Been using a Weber gasser for years and love it. Got the GrillGrates, even better. But, as we all know, you just can't sear a steak properly from underneath without getting that dastardly brown/grey band.
Now I reverse sear, about 1/2 hour at 150F till 110 in center, then use a weed-killing blowtorch for the crust. But that's a PITA.
Isn't there a better grill out there that perhaps has IR heat from above or another way to properly crust a steak?
John "JR"
Minnesota/ United States of America
******************************************** Grills/Smokers/Fryers Big Green Egg (Large) X3
Blackstone 36" Outdoor Griddle 4-Burner
Burch Barrel V-1 Karubeque C-60 Kamado Joe Jr. (Black) Lodge L410 Hibachi Pit Barrel Cooker Pit Barrel Cooker 2.0
Pit Barrel PBX
R&V Works FF2-R-ST 4-Gallon Fryer *******************************************. Thermometers
FireBoard (Base Package)
Thermoworks ThermaPen (Red)
Thermoworks MK4 (Orange)
********************************* Accessories Big Green Egg Plate Setter
Benzomatic TS800 High Temp Torch X 2 Bayou Classic 44 qt Stainless Stock Pot
Bayou Classic 35K BTU Burner Eggspander Kit X2 Finex Cat Iron Line FireBoard Drive Lots and Lots of Griswold Cast Iron Grill Grates Joule Water Circulator
KBQ Fire Grate Kick Ash Basket (KAB) X4 Lots of Lodge Cast Iron Husky 6 Drawer BBQ Equipment Cabinet Large Vortex Marlin 1894 .44 Magnum Marquette Castings No. 13 (First Run) Smithey No. 12 Smokeware Chimney Cap X 3 Stargazer No.10, 12 ******************************** Fuel FOGO Priemium Lump Charcoal Kingsford Blue and White B&B Charcoal Apple, Cherry & Oak Log splits for the C-60 ************************************************* Cutlery Buck 119 Special
Cuda 7' Fillet Knife Dexter 12" Brisket Sword Global Shun Wusthof ********** Next Major Purchase Lone Star Grillz 24 X 48 Offset
My gasser is great for chicken parts, thick pork chops, burgers, rotisserie. I get a crust with a longer cook, so no worries about that grey ring.
I have a PK 360 for Beef. Charcoal and wood splits for the sear. It is cast aluminum, so it can take heat up to Warp 10. It also smokes well (wings, spatchcock chicken) and does great two-zone cooks for thicker cuts with no ‘grey-meat’.
Just get yourself a charcoal chimney and a small grate to put on top of it. Great for quickly searing steaks.
I saw an Alton Brown video recently where he heats up a charcoal chimney and puts the whole chimney on top of the steak. Never tried that before but I don't see why that wouldn't work.
I was really happy with the IR sear station on my old box store "premium" grill so I would assume the offerings from Weber and Napoloean and such are even better.
smokyYank I liked it being outside the grills main cooking chamber since you can run it at full blast without affecting whats on the grill. I would turn all but one burner off, stack all my steaks on the cold side and then roughly 1 minute per side for each steak on the sear station and then swap steaks until they were all done. Also liked that normal use drippings and such weren't accumulating on the burner but it pretty much incinerated anything that did collect so... maybe not an issue
I let the steak come up to temp on the indirect side as the grill grates get hot over the coals (or burners in the case of a gasser). Then when it's time to sear the grill grates are good and hot. You could try turning the grates over as in the photograph for more flavor. Food for thought.
I bought a small Volrath medium duty charbroiler last year and love it. I mounted it on a tool cart from Harbor Freight. It’s the size meant to go in a food truck. I have no idea how they call it medium duty, it’s built like a tank. I ordered the lava rock kit for it at the same time. If you want true charbroiled flavor with crazy searing temps this is the way to go. It comes with the regulators for either propane or natural gas. I have mine hooked up to a 20 pound propane tank on the bottom shelf of the cart. You can’t believe just how good these are.
smokyYank Karubecue (KBQ) is a wood burner with the firebox above the cooking chamber. Check out this thread if you want your mouth to water. Click on "PHOTOS above the first post."
