Sear Temp


 

Michael Mattich

TVWBB Member
Jamie, I have purchased a number of your books and enjoyed them all. The latest will be here Friday. My question for you is what do you feel is the best temp to sear/cook a steak? My kettle can reach 1400 degrees Fahrenheit using wood. At that temp the steak can be a bit dry.
I have a 2018 Weber Genesis II LX 3 burner and at 50 degrees ambient temp the grate temp is just under 900 degrees, not sure what was wrong with
Meatheads test sample. I have not tried the LX in the stock mode because I'm currently testing grillgrates for evaluation. Using grillgrates, I do well at about 600 degrees. My question for you is what do you feel is the best sear/cook temp (using stock grates) on your kettle or gas summit? Also if you have tried grillgrates feel free to chime in. Thank you in advance for your response.
P.S. I have all my steaks and chops cut 2 inches thick.
 
Last edited:
Michael, thanks very for the question and for using my books. It seems that you really like raging hot temp for searing. 1400 degrees is mighty hot. It's not quite surface-of-the-sun hot, but it's much hotter than what I use for searing steaks. I'm not looking to blacken them. I just want create some deep brown colors and the associated flavor compounds. Most steaks I sear somewhere between 500 and 550. That's the temp on the lid thermometer, not at the grill grate. Within 3 to 4 minutes at that temp, I get plenty of color and flavor. If the steaks are as thick as yours, I usually finish them over indirect heat so that they get too charred on the surface. I hope that helps.
 

 

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