650 degree plateau

Yes but why?

There is nothing that NEEDS to be cooked over 650.

Higher the temp the higher the chance of burning your gaskets.

As long as the Egg is holding temps you should be fine.

If it's not holding temp then it sounds like a gasket replacement is in order.

As for the 1000 degree sears. Those restaurants are putting the meat in or near the heat source. As stike has pointed out many times the Dome temp is way lower then the actual temp of the burning lump. If you insist on that type of char get the meat closer to the lump. Though I have yet to see a major difference in a 650 degree sear and that 1000 degree sear. Other then the latter taking less time.

While you can get your egg upwards of a thousand degrees you are asking for gasket failure. Again if you insist getting it that high them make sure the firebox is filled to the level of the fire ring. Make sure all the little holes are not blocked with smaller pieces of lump and keep the daisy wheel is off, bottom vent wide open

Go to Naked Whiz' TRex page and read up on the TRex method of cooking steaks. This site also has a ton of info on high-heat cooking, gasket repair and FAQ's, and definitely read up on flashbacks - make sure you learn the tips on how to avoid blowing yourself up

Best of luck - Marge

heaven forbid that you and CW are agreeing on some point and i'm gonna disagree with both of you!. ...but i find when i'm searing thick (over 1 1/2 inches) sirloin steaks, that i find a very different texture to the meat when i sear at a dome temp over 750 (more like 850 - 950 degrees dome temp), than at a dome temp under 750 degrees .. .i sear for very precise times, exactly 30 seconds per 1/2 thickness of the steaks. .. .then, after a 20 minute rest (per trex's original directions) i dwell at precisely 400 degrees dome temp till done to my liking (typically 125 - 130 internal temps). ...again, the texture of the meat is very different based on the searing temps. . .. and this from meat that was cut from the same primal cut (i.e. i cut 8 steaks from the original primal strip i bought at costco). ...so i DO see merit in cranking up to 750 + for certain cooks on the egg, but at the same time you only need to be there for less than 5--10 minutes, and thats not enough time to cook your gaskets. .. .so that shouldn't be an issue. ..i've had my eggs for 6+ years now, done more high temp sears than i can count, and still have my original gaskets. . yes, they are thin and greasy, but they are still intact and aren't welded shut. ...

to answer road king's original question though, to get above 650, he needs to make sure his fire box is lined up properly to the lower vent, his air holes are all clear, and top vent is removed completely. .. shouldn't have any trouble going nuclear then.. . .

i don't mean to say that 650 is the same as 800, because of the sear temps, i'm just letting him know that noe restaurant "sears at 1800". the electric element they sear with is 1800, but the environment the steak is in is NOT.

same for us. the dome temp may read one temp, but the charcoal is at 1200-1400. higher dome temps reflect even higher lump temps,or fire with more lump involved (at 650 dome, you may have 1200 degree lump, but not all will be lit), etc.

i ain't disagreeing with max man (no more than i'm agreeing with CW. i often go higher than 650)

just trying to disassociate lump temps versus dome temps when searing. of course the ambient (dome) temp has an effect, but what'ssearing the steak is the lump. the 650 temp is really roasting it (unless you open the dome, which would restrict all cooking to just the sear)

there are exceptions to every rule :woohoo:

you should be able to. i just assumed 650 plateau was the same thing that happens to me. wide open daisy, i stop at 650.

i'd ask how much lump you had, whether it was fresh (fresh will get you there quickly), whether there was a lot of ash around the back of the firebox... etc.

750 isn't (shouldn't be, i mean) difficult

I'll leave the high temperature question to the eggsperts, but if it's the wonderful "char" you're looking for, try coating the steak with melted butter before the sear. For a 3/4 inch NY strip at 650 I can guarantee a medium rare with a perfect "char" taste with 3 minutes on each side.