Tried a new cooking method with my neighbor who has a large professional pizza oven. We smoked really high quality prime rib steaks, about 2-3 inch thick at 180F on a Yoder pellet grill until the interior reached 110F. Took about an hour. Then he seared them on his pizza stone that was 800F for a minute or two on each side. The results were a bit disappointing. There was a great smokey taste but they were less juicey and maybe even a bit chewy in places. Any thoughts or suggestions?
Seems like a very long sear at high temperature. For a steak that was almost cooked a real quick sear at that temp was probably all you needed. Interested in what others have to say. I have never smoked a steak before.
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I’m thinking like captainlee that a minute on each side might have been too much at 800. Maybe some quick flips a few times would have done it.
Also, I’m curious about the pizza stone, are all hot surfaces equal in their searing capabilities? And was it just the stone or was it in the oven too? That could make a difference since it’s getting heat from all sides if it’s inside the oven.
I'm thinking that an hour cook at 180* to get to 110* internal (uncovered I assume) was pretty long and would tend to evaporate the moisture. I would try a higher cook temp, shorter cook time and sear at the end. As always... YMMV
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I have started to move away from the reverse sear. I find that it gets to temp way too quick and I am not getting the sear that I want. So I am just flipping on a very hot fire.
Last edited by DavidNorcross; April 6, 2026, 06:30 PM.
The steaks look like they have plenty of marbling. Good selection. I would have like to see the inside when you cut it open. And finish temp. With a steak as thick as yours, I do not think the sear was to long, as I do 1.5 min at a 600 degree grill grates. with 4 turns. After SV for 3 hours. most of the time I'm at 140 It before the last turn. The one hour on the smoker may have got all your marbling.
I am not a big steak guy, so what I say here is probably irrelevant. But, I would think that the long smoking time is the culprit. I have a pellet smoker and there is quite a bit of air drafted over the food. I would think that tended to dry the steaks out. I am guessing you wanted to add smoke flavor to the steak, but my pellet smoker isn’t much help there. Adding a water pan might make a difference.
That seems like a good explanation. Also there was no drippings in the collector pail. But there was a smokiness to the meat that was quite pleasant. Tasted closer to a rib roast cooked low and slow.
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