question for you, I just finished rounding the corners and smoothing the rough/sharp edges all around with an angle grinder, how did you clean and season it?


    canuckland
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  • Skiddymarker
    Skiddymarker Posts: 8,528
    @Foker and @Carolina_Q - Thanks, much appreciated advice/thoughts. I'm pretty happy with my pizza set-up, have the balance right after two or three years of fine tuning it, afraid to try something new.....(chicken sh*t that I am)

    I do like the griddle for frying onions and burgers, turns the whole yard into a carnival midway. For big events, I low cook the burgers to get some smoke on them, then brown them up on the griddle - kinda reverse sear them. 
    Delta B.C. - Whiskey and steak, because no good story ever started with someone having a salad!
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  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
    Canugghead said:
    Carolina Q  Thanks for the inspiration, I visited a local metal place and picked up a couple of pieces in 44W steel, I was told it's the canuck equivalent of A36.  Pictures and separate post to follow.
    Question for you, I just finished rounding the corners and smoothing the rough/sharp edges all around with an angle grinder, how did you clean and season it?
    I didn't do much. I just washed it well in hot, soapy water, applied a coat of oil all over and put it on the grill. If you want to read some comments on DIY steel, check out this on Slice. Scroll down to the Comments section. At some point, someone mentions that they did what I did and they talk about mill scale and how to remove it, etc. 

    There are many opinions there, but if you read far enough, it starts to sound like worrying about mill scale is more trouble than it's worth. So all I did was wash and season. :)

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

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  • Mickey
    Mickey Posts: 19,768
    Michael see if they can write you name on it. image
    Salado TX & 30A  FL: Egg Family: 3 Large and a very well used Mini, added a Mini Max when they came out (I'm good for now). Just given a Mini to add to the herd. 

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  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
    Mickey said:
    Michael see if they can write you name on it.
    Ha! Not for the $14 I paid for it. They didn't even charge tax!!

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

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  • Judy Mayberry
    Judy Mayberry Posts: 2,015
    Mickey said:
    Michael see if they can write you name on it. image
    But Mickey, your name will come out backwards on the steak!
    Judy in San Diego
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  • Canugghead
    Canugghead Posts: 13,663
    Judy Mayberry said:
    But Mickey, your name will come out backwards on the steak!
    no it won't, he flips it before putting the steak on  :D
    canuckland
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  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,109
    He was going to get REDRUM cut in there. 

    image
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
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  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,109
    ...would you care for some sauce for that?
    image
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
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