Scotch: Current favorite- The Arran (anything by them), Glenmorangie 12yr Lasanta, sherry cask finished. The Balvenie Double Wood, also like Oban 18yr, and The Glenlivet Nadurra (Oloroso sherry cask finished) among others. Neat please.
About meReal name: Aaron
Location: Farwell, Michigan - near Clare (dead center of lower peninsula).
Occupation:
Healthcare- Licensed & Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) at MyMichigan Health, a University of Michigan Health System.
Resting steaks is something that will never ever go away. I don't know about you, but I never pull my steak off the grill and eat it in one motion. The steak will naturally 'rest' by the time you get it to the table and everyone sits, fills plates and digs in. Not to mention the second half of your steak 'rests' while you're eating the first half. Any intentional resting before this whole process just gives you a colder steak, especially the last few bites. No thanks.
You are no barbarian! I have found that playing rock music while cooking renders a tougher steak. Classical music, while not so palatable to the ear, softens the steak. Taking it off the grill with bare hands instead of an implement helps the bonding and relaxes the connective tissues.
Hi, my name is Darrell. I'm an OTR truck driver for over 25 years. During my off time I love doing backyard cooks. I have a 48" Lang Deluxe smoker, Rec-Tec pellet smoker,1 Weber Genesis 330, 1 Weber Performer (blue), 2 Weber kettles (1 black and 1 Copper), 1 26" Weber kettle, a WSM, 8 Maverick Redi Chek thermometers, a PartyQ, 2 SnS, Grill Grates, Cast Iron grates, 1 ThermoPop (orange) and 2 ThermoPens (pink and orange) and planning on adding more cooking accessories. Now I have an Anova sous vide, the Dragon blower and 2 Chef alarms from Thermoworks.
Thermoworks, perhaps, should stick to making good thermometers, rather than recipe writing?
I did like the general strategy they put forward in that email though; I independently decided to try that a few years ago, thinking some more smoke flavor in the steak might be nice, and it's now my go to thing for ribeye steaks: a slower smoke, perhaps 30 minutes until 110F or so, then a sear. It's the most reliable method of making great steaks, in my view, on the BGE. The sear is a bit suboptimal though, because it's hard to crank the heat up quickly after the smoke. Long story about why, but I now have two BGE's, sorta by accident, and if I'm feeling ambitious and have a couple very expensive steaks, and company is coming over, I'll heat the large one up for the smoke, and crank the small one up to very hot, no plate setter, grill down near the coals, and do the sear on that one. This works great, but burns a lot of charcoal...
Thermoworks, perhaps, should stick to making good thermometers, rather than recipe writing?
I did like the general strategy they put forward in that email though; I independently decided to try that a few years ago, thinking some more smoke flavor in the steak might be nice, and it's now my go to thing for ribeye steaks: a slower smoke, perhaps 30 minutes until 110F or so, then a sear. It's the most reliable method of making great steaks, in my view, on the BGE. The sear is a bit suboptimal though, because it's hard to crank the heat up quickly after the smoke. Long story about why, but I now have two BGE's, sorta by accident, and if I'm feeling ambitious and have a couple very expensive steaks, and company is coming over, I'll heat the large one up for the smoke, and crank the small one up to very hot, no plate setter, grill down near the coals, and do the sear on that one. This works great, but burns a lot of charcoal...
You can do the reverse sear in one BGE... no plate setter required during that cook. I've been doing the reverse sear on my large BGE without the plate setter for 2 years.
Think it through... when you set up your BGE to cook at 225° you have no direct flames, you have a very small pile of smoldering lump coal. To bake your steaks mount a grate that is above the felt line so it's far away from the smoldering lump and bake your steaks at 225°. That will take about 40 minutes. Another important step is to fill your fire box so the lump is 2" below the top of the fire box.
Once your steaks reach 115°, open the dome, remove your steaks and set them on a plate next to your cooker. They will not be browned on the surface at this point. Put a grate on that is at the same level as the top of your fire box. I use 1 grate for the cook, I just invert it, see picture. Open your bottom vent wide open and put your BBQ Dragon on to ramp up your cooking temperature quickly to Warp 10 heat. That takes less than 2 minutes.
