Learning curve on steaks........

[Mbloto]

Did some beef tenderloins for the first time tonight. Used the Slow n Sear.

Got the grill to 225 - 230 and stuck a Thermoworks needle probe in one of the steaks. When the meat reached 115 degrees I took it off, brushed it with some oil and poured half a chimney of hot briquetes to fill the slow n sear to the top.

Put the steaks on the screaming hot side and turned every minute until they hit 133 degrees, using a ThermoPop to check the temp.

Now the steaks were very tasty and juicy but I ended up with a good quarter inch of well done meat at the top and bottom. Haven't had this problem before with my strip steaks.

Took me awhile to figure out what I THINK I did wrong. The tenderloins were a bit over 2 inches thick and searing them when they hit 115 degrees just took too long to get them to around 130 degrees because they were so thick. My strips are usually 1.25 - 1.5 inches thick and searing them when they hit 115 degrees works pretty well.

So I figure the thicker the steak the higher the pre-searing temp needs to be. At 2+ inches I probably should have got them to 120 at least, maybe even 125 before searing.

Wonder if there is a "rule of thumb" of what the internal temps of different thicknesses should be before searing?

Dave

[jfmorris]

Your theory seems sound to me. I.e. take the thicker cuts to 120 or 125 before searing.

[jgreen]

Bet they were good anyway. Most times mistakes are still worth eating.

[Jerod Broussard]

Definitely 120-125 before searing for 1.5" or greater.

[Huskee]

You could also try a "front sear", or "reverse-reverse sear". Sear first thing, when they're cold, until it looks good. Then move them over to the indirect side and slowly bring up to your target temp.

[Mbloto]

Can't get my head around that idea. Once the S&S is loaded up to sear, how can I get the temp back down to the 225 range? Seems I might need 2 grills?

[Huskee]

Mbloto You just close the vents down & don't worry about 225 specifically. Keep the lid off, don't let the grates & insides heat up beyond the searing coals. It takes a while to tame the raging coals, sure, but the indirect aspect can be done right away and it works since the steaks are slowly heating up with everything else once you put the lid on.

[Dadof3Illinois]

I have to agree with @ Huskee. I did this once and it blew me away at how good the steaks turned out.
I cooked 3-2” thick tomahawk steaks by filling my chimney starter 1/2 full and letting it get screaming hot. Then set a grate on top, let it get hot and sear the steaks for 1 min per side.
Then dump the hot coals in the SnS with a chunk of hickory and bring the kettle temp up to 225-250 and smoke until internal temp reaches 125. Remove from the grill and tent for 19 mins.

[fuzzydaddy]

To expand on what's been said, try limiting the sear to 2 rounds of 1 minute per side (4 minutes total; 2 minutes per side), and dry the surface before oiling.

[Mbloto]

Just an update. Did 2 Denver steaks from Porter Road. These were about 10 ounces each and and over 2 inches thick.
Cooked to 127 and then seared for 2 minuted on each side, turning every minute. Came out perfect medium rare, pink edge to edge.
This cut from Porter Road was quite good. I call it the poor man's filet mignon.
i think an inch and a half might work at 125 before searing.
But you pit masters already knew that!
Dave
Dave

[Huskee]

Success! Experimenting is fun!

[Red Man]

I like to heat indirect at about 200 degrees until I hit my desired internal temp. At this low of a cooking temp there is no, or very little, carryover cooking. Take the lid off the grill and let them sit until the IT drops a few degrees, about ten minutes or so. Then load the SnS with hot coals and quickly sear. This way there’s no more internal cooking done during the sear step and there’s no guessing as to when to start searing.

[Timbo54]

I think this is where Sous vide really works in that you can cook your steaks to the desired doneness and then sear off = perfect steak.

[HouseHomey]

Reverse, reverse certainly works. But I rest up my whole cuts at 160° I take large BI rib roasts to 115° with a front sear and tenderloins to 110°

for me me the slow rest up is crucial.