Cooking to different temperatures

[sorensen_j]

This past weekend I was cooking steaks for me and the wife. I had a ribeye filet and she had a filet mignon - both were pretty close in thickness. I wanted mine cooked to 130, but she's preggo, so she has to go to a minimum of 145. I brought the kettle up to a steady 250. I popped hers on first, waited for it to come up 15 degrees, then tossed mine on. My steak quickly caught and blew past hers. Mine reached temp about 15 minutes before hers. I pulled mine, wrapped it in foil, and threw it on top of the lid of the grill to keep it warm, but it ended up cooking way more than I had anticipated.

Does anyone have any tips/suggestions for aligning completion times when cooking multiple pieces of meats to different temperatures? Struggling with a 15 degree temp differential makes the thought of cooking for myself as well as those who like well done steak a little intimidating (I swear those friends have other redeeming qualities )!

[Steve B]

I hear you brother. I'm in the same boat.
I like meadium, meadium rare. And the wife likes meadium at least or better.
I'm hoping someone will chime in that has more experience.

[Steve R.]

I would set the cooking temp closer to 225 and start hers well ahead of the others, even if it reaches med well internal and has to be taken off and chilled for awhile. The soon to be well-done one can then be reheated/seared along with the others when the time comes.

[Thunder77]

Sous Vide can help you there.

[kmhfive]

The last few I cooked, I carved of a roast. I had a strip loin that I cut 2-inch steaks for me and my youngest son and 3/4-inch steaks for my wife and youngest daughter. Then SV at 131F followed by searing on the charcoal chimney for Warp 10. It worked out perfect for both groups.

[DeusDingo]

ribeyes are fatty and faster to cook, they aren't as dense as a filet. put hers on quite a bit ahead of time. even if you have to pull hers before yours is done they have to go back on the grill for searing anyway which should bring them up to temp again or close to it, either way the desired temp was already reached. it also helps if you two eat the same steak so they cook up at about the same rate and you can anticipate better the time difference in cooking.

[scottranda]

You had a great attempt. You'll have to play around with it. Some good suggestions above. Perhaps wrapping in foil cooked it further since the heat is directed back on itself. Plus, you put it on top of your grill which may have cooked it further. You're not alone in trying to achieve the correct temp and the right time.

[Gilmore]

I'm in a similar boat, I love ribeyes, she loves filet's, only we both like them done to the same temp. Don't forget carry over cooking. It the ribeye was shooting up fast, carryover cooking can cause the temp to raise 10+ more degrees after you've taken it off. Foiling and placing it on the cover will increase the carry over heat even further. When I'm cooking steaks at a high, high temp - I tend to pull them off the grill ~10 degrees below my target and just tent with foil because I know the temp will continue to rise.

One other thing I've noticed, the ribeyes get more flareups from lit oils below them because of the hire fat content. This may be some of the reason for why they tend cook faster?

[DogFaced PonySoldier]

Same problem here, but I'm a medium-rare ribeye guy, she prefers medium-well and a denser cut like a sirloin, filet, strip, etc. Definitely have learned hers goes on way way WAY before mine.

Just getting into SV, as well, and starting with the more well-done steaks, then drop temp, add less-well steaks, or pull and chill, etc. Always gotta start with the well(er)-done(r) ones.