How hot charcoal burns ?

[Lynn Dollar]

Does it really matter ?

At Tom Horsman's YT channel, he's done a series of vids comparing brands of charcoal. One of his primary measurements, is which brand burned hotter.

On some Weber Kettle forums I visit, there's occasionally a pissing contest over how hot they can take their Kettle, they like to post pics of a pegged dome gauge. Especially when using a Vortex. Some even crack open the lid to let more air in to ramp up temps.

I'm more in the school that it doesn't matter.

Obviously, how hot charcoal burns is irrelevant for low and slow. Its only a grilling thing. And even then, there's drawbacks to very high heat.

The meats can run through the done window quickly. Its easy to over cook. The outside of the meats can be over cooked while the inside is not near done. Its easy to burn or scorch the outside of a steak, when building crust is desired.

I've seen some chefs and people cooking on griddles, recommend searing at around 500* . But I also remember the time when everyone tried to mimic steakhouse searing temps, which were supposedly close to 1,000 degrees.

I can't see paying more money for a premium brand of charcoal just because it burns hotter.

[WI Bubba]

The place where it would matter to me is if I were reverse searing. The inside is already very close to my finish temp, so I want to put the sear on it as quickly as possible without the heat having time to get into the middle. Beyond that, yeah, it's just something to brag about in my opinion. Meathead's afterburner technique and Just Keep Flipping both rely on a super hot fire. With that said, even the cheapest bag of charcoal properly managed is going to be plenty hot enough to put a good sear on any piece of meat.

[Lynn Dollar]

I've found this from Chris Young, who goes a lot deeper than I can keep up with, but ........

[Jerod Broussard]

Too hot and you get a leathery texture, if that's the same video.

[Lynn Dollar]

Jerod Broussard cliff notes version, he says to not go past the Malliard reaction which makes a great crust, and to scorch or burn the steak. And crust is a product of not just temp, but time and temp.

He says the best crust can come from deep frying with grease at 400*, but deep frying is not practical.

I've been searing on a cast iron SnS drip pan, set over the SnS. And I've been heating it to 700* , using an IR gun to measure. I think I need to dial it back a couple hundred degree

[Finster]

I've tried many different brands of charcoal. I've yet to encounter one that didn't get hot enough to give a good sear.
I think where some charcoal excels over others is in how long it can maintain the heat. All of my cooks are pretty short in duration, so that really is never an issue for me.
It's been over 40 years since I worked in a restaurant, but I seem to recall that the grill temp was set somewhere around 500*. I wasn't working in a high-end steakhouse so maybe they do things a little differently.

[Lynn Dollar]

I got the 1,000 degrees from discussions at the TVWBB, maybe 15 years ago, or more. IIRC, they were saying the Outback Steakhouse could sear at that temp.

[Oak Smoke]

Almost any charcoal will get hot enough to melt metal if you push enough air through it. There’s several YouTube videos where people make small smelters using charcoal and a hair dryer. The hottest I want my kamado is 700F, that’s when I’m cleaning it. Given a bit of time it will turn all the gunk inside to ash. I took one to 1000 F once. It promptly cracked in several places. As far as usefulness for cooking 500 F at the grill grate is about all I ever need. That will sear a steak or heat my pizza stone just fine.

[jfmorris]

I had to replace the top vent gasket on my SNS kamado after taking it past 700 intentionally a couple of times, for doing pizza. And it was almost too hot to get the pizza dough I make (more of a NY style) done on top before the bottom was black. I don't do that anymore! I try to keep it maxed out around 600 or so now.