I did the AAA steaks on the gasser tonight. Part of the delay has been the horrible weather. There is even a chance of snow this weekend. I know now for certain, the steaks from that counter are AAA aged 21 days.
They were 1" thick, cooked 3-4 minutes per side over high after letting it get nice and hot.
Pulled them, spinkled montreal steak spice on, covered with foil and a blanket for 12 minutes. The ended up medium.
They were: incredibly juicy, incredibly tender, incredibly tasty. The words don't do them justice.
These were steaks. The grilled and then slow cooked ones were different and slightly more tender particularly on the outside. Call them Smoked Slow Steaks? Mini Roast??
I am convinced the aged AAA was key to the great steaks, never mind the slow cooking or the butter. The grilled ones were more juicy and tender than the second ones from the smoker which were not aged AAA, just regular beef.
I will still do another smoked rib-eye ... it's been good eats and lots of fun.
Conclusion: if you want a traditional steak then grill it, especially with steaks under 2" thick. The smoked rib eye was really good too, but different, somewhere between roast and steak.