First Steaks of '23


 
John K BBQ

John K BBQ

TVWBB All-Star
I finally lit some charcoal on my own patio last night! 4 prime strips from Sam's Club, served with olive oil charred garlic bread and simple romaine with lemon-garlic dressing and blue cheese crumbles

Here we have the steaks. Trimmed, and salted about 3 hours before this, looking pretty good!

before.jpg

Here they are on the WSK. I had the steaks out of the fridge for about 45 minutes. I've got the charcoal grate in the upper position with about a chimney's worth of lump charcoal trapped between the two weber charcoal baskets. Never closed the lid. Went for about 4 minutes before flipping, then 3 minutes on the next side, then flipped about every 45 sec or so until internal temp was 120F or so. Of course, there are other ways to do this but this, but just sayin' this way works too.

during.jpg

Here's the plate. Steak, salad, and garlic bread. Not pictured a few glasses of cab.... This is one of my favorite meals on a friday night.

after.jpg

Had some steak and scrambled egg tacos for breakfast this morning... mmm steak.

Thanks for lookin' :)
 
Now if I had those steaks I would love to have grilled them on the shore
of the Atlantic in New Smyrna Beach FL......
 
John K BBQ said:
Here they are on the WSK. I had the steaks out of the fridge for about 45 minutes. I've got the charcoal grate in the upper position with about a chimney's worth of lump charcoal trapped between the two weber charcoal baskets. Never closed the lid. Went for about 4 minutes before flipping, then 3 minutes on the next side, then flipped about every 45 sec or so until internal temp was 120F or so. Of course, there are other ways to do this but this, but just sayin' this way works too.
Click to expand...

A few questions -
  • Why put the charcoal between the charcoal baskets instead of in the baskets and push the baskets together?
  • Is lump charcoal better for cooking direct heat (hot/fast)?
  • I rarely hear about people cooking on a kettle with the lid open/off, even for steaks. I have been tempted to try it but worry a little bit about flare-ups. And since I never see people say they do that, I thought it wouldn't be recommended? Is it common to cook steaks/burgers that way?
  • You cooked to a temp of 120F - were you shooting for rare or medium-rare? Did you have enough carry-over heat during the resting of the steaks to get them to a medium rare of 135F or so?
Thanks!
 
Cindy Kee said:
A few questions -
  • Why put the charcoal between the charcoal baskets instead of in the baskets and push the baskets together?
  • Is lump charcoal better for cooking direct heat (hot/fast)?
  • I rarely hear about people cooking on a kettle with the lid open/off, even for steaks. I have been tempted to try it but worry a little bit about flare-ups. And since I never see people say they do that, I thought it wouldn't be recommended? Is it common to cook steaks/burgers that way?
  • You cooked to a temp of 120F - were you shooting for rare or medium-rare? Did you have enough carry-over heat during the resting of the steaks to get them to a medium rare of 135F or so?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Sorry for the late-ish reply

Charcoal between the baskets makes a bigger charcoal bet/heat zone. This was a little bit of left over lump, with a full large chimney of lump spread evenly between two upside down weber charcoal baskets. I noticed Brett EDH was flipping his baskets upside down which is brilliant because when you dump the coals out of the chimney they all goal in between instead of most in between, and some in the baskets. If I was cooking < 4 steaks, I'd probably slide the baskets together with charcoal inside the baskets.

Is lump better for direct heat? Just a little bit. It's a personal preference.

Cooking steaks with lid open? Yep, that's how I do it when my steaks are 1" thick. I generally let them sit on the counter for 30 minutes or so out of the fridge, and then I sear over a hot bed of coals, about 2 minutes a side, and then start flipping about every 45 sec until I get to target temp. I will try some really thick bone in ribeyes sometime soon and I'll probably do a reverse sear and use a completely different method.

Important note - the Weber Kamado doesn't do direct/indirect the same way the 22" weber kettle does. On a 22" kettle, you can dump a chimney full of charcoal on one side, and nothing on the other, and the indirect side will be a reasonable temperature (< 400F). On the Kamado version, with the charcoal grate in the upper position, a chimney full of charcoal on one side, and nothing on the other, and the indirect side will be 450 to 500F... so in my experience, trying to use an indirect/direct type of cook on steaks results in over done steaks. There may be others here on the forum who've cracked that code..... but I've found a method that works for me and I'm going to stick to it.
 
John K BBQ said:
Important note - the Weber Kamado doesn't do direct/indirect the same way the 22" weber kettle does. On a 22" kettle, you can dump a chimney full of charcoal on one side, and nothing on the other, and the indirect side will be a reasonable temperature (< 400F). On the Kamado version, with the charcoal grate in the upper position, a chimney full of charcoal on one side, and nothing on the other, and the indirect side will be 450 to 500F... so in my experience, trying to use an indirect/direct type of cook on steaks results in over done steaks. There may be others here on the forum who've cracked that code..... but I've found a method that works for me and I'm going to stick to it.
Click to expand...

Ditto on the late-ish reply!

I like the sounds of grilling steaks with the lid open unless they are really thick. I will be trying that. I am familiar with the reverse-sear method for thicker steaks - I have used that method for tri-tips.

Your Important Note about direct/indirect on the Weber Kamado - I suppose that is because of how insulated it is compared to the 22" kettle?
 
Cindy Kee said:
Ditto on the late-ish reply!

I like the sounds of grilling steaks with the lid open unless they are really thick. I will be trying that. I am familiar with the reverse-sear method for thicker steaks - I have used that method for tri-tips.

Your Important Note about direct/indirect on the Weber Kamado - I suppose that is because of how insulated it is compared to the 22" kettle?
Click to expand...
is because of how insulated it is compared to the 22" kettle? yes, that is correct.
 
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