We are big fans of reverse searing steaks. We often just cook steaks for myself and my wife but sometimes for up to 6 people. Most of the time we'll throw some potatoes on, low and slow (225 - 250) a couple of hours before dinner. Then about an hour before dinner the steaks go on and we cook them to about 125. Then we pull the steaks, setup for a sear and sear them. I'm kind of fighting getting a sear I am happy with without it being too much hassle. Here's the equipment we've got and how things have been working on them:
Other options: I used an old cast iron pan inside once when the Memphis Advantage auger stopped on me. Wife didn't like the taste. Could be because it hadn't been used in years. Can the seasoning go bad? We have a Lodge cast iron griddle. Haven't really used it. Stainless steel pan? Electric oven broiler? Ninja air fryer???
So, I would love any input from all of you experienced grill masters out there. What's my best option considering what I have? Should I get something else just for searing steaks? Inquiring minds (well one mind) want to know.
- Memphis Advantage pellet grill: We've had this for a few years. It replaced an OLD Traeger. It does fine with the low and slow portion of the cook. When it works, it does a decent job searing. However, cranking it up for the sear has been problematic. We've had the auger stop. That is resolved (I think). We've had it way overshoot the temperature and cause a controller overheat error. That still happens. Also, no matter how much we scrape the "flavorizor", there is a lot of nasty smoke from stuff burning off. Swapping out the blazing hot indirect insert for the direct flame insert is a bit interesting as well.
- 28" Blackstone griddle: Part of the reason I wanted this was I thought I could use it to sear steaks. I don't think I've ever tried it. It just seems like to much hassle to roll it out, get on my knees to unlatch the soft cover and take it off, take the hard cover off, open the tank valve, light it (looking to make sure it lights because it always takes multiple tries) etc. Then there is another cooker to clean when we are done as well.
- 26" Weber kettle: I bought this used recently because of my frustration with the Memphis Advantage. I've done a reverse seared tri-tip on it. No steaks yet. The sear on the tri-tip is probably the best I've ever gotten. Used firebricks for 2 zone setup. I just bought a Slow n Sear XL for it. I fired up a full Weber chimney of KBB for the sear. By the time it was hot and I was ready for it the chimney was about 3/4 full. I think I could have used more charcoal for the sear. After shutting down the grill, less than a compact chimney's worth of that charcoal was left. My issue searing on this is that it seams very wasteful. That and all the smoke from firing up another chimney.
- Weber Jumbo Joe: Picked this up used with a full size Weber chimney for $20 the same day I bought the 26er. I needed the chimney, so I figured it was a free grill
Seared a few small filets on it the other night. Put 4 or 5 new briquettes in a compact Weber chimney then filled it with what was left from the tri-tip sear. Got 'em good an hot and just banked them to one side. Worked pretty good. Hot area was a bit small. Could have probably used more charcoal again. Maybe using one of my charcoal baskets would help? Steaks wanted to stick to the grate. Not sure why. Haven't had that happen before. After closing it up, it seemed to save a lot of the charcoal. Had to sit crouched over it in a chair. Sure would like to find a Weber table...
Other options: I used an old cast iron pan inside once when the Memphis Advantage auger stopped on me. Wife didn't like the taste. Could be because it hadn't been used in years. Can the seasoning go bad? We have a Lodge cast iron griddle. Haven't really used it. Stainless steel pan? Electric oven broiler? Ninja air fryer???
So, I would love any input from all of you experienced grill masters out there. What's my best option considering what I have? Should I get something else just for searing steaks? Inquiring minds (well one mind) want to know.
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