Loquitur Posted May 30, 2013 Report Share Posted May 30, 2013 Re: Steak Tips DJ - you and Doc and probably everybody else on this board is way more experienced than me when it comes to grilling over charcoal since I never did it before I got my KK. I know you guys just put your hand over the fire and know what to do so it doesn't matter what the dome temp might be. But for me, reaching a dome temperature with the lid closed allows me to repeatedly and successfully replicate my hot and fast cooks. My husband of 37 years tells me my steaks and burgers are perfect every time and tells his friends that nobody cooks a steak or burger like me - and what's not to love about that!!!! Just want to mention that my steaks are at room temp before they go on the grill but that my burgers, which are 8 - 10 oz, go on cold from the frig so the same 2 min per side works with both. Now I got pork chops on my mind!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeDJ16 Posted May 31, 2013 Report Share Posted May 31, 2013 Re: Steak Tips Looks like you have great experience to me. You are cooking a beautiful steak, exactly how you want it. That is what it's all about. Techniques are just different tools on the cooking tool belt. Everybody has their favorite tool and none of them are wrong if you get the results you desire. Now why did you have to bring up the pork chops. Sitting here at work, getting hungry thinking about them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loquitur Posted May 31, 2013 Report Share Posted May 31, 2013 Re: Steak Tips Techniques are just different tools on the cooking tool belt. Everybody has their favorite tool and none of them are wrong if you get the results you desire. Beautifully stated words of wisdom. About the unreliability of the Thermapen on steak and burger cooks, I remembered researching this once before and finding special probes on the Thermoworks website for burgers and steaks. They refer to avoiding a heatsink effect that reduces true temperature in the description of the burger probe for fast food kitchens. I was going to buy the 113-151 model Fast Response Meat Needle Probe but then needed to choose another part to hook it up to and decided I just didn't need it inasmuch as I already have 2 thermapens, a Stoker, a Redi Check, a couple of Mavericks, a Oregon Scientific and a couple I don't remember anymore. http://www.thermoworks.com/products/pro ... ation.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mguerra Posted May 31, 2013 Report Share Posted May 31, 2013 Re: Steak Tips The closer you cook steaks and burgers to the fire the more precise you need to be in your timing and technique. That's why Susan's method of precisely controlling the fire temp at the dome works. When cooking up high, you can be much more loose with your fire temp control. As I have often said, for grilling you just need a "good hot fire" without any mention of a specific temp. That applies if you cook up high, and or indirect. It's a more relaxed method of grilling that actually is part roasting. As has been said, any technique that gets you the result you want is the right technique. When I was an engineering student, we used to say "What's right is what works." It's true when we "engineer" our steaks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeDJ16 Posted May 31, 2013 Report Share Posted May 31, 2013 Re: Steak Tips Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
normstar Posted June 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2013 Re: Steak Tips Tried a new technique last night and got great results! I was at one of the best restaurant in LA recently - Bestia - and noticed that on their grill they had a small section where flames were rising up through the grill and he was using that spot to char the fish/meats. So last night I wanted to cook 1 NY steak, about 16oz, so it was a nice sized steak. With the basket splitter installed I added 2 handfuls of small-medium sized lumps Meaquite. Started the fire and let it hear up for about 30 mins - inflow knob was open full and dome was open 3 turns. When ready to grill, I pulled the bottom door out a small amount and opened the dome up to 6 turns. This made the fire rage! It seemed the 6 turns up top had a much more profound effect than pulling out the bottom door. The temp rose steadily up to 500 - which is hot for such little fuel. Grilled the steak on the sear grill amongst the flames for 3 mins per side with the lid closed, for 6 minutes total. It was cooked a perfect med-rare and had a GREAT CRUST! Not too heavy of a char, just perfect. I also applied olive oil to the steak before grilling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
normstar Posted June 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2013 Re: Steak Tips Here's proof!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk1 Posted June 12, 2013 Report Share Posted June 12, 2013 Re: Steak Tips Nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loquitur Posted June 13, 2013 Report Share Posted June 13, 2013 Re: Steak Tips Normstar: That looks fantastic! If you can repeat that cook I would say your steak technique is perfected!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ducaticraig Posted June 30, 2013 Report Share Posted June 30, 2013 Re: Steak Tips NormStar, I don't know about you but I love my basket splitter. I use it for steaks and chicken but have not grilled using your mentioned. Definitely have to give it a try. I add charcoal to half the basket and turn the basket so the charcoal is facing the back of the KK. This way when I grill steaks and reach into the KK the fire/flames are at the back half of the KK. No more worries of fire burning the arm hairs. . For the peeps that don't care for the black bark on their steaks you can place your steaks a little over to the side of the basket without the lit charcoal and use a more indirect method of grilling. With the splitter sear basket you have options on how you want to grill your steaks. This is not to say you don't have options without it. I've been using the lower grate for grilling but am curious to try your method. Thanks for your post. One thing I really like about the sear basket option is how quickly the KK comes up to temp. I believe Dennis mentioned you get double the airflow using the splitter. The first thing I noticed was how much quicker the temperature rose in the KK when using the splitter while also using less charcoal. Anyone else notice this when using the basket splitter? If you don't have one I highly recommend getting one. While off the splitter topic I'm also looking forward to grilling some steaks using a cast iron griddle in the KK. Can we get some current posts to the forum of people grill using CI? Thanks Have a nice day everyone! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk1 Posted June 30, 2013 Report Share Posted June 30, 2013 Re: Steak Tips I use the splitter quite a lot.... Everything you say is true, it really is great for everyday quick cooks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
normstar Posted July 4, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2013 Re: Steak Tips Craig - I've noticed the fast temperature rise as well. Last night I lit some used mesquite and came back only 10-15 minutes later and it was at 500 degrees! The basket splitter has become a "must have" accessory. Another thing I've done with the splitter is only use the two horizontal grates (leaving out the solid steel sheet and vertical splitter). This way you can get a full basket of coal but only 1/2 the depth, which works great for large cooks of shorter duration, such as a bunch of steaks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ducaticraig Posted July 4, 2013 Report Share Posted July 4, 2013 Re: Steak Tips That is great news, I will have to give that a try. It's refreshing to see people try new things and share their story with everyone. I really appreciate your response. When using the basket at half the depth do you still notice the quicker rise in temperature? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
normstar Posted July 5, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2013 Re: Steak Tips Absolutely! When I burned the used mesquite last night and quickly hit 500*, it was at half depth. In theory, I reckon it will still get very hot in this mode with 1/2 of a full basket since you still have a full KK width surface area of coals, they just are not a full depth. I figure with this setup it will get Very hot - but not Crazy hot. Say, 700* with 1/2 a basket where a full-depth basket will do 1000*. Not that I ever cook that hot, just trying to make the point that 1/2 of a basket is still a very significant amount of fuel. Make sense? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