The Chud Press was designed as the ultimate gas stovetop addition. Made of 3/16" carbon steel, with a self-adjusting top plate and removable stainless steel grease tray; it's perfect for smash burgers, bacon, panini, tortillas, and more.
John "JR"
Minnesota/ United States of America
******************************************** Grills/Smokers/Fryers Big Green Egg (Large) X3
Blackstone 36" Outdoor Griddle 4-Burner
Burch Barrel V-1 Karubeque C-60 Kamado Joe Jr. (Black) Lodge L410 Hibachi Pit Barrel Cooker Pit Barrel Cooker 2.0
Pit Barrel PBX
R&V Works FF2-R-ST 4-Gallon Fryer *******************************************. Thermometers
FireBoard (Base Package)
Thermoworks ThermaPen (Red)
Thermoworks MK4 (Orange)
********************************* Accessories Big Green Egg Plate Setter
Benzomatic TS800 High Temp Torch X 2 Bayou Classic 44 qt Stainless Stock Pot
Bayou Classic 35K BTU Burner Eggspander Kit X2 Finex Cat Iron Line FireBoard Drive Lots and Lots of Griswold Cast Iron Grill Grates Joule Water Circulator
KBQ Fire Grate Kick Ash Basket (KAB) X4 Lots of Lodge Cast Iron Husky 6 Drawer BBQ Equipment Cabinet Large Vortex Marlin 1894 .44 Magnum Marquette Castings No. 13 (First Run) Smithey No. 12 Smokeware Chimney Cap X 3 Stargazer No.10, 12 ******************************** Fuel FOGO Priemium Lump Charcoal Kingsford Blue and White B&B Charcoal Apple, Cherry & Oak Log splits for the C-60 ************************************************* Cutlery Buck 119 Special
Cuda 7' Fillet Knife Dexter 12" Brisket Sword Global Shun Wusthof ********** Next Major Purchase Lone Star Grillz 24 X 48 Offset
The continuous flip method is my favorite. Get a pigtail flipper and flip your steak about every 10-15 seconds. Keep flipping and watch the crust develop.
You can also add briquettes to your gasser. I will put them on the flavor bars and the gas burners will ignite them and allow for a ton more heat. It also adds a ton of flavor as well.
A griddle and a press will give you great crust as well. Press in one spot of the griddle, then move the steak to another part of the griddle when you flip the steak. Each flip, you are chasing the heat.
It should sit between them without falling down. if you just throw them in there, they will fall through. After a long while they will ash up and fall through, but you will be done cooking by then. There is nothing wrong with them falling through, your grill can take the heat. Just clean is out every once in a while and you will be fine. (cleaning is always better the more you do it, but......)
If you are chasing heat well, then your problem is BTUs. You need more heat. This should help.
One last suggestion......dab the surface of your steak with a paper towel, then sear. All the moisture on the surface of the steak has to be evaporated before it can be browned......so this will help browning start faster. Re-salt it after cooking and you will be golden.
I too use the keep flipping method. I either use my mini-gasser or a Weber Smokey Joe. In either case, my setups allow me to sit while flipping away so it’s easy and comfortable. Oh and I can do it one handed so I can have a beer in my other hand. 🤣
I don’t get too concerned about a little bit of grey band on the interior. I feel that the pink edge to edge thing is way overrated. And if you are flipping often enough, it’s very minimal.
I just reread your post. The secret to a properly cooked steak is to flip often. I flip every 30 sec. This prevents too much heat from penetrating the meat. With a longer time between flips, more heat can penetrate and overcook near the surface. That's what produces the gray band. And the longer you go between flips, the thicker that gray band will be.
And I front sear because it's easier to hit your target temp without overshooting when you finish at a lower, (indirect), temp.
For me, +1 on multiple flips on a front sear steaks and just a couple of flips on a reverse sear thicker steaks like Tri Tip. Either way I like my steaks rare to almost medium rare. If it moos when I cut into it, it's done !
Last edited by Purc; September 23, 2025, 12:23 PM.
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