Griddle Searing with a Gasser

[trasmc]

Good morning everyone!

Looking for some thoughts here on what you all do! I'm using a cast iron griddle to reverse sear by placing the griddle on my older weber 3 burner gas grill. I usually pre-heat the griddle in the indoor oven to about 425, then when I'm ready I pull the food off the grill, turn all 3 burners up to high, put the griddle in the middle of the grill and close the lid. I let the whole thing heat up some more for about 5 minutes or so, then put the food on the griddle for searing.

I'm a (serious hobby) photographer, and other forums I'm on talk about Gear Acquisition Syndrome all the time - I'm sure there's an acronym here for that as well - I just haven't looked. Anyway, I'm trying to be more purposeful in getting new grill toys, so I haven't yet bought an IR "point & shoot" thermometer, so I have no way of knowing how hot the griddle is (or should be). So far results have been mixed with searing - sometimes it's great and sometimes it overcooks the food too much - it's kind of hit and miss (and I'm sure my inexperience doesn't help)!

So if you use the same set-up what do you do? Pre-heat the griddle? What temp? Put it on the grill with all burners on high? Medium? How long do you let it sit on the grill before searing?

Thanks again for your thoughts!

Scott

[customtrim]

I use mine on my kamado joe i leave it in as a deflector plate then when ready crank up the heat and sear the steak. I keep the steak moving so not to burn or over cook

[Lowjiber]

Scott, I'm hardly an expert at searing on a griddle. However, I do know one thing... you've got to know how hot that griddle gets on your own gasser, and the only sure way to know is with an IR "point & shoot" thermometer. They are not expensive. I've had the same one for ten years and only changed the battery once. You can't manage what you don't measure, and thermometers are our "gotta have" tools.

[Dewesq55]

I agree with this. Simply no substitute for an IR gun.

[trasmc]

Sounds good - I'll get an IR thermometer. When using it, is there a specific temperature you aim for with the griddle?

[Dewesq55]

I like it around 500°F or a little above. At this temp, I recommend using either ghee or beef tallow for your searing fat.

[W.A.]

Make sure you look at the temp range for the gun. You might want one that gets up in the 900F range fir things like pizza. Many in Lowes etc do not. I found mine in the grill section of Academy sports. Its a Maverick brand.

[Brewmaster]

I have an older weber gasser and I put the grate down on top of the flavor bars and found it gets really hot and creates a great sear.

[Thunder77]

trasmc, in the Pit we call it MCS. "More Cooker Syndrome"

[Dr ROK]

1) Make sure you are pulling your steak off 5 - 10 degrees below your desired finished temp. 2) I don't think you can really get your griddle too hot. Just flip about every 30 seconds or so and check the temp after a few flips. 3) There is no cure for MCS. Sorry!

[customtrim]

I seared the roast today on the griddle just to let you know when the grill was at 225 the griddle was reading 315 so if your gasser goes to 400 or so i would say it will do fine and dont think i would invest in the thermometer. I only have mine to do pizza because i suck at it on the grill