Searing Question -- Literally

[Murdy]

As opposed to a burning question.

My gasser gave up the ghost last fall, and I haven't replaced it yet. It was a Huntington (made by Broil King). I don't recall the model, but it was basically a Broil King Signet 390. Great little grill, it would get up over 700 degrees. It appears this line is discontinued, but there still are some floating around. I'm thinking about pulling the trigger.

Recently, we got our first sous vide, so I know very little about this style of cooking beyond eating what others who know what they are doing have fed me.

I want to be able to sear with the gasser for ease of use on weeknights and such. Is this enough grill to get a good sear following a sous-vide bath? Would adding Grill Grates improve the performance here? Or do I just need to break down and spend a little more money for something with an actual sear burner?

[jfmorris]

I cannot comment on the Signet 390, but a friend has the Signet 320, which is one that I think Max Good has reviewed in the past, and it is a searing machine. If anything, his main complaint is that it is hard to get the temperature down to medium or low. His had uncoated cast iron grates that rusted up so he replaced them with Grillgrates. Personally I think he just didn't know how to season cast iron.

[mrteddyprincess]

Have you considered searing on a charcoal chimney? Cheap option and good heat. When I sous vide, I dry brine and let the meat dry out, sear the heck out of it, and then sous vide. If I reverse sear, there's too much moisture to get a good sear. That's just my experience and I know others prefer reverse searing.

[scottranda]

I do the opposite. I SV, cold shock, dry the heck out of it, and then sear over charcoal chimney. Unreal good! But obviously more than one way to do things.

[Murdy]

Have considered it, but I'm going to buy a gasser regardless, and I was hoping it would have this specific capability. Just wondering how this particular one would do.

[DogFaced PonySoldier]

Absolutely CANNOT be beat for searing.

[bbqLuv]

A great flame, hot too, and not even attached to a fuel source. Amazing!

[Murdy]

Perhaps I can broaden the question. Can you get a decent sere with a quality albeit budget-minded gas grill (i.e., Weber Spirit or comparable)? If not, would adding Grill Grates suffice?

[jfmorris]

Grillgrates do help with searing on a Weber Spirit. My dad and son both have the 3 burner Spirit, and seem happy with it. I've got a 4 burner Genesis II, and can get a decent sear on the flat side of the Grillgrate panels. I do reverse sear sometimes by turning on half the burners, putting the steak into the indirect end until it reaches 120F, then put it on the flat of the Grillgrates on the end with the burner on high to do the sear.

[Donw]

I normally use my Hasty Bake HB250, my Santa Maria, or even my Lodge Sportsman’s to sear steaks, but when I don’t feel like messing with wood or charcoal my 3 burner Spirit (half grill grates, the other half their standard grates) does a decent job searing. I also sometimes use a cast iron skillet over the regular grates to sear and that too works well for my tastes.

[reallyalexsc]

In all seriousness - my favourite tool for searing post-SV is the Searzall. A mere $75 - then you can focus on getting a grill for how you most want to grill and not worry about it having to do double duty.

[Polarbear777]

The char griller grillin pro will work. Lots of power and cheap. Built cheap but hey. lots of other options but all more $

adding grill grates and using the flat side will usually suffice on most gassers.

https://amazingribs.com/grill/char-griller-grillin-pro-gas-grill-review/

[Banjodave]

I use a major MAPP blow torch and it makes short work of searing any sous vide cooks. I put the product on my unlit BBQ grill and blast away

[theroc]

I find a CI pan or plancha on most gassers does a great job of searing SV'd food.