Thick Steaks - Slow Roast Followed by a Quick Sear


 
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Tim Granzeau

TVWBB Member
My preferred way to cook a thick steak is a low temperature roast followed by a quick sear. I am interested in adapting this to a Weber kettle with the addition of smoke.

There are a number of ways to do this on a Weber kettle. Consider the following ideas and share your own.

FIRST: Low-Temperature Roasting - Using BBQ Techniques on a Weber kettle:

1. The Minion method offers real promise for the slow roast phase, using very little charcoal.

2. The Smokenator, or equivalent offers another way to roast at low temperatures.

3. A flower pot with an electric charcoal starter and sawdust can provide lots of smoke with low level heat.

SECOND: High-Temperature Searing with Charcoal or a Skillet:

1. The other side of a Smokenator, with coals, may be hot enough for searing.

2. Use the top of your charcoal chimney to sear. I do this with single steaks.

3. Use the kettle with a small grate on top of some charcoal.

4. Sear directly on charcoal briquettes. This is a wonderful method and adds "texture".

5. You can sear on a cook top with a grill pan or cast iron skillet.



Now it's time for testing...and your ideas.

Tim
 
A good steak should be quick seared and slow cooked indirect. To me a good steak doesn't need smoke or anything else let it stand by it self. A crappy steak I would treat the same way. Then again why buy a crappy steak.
 
Robert,

I'm not sure of your point.

My method does use a quick sear and slow indirect cooking. The procedure may be a new but is an excellent concept.

I understand the steak doesn't NEED smoke. I just happen to like a steak with something else which might even include salt, pepper and an herb rub. Just a different flavor profile.

Why do you think I buy crappy steaks? What do you consider crappy?

Tim
 
I used to buy rib-eyes from the local supermarket, $3-4 a pound(on sale).

Now I only get Costco choice steaks, $6-7 a pound.

I'm worth it and you can tell the difference.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">My preferred way to cook a thick steak is a low temperature roast followed by a quick sear. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I like this method too, especially for thick steaks. Note, though, that it is a myth that steaks must be quickly seared using high temps. They need not be. A sear can be built up from nothing using low temps. In fact, for bison steaks one should do this and not cook/sear at high heat. Bison's structure doesn't support high heat well; the muscles fibers seize at high temps. But beef steaks can be done the same way. A built up sear still gives the steak the caramelized flavors a high heat sear does.
 
Kevin,

I also use a quick sear on my steaks, which are usually dry-aged for two to three weeks. Like bison, they will become tough if the sear is too thick.

I do use high heat in order to limit the time; my goal is to minimize the gray area under the surface and still get that caramelized exterior.

There is another steak method being used by some New York restaurants that calls for pan frying in butter, lots of butter, while basting. Totally decadent and probably wonderful.

Tim
 
Yes, and some poach their steaks in oil or butter (or a mix) at low temps, then finish by searing. I like this method too. Ben Jenkins, at Michael Mina's StripSteak, does this for some. I'll likely stop by there on Friday.
 
Tim, welcome to TVWB.

The method you are describing is known here as the "Reverse Sear". Search for that, and you will find more info. It doesn't really need much adapting to do it on a kettle.
 
yep, reverse sear is what i do. if i'm just doing a few steaks i use lump. i do at times throw on a small piece of wood for a bit of smoke but not much. i prefer my steaks done simple.
 
Hi,

I had an opportunity to cold smoke and reverse sear a steak with great success. The flavor was wonderful.

As you know, I begin with a crappy steak, in this case 2" thick Certified Angus Beef porterhouses with 14 days of dry-age.

The following techniques worked niceley:

1. Cold smoke the steaks for about 30 minutes.

Begin with a cold seasoned steak.
I used an electric charcoal starter in a flowerpot filled with wood chips for the smoke. The pot was covered with foil.
The pot/starter was placed in the bottom of my kettle for the cold smoking. The temp in the kettle slowly rose to about 150 degrees.

2. Slow roast the steaks to 100 degrees.

A chimney of lump was placed on the charcoal grid on one side of the kettle. I placed a smaller grid directly on the charcoal.
The steaks were placed on the cool side of the top grid.
I closed vents to keep the temperature below 300 degrees while the steaks cooked. These took about 25 minutes.

3. Sear the steaks.

The cover and top grid was removed to heat up the lump.
The steaks were seared for 2 minutes on each side.

The smoke flavor was wonderful and the reverse sear makes for medium-rare meat without the gradations from well to rare.

It takes a little more attention but will become easier with practice.

The kettle seems to provide a good smoke chamber that will be useful for smoking olive oil.

Tim
 
Are you sure you don't want to 'seal in the juices' first?
icon_biggrin.gif
jk

I did some thick ribeyes a few years back, seared then slow brought to temp with frozen butter on top.

rib-eye043.jpg


rib-eye054.jpg


Here is the thread if you're interested.

I would do them that way again, the texture was great as you have noticed with yours. Like doing chicken low and slow I think the main benefit of slow grilling is to extend the 'done' window/minimize drying out due to excess residual heat.
 
Tim, I've found it easier to hit the proper doneness by searing first, then cooking indirect until done.

