My Son, his Wife, my 2 grandkids and my Son's brother and father in law.
The brother and father in law had never seen steaks grilled like this. I started with 4-1.75" choice, bone-in Ribeye steaks. I applied some canola oil and some rub to the meat an hour before putting them on the grill. Then I lite only 1 of the 3 burners and got the temperature down to 250° with the lid down. Essentially making the grill an oven and put the steaks on away from the direct heat and closed the lid over them.
I baked them about 40 minutes turning them once. Then I took them off the grill and fired up all 3 burners as hot as I could get them. I blotted the moisture off of the steaks and applied more canola oil on them while the grill was heating up to Warp 10 heat.
When the grill was very hot I put the steaks back on the grill.
Everything is going as I planned it. Then when the fat started rendering from the hot, hot fire the brother and father in law were convinced that I was burning their steaks.
I explained the Miallard process to them while they watched their steaks be enveloped by huge flames and their big eyes pretty much told me they thought I was crazy. But all came out just fine.
Dinner was lovely and they got a BBQ lesson. This method only works on steaks that are 1.5" or more.
Mucho... I too take my steaks out of the fridge about an hour before grilling them. The only pre seasoning I do is a dry brine with salt. If I use a rub I apply that right before putting it on the grill. Rubs will not penetrate the surface of the meat. The size of the molecules of spices other than salt are to big to travel into the interior of your meat.
Thank for your kind words... I like being called the Steak Master.:)
I use a slightly different method to get the same results. At first I crank the heat on the grill. When it's screaming hot, I turn off select burners and throw the oiled meat onto the grill. This gives the meat a nice crust without the flames (on side one). The rest of the grilling is exactly the same. Great pics
Nina... There's a lot of ways to cook steaks. Sear first then bake. Bake first then sear. They all work! My goal when grilling a thick steak is to develop at nice crust all over, not just grill marks. That crust is flavor and I want the entire surface that way. Then I want it medium rare, pink bumper to bumper... I don't want that quarter inch of brown meat just under the crust before its pink. That brown layer in an indication you over seared the surface. By waiting to sear at the end I have more control over the situation because I'm only cooking the surface at that point. I go by the look of the crust and use my Therapen to know exactly when to pull them... Usually at 125° or 130°. Then you'll have 3° to 5° of carryover cooking. For 1" steaks I grill with hot direct heat and turn and rotate the steaks frequently. That way you can get a pretty good crust and a medium rare interior. It took me years to learn to grill properly. After I found AmazingRibs.com. Meathead, the owner of that site is an outdoor version of Chef Jacob. He's a good teacher.
Yet another way is to smoke or sous vide the steaks and then sear either with a flame (handheld or grill or salamander) or cast iron pan or "chapa"... For my personal taste, I like the crust from a very intense, direct heat but not necessarily from direct flames. That's exactly what we did /w the prime rib I posted the pics of on another thread. I'm with you Wartface, I don't like the brown ring either--I want edge to edge even color and a great crust on my steaks. No reason, now, that anyone should have to settle for anything less... :)
Along those lines of getting more heat, I'm thinking of experimenting with just a few pieces of coal added to the lump charcoal in my BGE to see how it works with pizza and possibly to sear a steak. I definitely won't add much, but coal burns hotter than wood, so I thought it would be an interesting experiment. Similar to the difference in coal-fired pizza ovens vs. wood-fired.
Jed... On my BGE I bake my steaks on the grate at the fire ring level or higher. At 250° with the dome closed, that way you have no flames. Your BGE is an oven with the dome down and the bottom vent barely open. Then when they get to 115° I remove them from the upper grate and place them on a plate. I remove the regular 18" grate, open the bottom vent wide open and leave the dome open for the rest of the cook. While my lump is getting hotter I blot the steaks with a paper towel to remove any water from the surface - you don't want any steam when you are searing them. Then I baste the steaks with beef love, rendered fat, or Canola oil. Then I put the steaks on down low, 2" from the red hot lump to sear them. That works like a champ for me.
Up top... To bake. Notice the inverted grate I have down low.
Down low to sear.
This is the best setup I've found for cooking steaks on a BGE.
Wart, You are our Steak Master! I couldn't agree with your technique or approach more.
I would add, take the steaks out an hour before you cook them. I'll also season it in advance too, sometimes a day in advance depending on how thick the cut is.
Great post as usual; awesome pictures.
+300 Stella Stars.
Thank you Chef Jacob... We're getting some traction on your BBQ page... Finally!
@Wartface,
Thanks for the great pics on your steak cooking setup. I noticed your inverted grate in another post and meant to ask you about it. First time I've ever seen one, but I can think of lots of uses for it! Though I'm somewhat ashamed to admit it, I normally cook steaks on a natural gas grill, just because of setup time...Your approach on the BGE would work great for me and I'll have to give it a try. Thanks! Where did you find the inverted grate?
@Tenessee Jed I bought that grate on Amazon. It's manufactured by Grill Dome. They call it the Direct/Indirect grate. I paid $38. It's perfect for the reverse sear technique for 1.5" to 2" steaks. Bake at 250° until your steaks get to 115° and then sear them at the end of the cook. Use a Therapen to know when to pull them. I pull them when the interior temp is 125/130°. You will get 3° to 5° of carryover cooking too. I use that grate to elevate my pizza stone up above the felt line for both pizza and my sourdough bread baking. It's the handiest item I have to setup the BGE for different cooks.