First Steaks Attempt

[Paswesley]

Hi, Forum Family:

I tried my first steaks yesterday. They were not a particularly good cut. They were mock tenderloins that were cut for me by the great guys at Safeway. They were actually two inch thick cuts of the tenderest part of the sirloin. I have found that, of all the retail supermarket meats available in this area, Safeway is by far the better of them. The meat is guranteed tender, even the so called tough cuts, and the guys in the meat department will bend themselves into a pretzel to accommodate you. We have yet to get a piece of meat that was not tender. Anyway, back to the steaks. Rather than to risk a strip or a ribeye, I thought I would cut my teeth on the sirloins. I made so many mistakes! First, I had it set up for indirect cooking, heat deflector and all. NOT! I quickly took out the heat deflector and set them on the main grill. NOT! I finally put them on the lower grill, , and was in the money. Even after all of those greenhorn goofs, the steaks cooked up great. The only problem I had was gauging when they were done. I have a Maverick, but I am a purist when it comes to my steaks, I eyeball them. I have discovered that the KK imparts a reddish hue to the meat, and it was about dusk when I cooked them, so I overcooked them a bit. We eat them med-rare, but they were med-rare to medium. My daughter's fiance said they reminded him of meat that you "...get at those fancy restaurants where they come to the table and cook the steaks in front of you." I thought that was a pretty good compliment, especially since, I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THE HECK I WAS DOING!!! I can't believe how the KK pulls your bacon out of the fire, so to speak, and makes you look good when other (lesser) cookers would drop you on your head. Thanks, again, Dennis, for making one whale of a good Kooker. My wife is now teasing me by saying that she was the one that convinced me to buy it! Yeah, right!

[Tucker]

Next Steaks

When you do your next steaks, i recommend to use the 'reverse sear' method several others on the forum have discussed and tried.

I did some super market steaks this way last weekend.

I was very please with the outcome, very tender and seemed to have a broader and deeper flavor to them.

Agreed on the cooker, absolutely the best you can get.

[mguerra]

measure

You will get the best, most reproducible results on your steaks by measuring the finish temperature , not eyeballing. Use the same thermometer every time. This applies even more to chicken, for safety.

[Porkchop]

don't knock sirloin, paswesley. it is my personal favorite. better flavor than a ribeye, imho. other favorites are london broil (cut from bottom round, grilled rare and sliced thin) and tri-tip roast (ditto!).

i tend to find ribeyes too greasy for me. a nice porterhouse is very good, but i haven't found that they are better (esp. for the money) than a nice, fat sirloin when done properly.

[T Rex]

Hey Paswesley, you might want to invest in a Thermapen. I don't know how I lived without one before I bought the KK.........

T Rex

[DennisLinkletter]

Here is a well known firmness scale that works well

Hey Paswesley, you might want to invest in a Thermapen. I don't know how I lived without one before I bought the KK.........

T Rex

Absolutely recommend the Thermapen.. Once you use one you'll toss every other as the wait will become unbearable.. Just like going back to a slower computer or internet connection after using a faster one..

Once you know your temp.. start to notice the firmness of your steaks at these temps.. either from touching them with your tongs or finger..

Once memorized you can also use touch to get repeatable results.

Here is a well known firmness scale that works well

ttp://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/meat/activity-fingertest.html

[Jim Malter]

Agree with Dennis re Thermapen. Unbelievably useful.

I cook steaks at 650-700 immediately above the coals. About 3 min/side for rare for 1" thick cuts.

Please buy some high temp insulated, long gloves and use them. These temps are dangerous without protection.

The quality and burn time of your charcoal (i.e. just ignited vs. burning for >30 min) will also affect taste and meat color.

[otter]

Concur also with the Thermopen recommendations. They are very handy to have and they now even have a splash proof model. I hear the splash proof model could potentially be usefull if left out overnight with a random summer shower, due to a few extra libations being consumed when grilling. Not that all of the above conditions had anything to do with the demise of two of the previous models and longevity of the new one at my household!

[primeats]

It's pretty easy to eye ball the steaks, or use the "poke " method to tell when they are done. The firmer the flesh of the steak or chop when prodded by your tongs, the more well done it is. If it is pretty springy it's still on the rare side. You may have to experiment a few times but the learning curve is pretty tasty/easy. I try to avoid piercing the meat while cooking unless it's a larger cut like a roast, or some intact fowl(whole chix, turkey,etc.) To better understand the method poke the base of your thumb with your other index finger...pretty springy/rare. Now touch your index finger to the tip your thumb on the same hand, poke the base of the thumb again with the other index finger...a bit firmer/medium. Touch the tip of the next finger to the thumb and poke...much more firm/ well done. Again, practice,practice,practice. Even boneless skinless chicken breasts can be done this way, a little trickier to get the target temps( I cheat and use a Thermapen when catering on a couple pieces to confirm!) And the KK has pulled my bacon from the fire MANY times as well! The red layer you are referring to is called the smoke ring, only obtained when using wood or charcoal, it's a ring of honor!