There's been a lot of good discussionsof reverse sear: using two zones of a grill directly over the coals and then offset from the coals in a cooler portion of the grill to cook a steak. Has anyone done reverse sear using a Santa Maria style grill to get the same effect? In other words, raising the grill far above the fire to attain the lower temp after searing it with the grill close to the coals. First question is can it work and how does it compare? It would seem the advantage to be you can go from hot to cool much faster.
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It would absolutely work. I think that that is one of the primary benefits of a rig like that. -
What you're describing is a forward sear, but yes, you can do both fwd and rev sears with a SMG. I do rev sears often with mine, meaning I start with the meat (usually steaks, but chicken as well) up high above the fire were it takes a little heat and smoke. There's a bit of finesse involved with fire/heat management, but that's the fun part. A rule of thumb (whole hand actually) is the 5 second test where you can only hold your open, palm-down hand over the fire at grill height for 5 seconds before you have to pull it away. Not an exact science by any stretch, but that roughly equates to 300 - 350 degrees f. You then make adjustments accordingly.
The method I use for steaks and tri tips is keeping the grate above that 5 second level and flip often. Get it to 120 - 125 internal, remove to a sheet pan, stoke the fire/coals and lower the grate to fire level. Pat the steaks dry with paper towels and coat with avocado or some other high smoke point oil and when the coals are ready sear off, flipping frequently, to your desired level of doneness.
With chicken, especially thighs, I run them at the 5 second level, flipping occasionally, until done (160-ish), stoke the fire/coals and lower the chicken, skin side down, to the fire level for a few minutes to crisp up the skin.
It's a lot of fun to cook this way, especially with a nice bourbon and a stogie close to hand!Last edited by CaptainMike; August 27, 2022, 11:30 AM.Comment
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I also enjoy doing this...but I find it a little trickier if uncovered. In particular I find I need to flip periodically even during the non-searing phase to make it cook evenly, as CaptainMike does. Esp in cold weather. It's a lot of fun, but I find it a little more foolproof to do offset from fire under a lid.Comment
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Thanks for the good advice. Tried it for the first time with 3 cuts of steak and the results were good. Yes, reversed sear starting the cooking with the grate elevated. This is an M Grill M16 with an accessory I co-designed with a metal grill designer/fabricator to turn it into an Asado/SM type grill.Comment
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That's a nice grill! I reverse sear with my Buckaroo grill all the time. The big advantage of this is that the meat catches great smoke from the wood fire while you're heating it slowly. I start the meat even higher up to get a bit longer smoking time before dropping it down to sear.Comment
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