Steaks grilled on the WSM

[MattTheGR8]

I don't own a Vortex, and the searing on my SNS isn't quite hot enough for my taste. So, recently I've taken to searing my steaks over a chimney full of burning coals. However, balancing a cooking grate on the top of the chimney makes me nervous - the last thing I want is a precious steak tumbling down onto my deck. This weekend I tried something new on the WSM and it worked out great. I removed the lower cooking grate and set the chimney on the water pan of my WSM, which made the top grate of the smoker come down within an inch or so of the chimney top. To get the grate in direct contact with the chimney, I raised the chimney by sliding a couple of concrete pavers under it. The pavers also keep the chimney from sitting directly on the water pan and help facilitate air flow. The final configuration is shown in the first picture.

With this configuration, the grate is elevated maybe a quarter inch or so above the brackets on the WSM. It can wobble a bit, but it can't move much and it can't fall. This configuration resembles what I've seen of the Vortex, but with way more charcoal burning. The steaks were reverse seared, coming up to temp over indirect heat and then finished quickly over the screaming hot fire in the center. They turned out great, and the chimney and WSM both seemed to survive the experiment.

[Jessterr]

Love it! To my mind, exploring new and creative ways to use our cookers is a lot of the fun. Is that an 18” or 22” WSM?

[MattTheGR8]

Jessterr It's a 22" WSM. On an 18" model there might not be enough clearance between the water pan and grate to hold the chimney (I don't have one that size so I'm not sure).

[klflowers]

I have grilled by setting the charcoal basket on the lower grate but never thought of this

[synodog]

I’ve thought of doing this on my 22” so maybe I will one of these days. I wondered if the chimney would be too high. So you were able to close the lid to allow indirect heat then?

[MattTheGR8]

synodog Yes, the lid fit just fine for indirect grilling.

[JeffJ]

Maybe it's different with the larger WSM's but my 14.5" rocks steaks. I always make sure they are cut THICK - 2 - 2.5 inches thick. I do this for NY strip and ribeye. I put the steaks in the freezer for a half hour and then flip them over and go another half hour. This makes the exterior of the meat colder than the interior, which furthers the whole concept behind the reverse sear. I'll make sure the charcoal ring is full of lit coals. I'll cook top grate with the bowl removed and will flip the steaks over when they hit 70-85 internal. When they hit 110 I will pull the steaks and will remove the center ring. I'll then place the lower grate (that I had set aside for the cook) directly on top of the charcoal ring and will reverse sear the steaks. Even before the reverse sear the steaks will already have really good color because they were exposed directly to radiant heat. I remember waiting too long to check the internal temps on the steaks and they were already medium rare before the reverse sear. But they picked up fantastic color sitting above the fire that it wasn't needed.

This is from February 2018, where I just mentioned they were medium rare without a reverse sear - it was about 15 degrees F when I cooked these steaks:

[Oak Smoke]

That’s sharp! Way to use your head! It’s amazing just how versatile some cooker are when someone takes the time to think about it.