I've tried the reverse sear and I freaking always overcook them.
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Anything beyond Shawn's above is too done for me.
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Good looking meat, Shawn.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by K Kruger:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">My preferred way to cook a thick steak is a low temperature roast followed by a quick sear. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I like this method too, especially for thick steaks. Note, though, that it is a myth that steaks must be quickly seared using high temps. They need not be. A sear can be built up from nothing using low temps. In fact, for bison steaks one should do this and not cook/sear at high heat. Bison's structure doesn't support high heat well; the muscles fibers seize at high temps. But beef steaks can be done the same way. A built up sear still gives the steak the caramelized flavors a high heat sear does. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Could you elaborate a bit Kevin on what you mean by a built-up sear?

I've become a huge fan of the reverse-searing process after using it with great success on Steaks, Beef Tenderloin, Beef Tri-Tip. I've used either a heavy pan on med-high heat or I set a grate directly on the WSM charcoal ring. I oil the meat before doing this.

Another advantage I find is that especially on a roast, the marinade flavors seem to get a chance to penetrate while cooking instead of being burned off right away by the searing.
 
Building a sear simply means that either one slowly sears by using moderate/moderately low temps so that the sear develops slowly, or that one uses hotter temps but flips the meat frequently, thereby disallowing the high heat to sear in one fell swoop; instead the sear builds more slowly as the meat's surface cools when away from the fire, heats and moves toward caramwlization when close to the fire.
 
Not having tried it yet, I'm with Ken about reverse sear. I don't see why risk overcooking at the end, and take away time for meat to relax, recover from a starting sear.

About the built up 'slow' sear, he's saying it's the same taste if you get the color on beef steak quickly or slowly.

My steak was slow seared over unintentionally cool coals. It took 2 minutes per side to get that color... then in to the 200F smoker to finish.

Experience says if you do fast sear (hot) you are almost certain to have an layer of well done but you don't see that in my steak, though the outside does still look a tad more cooked.
 
Hi,

Shawn is correct on the advantage of reverse sear; there is no layer of well-done with another layer of medium-well, etc.

With a reverse sear, there is a significant reduction in the time it takes to obtain the sear. The reason being is that the steak has partially cooked; proteins have been unwound and the surface of the meat is extremely dry.

In most sears, the first minutes is spent just drying out the surface of the meat.

Tim
 
Guru's - I'm sure this has been discussed before but not sure how to effectively query TVWBB site - anyone know of threads where the 'quick sear & slow cook' method discussed...

Particularly in one unit (eg. Performer; coal ratio/disbursement method)...

There was an interesting article in Outside on parrilla, Argentina’s famous method of charcoal grilling:

ME, MYSELF, AND RIBEYE

Way down in Argentina, they use the whole damn cow. And, sure, our man will eat that. Join Steven Rinella on a gluttonous quest for the world's tastiest beef.

http://outside.away.com/outsid...k-parilla-video.html

Some of these concepts (tho' not all) are anticipated in prior threads.

However, I come away thinking... "we can do that".
 
I've also become a fan of the reverse sear method after I seen and followed a video from the barbeque Pit boys on Youtube using a spatchcock chicken and the result were sensational,now I'll always cook chicken on a slow roast then a reverse sear at the end.

But getting onto this steak method, I was wondering if you cooked a 2" thick steak using the roasting method say at 350F indirect untill the temps ran just under where you wanted it, then quickly throw it over the main fire for a minute or two each side OR if you just didn't sear the steak at all and cooked it to desired doneness like you would a Beef Roast, it'd be still very juicy if cooked till the desired temps?
The way I see it, steaks have come from big slabs of meat cut into slices but if that meat was still in a slab, it then would be BBQed or Roasted, not grilled like a usual steak slice, so if a slice of steak was to be treated like the big slab and cooked indirectly per weight/time at 350F, wouldn't you end up with a nice juicy steak?
I hope this doesn't sound too stupid a question!!

Cheers

Davo
 
Davo,

I can't answer your question fully, but I will say that for the roasting portion of the reverse sear, I'm talking about 250, not 350, and I think this does matter. At 350 it seems to me you're bound to get the doneness gradient (thick perimiter of well-done gray) that the reverse sear is meant to avoid.

To me, the sear is about developing additional flavors. If I just slow-cooked a steak at 250 until rare, I think I'd be missing out on a lot of flavor.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Ken P.:
Guru's - I'm sure this has been discussed before but not sure how to effectively query TVWBB site - anyone know of threads where the 'quick sear & slow cook' method discussed...

Particularly in one unit (eg. Performer; coal ratio/disbursement method)...

There was an interesting article in Outside on parrilla, Argentina’s famous method of charcoal grilling:

ME, MYSELF, AND RIBEYE

Way down in Argentina, they use the whole damn cow. And, sure, our man will eat that. Join Steven Rinella on a gluttonous quest for the world's tastiest beef.

http://outside.away.com/outsid...k-parilla-video.html

Some of these concepts (tho' not all) are anticipated in prior threads.

However, I come away thinking... "we can do that". </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

It was painful to me to see him cut the tenderloin. Each sawing stroke of the dull blade squeezed tons of juice out of the meat. I guess he didn't let it rest properly and he needs a better knife.

He did suggest that the reverse sear is used in Argentina.
 
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