While your fire is ramping up... blot your steaks with paper towels and apply some beef love and you are ready to sear your steaks.
Another method you can use that few people have figured out... fortunately you have 2 BGE's, 2 standard grates.👍
Remove your fire ring and mount your standard BGE grate on top of your fire box and then replace your fire ring, it's a perfect fit. Fill your fire box with lump that is 2" below the top of the fire box... now you've got the perfect setup for searing, 2" from Warp 10 lump.👌 Use your other standard grate from your other BGE to put your steaks on during the baking process.
If you don't have a BBQ Dragon yet you really need to consider getting one. I feel it's one of my handiest accessories for both my Weber kettle & SnS and my BGE.
Try one practice cook of a steak before your friends arrive and I will assure you, you will never use your plate setter again when doing the reverse sear on your BGE.
Henrik ... I find that grate to be a very important BGE accessory. Having the BBQ Dragon to get your fire from 225° up to Warp 10 heat quickly is handy too.
Thanks Breadhead, I already have the BBQ Dragon since two years back, absolutely love it. Have been looking for a small enough grate for a long time, finally found it!
Breadhead Thanks! I think I understand what you're saying. This makes sense. It seems like you have an aftermarket grate of some sort that allows a level above the felt line, and then lets you flip and get below the fire ring; that's new to me. Do you have a link to it, or a brand/model name?
What's that red next to your steak plate? Think we'd typically prefer a Lodi Zin, but curious what's your favorite, since you seem to have studied this in depth!
Scotch: Current favorite- The Arran (anything by them), Glenmorangie 12yr Lasanta, sherry cask finished. The Balvenie Double Wood, also like Oban 18yr, and The Glenlivet Nadurra (Oloroso sherry cask finished) among others. Neat please.
About meReal name: Aaron
Location: Farwell, Michigan - near Clare (dead center of lower peninsula).
Occupation:
Healthcare- Licensed & Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) at MyMichigan Health, a University of Michigan Health System.
Breadhead Thanks! I think I understand what you're saying. This makes sense. It seems like you have an aftermarket grate of some sort that allows a level above the felt line, and then lets you flip and get below the fire ring; that's new to me. Do you have a link to it, or a brand/model name?
What's that red next to your steak plate? Think we'd typically prefer a Lodi Zin, but curious what's your favorite, since you seem to have studied this in depth!
Look at the pictures of the various uses of this handy dandy grate. I consider this grate a MUST HAVE ACCESSORY for searing steaks, elevating my pizza stone for pizza and bread baking and it comes in handy to hold a drip pan.
I use that grate when I'm reverse searing a couple of steaks. If I'm going to reverse sear many steaks I will put a standard BGE grate between the fire box and the fire ring, to expand my searing capacity. Then I'll mount another standard size BGE grate on top of the fire ring and put the Grill Dome grate on top of that grate, to elevate my steaks during the baking process... see picture below, still no plate setter. If you are going to cook a dozen steaks just put a wider grate on top of the Grill Dome grate to increase your real estate. When your steaks reach 115° remove all the grates you have mounted except the one on top of the fire box and sear baby sear.👍
My very first conversation with Meathead on AR was 6 years ago when I got my BGE - long before the Pit Club was created. I asked him why I couldn't grill a decent steak on my BGE. He said that Kamado cookers are great ovens but not great grills because you can't get your steaks close enough to the red hot lump coal to sear your steaks properly. I knew he was dead right so... I set out to figure out a way to make that possible.
After figuring out how to get my steaks close to the Warp 10 lump I got great steaks. Then later I thought why do I need the plate setter when cooking at 225°? Eliminating the plate setter simply because its not needed and very cumbersome to move around when it's hot, streamlined and simplified the cook.
The red... is a California Cabernet or a Merlot.
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Last edited by Breadhead; June 12, 2017, 01:02 AM.
Fill your fire box with lump that is 2" below the top of the fire box... now you've got the perfect setup for searing, 2" from Warp 10 lump.👌 Use your other standard grate from your other BGE to put your steaks on during the baking process.
Think we'd typically prefer a Lodi Zin, but curious what's your favorite, since you seem to have studied this in depth!
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