I was goin to put this in SUWYC, but it’s really something that should have its own topic. It’s a little light on photos, sorry, but I wasn’t thinking of separating it as a topic when I was cooking, I was just going to make steaks and do a quick SUWYC.
My very first cook when I got my BGE, back in 2009, was from the manual that came with it. And it’s something I got away from, but it’s simple, repeatable, and it turns out a damn good steak. It goes like this:
1) Prep some steaks. This method is specifically for the size steaks you get in a typical supermarket, 3/4” to 1 1/4” thick. Just use salt; garlic and pepper are going to burn. You can add those later. I got these at Weis Markets, $9.99/lb. These were pretty nice for choice!
2) Load your kamado with charcoal, up to and maybe even a little above the fire ring. More is better. But not too much, this is a volume/distance balance.
3) Get a good, hot, even fire, with coals lit edge to edge 360°. By hot I mean 600°+ on the dome thermo. Grate temp will be higher, there won’t be enough time for heat sink into the ceramic. I left upper and lower vents wide open. This won’t take long.
4) here is where 2/2/2 comes in. 2 minutes on one side. Flip. 2 minutes on the other side. Then flip, shut both vents, and let the steaks dwell for 2 minutes. I did do one extra flip to pick up that last set of crosshatch grill marks, like 15 seconds on the grate.
This is what you get:
This was our first opportunity to try the Japanese sauce that was so graciously gifted to me by gboss! I have no idea what it is, but I know that it is a serious umami bomb. You DO NOT put it on your steak like A-1 sauce… you don’t even cut a piece and dip it in sauce. You cut a piece and dip the corner lightly in the sauce, and put it in your mouth and it freakin’ EXPLODES in your brain, through your taste buds. Those Japanese, they know umami! Gboss, I didn’t get a chance to shave some wasabi root; next time.
A WORD OF WARNING. Remember that you are supposed to burp your kamado after it dwells for a while with both vents closed? I actually did remember. And I did burp my kamado… but I gave it the kind of burp that I’d give it after a minute or so at 400°. That is not what it needs after 2 minutes at 600°.
Yeah, ol’ Mosca took a flashback. And not the good kind.
Kids: Don't be like Mosca. Don’t take a flashback. Burp your kamado slowly.
The freakin’ steaks were great, the sauce is fantastic. The method is easy and it works. Yes, you sacrifice some crust, but you gain simplicity and speed, and crosshatched grill mark steaks were great, before, before we went all in on Maillard; they still are.
My very first cook when I got my BGE, back in 2009, was from the manual that came with it. And it’s something I got away from, but it’s simple, repeatable, and it turns out a damn good steak. It goes like this:
1) Prep some steaks. This method is specifically for the size steaks you get in a typical supermarket, 3/4” to 1 1/4” thick. Just use salt; garlic and pepper are going to burn. You can add those later. I got these at Weis Markets, $9.99/lb. These were pretty nice for choice!
2) Load your kamado with charcoal, up to and maybe even a little above the fire ring. More is better. But not too much, this is a volume/distance balance.
3) Get a good, hot, even fire, with coals lit edge to edge 360°. By hot I mean 600°+ on the dome thermo. Grate temp will be higher, there won’t be enough time for heat sink into the ceramic. I left upper and lower vents wide open. This won’t take long.
4) here is where 2/2/2 comes in. 2 minutes on one side. Flip. 2 minutes on the other side. Then flip, shut both vents, and let the steaks dwell for 2 minutes. I did do one extra flip to pick up that last set of crosshatch grill marks, like 15 seconds on the grate.
This is what you get:
This was our first opportunity to try the Japanese sauce that was so graciously gifted to me by gboss! I have no idea what it is, but I know that it is a serious umami bomb. You DO NOT put it on your steak like A-1 sauce… you don’t even cut a piece and dip it in sauce. You cut a piece and dip the corner lightly in the sauce, and put it in your mouth and it freakin’ EXPLODES in your brain, through your taste buds. Those Japanese, they know umami! Gboss, I didn’t get a chance to shave some wasabi root; next time.
A WORD OF WARNING. Remember that you are supposed to burp your kamado after it dwells for a while with both vents closed? I actually did remember. And I did burp my kamado… but I gave it the kind of burp that I’d give it after a minute or so at 400°. That is not what it needs after 2 minutes at 600°.
Yeah, ol’ Mosca took a flashback. And not the good kind.
Kids: Don't be like Mosca. Don’t take a flashback. Burp your kamado slowly.
The freakin’ steaks were great, the sauce is fantastic. The method is easy and it works. Yes, you sacrifice some crust, but you gain simplicity and speed, and crosshatched grill mark steaks were great, before, before we went all in on Maillard; they still are.
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