Grilling thin-cut steaks on Weber Kettle


 
MichaelM

MichaelM

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In spite of my incessant pleads, my wife keeps coming home with thin steaks.. under 1" thick. I love her for trying to save money, but I keep sharing that what you save on the cost of the steak you lose in the grilling experience.

On thicker cuts, I opt for a serious allover char, usually with a SnS, cold grate method. Doing this with a thin cut is nearly impossible. Either the steak is over-cooked or the char is none existent. Been giving some thought as to how I can make lemonade out of lemons and am thinking a sear first, then slow cook on the cool side if it is even needed.

What's your technique for thinner cuts of meat on a kettle?

Looking for a med-rare, 125-ish internal.
 
Slice that thin steak into fajita meat. Not much help but a suggestion. I can honestly say that I have never been able to grill a 3/4" steak to medium rare. Thank goodness my wife lets me pick the cuts of meat.
 
If you insist on doing it on the kettle and they are really that thin direct with the coals really hot I can't imagine that will be more than 3 minutes each side if they are boneless since you are shooting for medium rare and of course they curl when they are thin. To be honest I would do them 2 1/2 minutes a side pull them let them rest a few minutes they will cook a bit more. Cut one in half the ends will always be done a bit more if to rare better to throw them on another minute than to have overcooked meat.

Had this happen to me a few months ago I always buy the meat generally from Costco cause the rib eyes and filets are pretty thick wife picked up some thin rib eyes on sale from Kroger kind of cringed when I looked at them did them on the Silver C pretty sure not more than 2 1/2 to 3 minutes a side.
 
Brian B Atlanta said:
....To be honest I would do them 2 1/2 minutes a side pull them let them rest a few minutes they will cook a bit more. Cut one in half the ends will always be done a bit more if to rare better to throw them on another minute than to have overcooked meat.
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That is what I was thinking.. two to three minutes at most per side.
 
Michael when I do steaks I always rub them on both sides with olive oil then salt and pepper. The oil should give you a better sear I am thinking since your only going to have them on for a few minutes. Good luck and let us know how you made out agree with Larry lid off I use my iphone for a timer and don't run off and grab yourself a beer or bourbon once you throw them on be prepared ahead of time. :)

Edit: Just wanted to add those thin steaks my wife bought turned out fine despite looking like a curly fry wife made a comment its your job to buy the steaks from now on period which is fine with me.
 
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Brian B Atlanta said:
Cut one in half the ends will always be done a bit more if to rare better to throw them on another minute than to have overcooked meat.
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When cooking a thinner steak I try to arrange the coals so that there's less fire under its ends. Sear, flip, sear, eat.

I'm also a believer in advance salting, and if the steak has some fat around the edge curling can be reduced if the fat's vertically slashed down to the meat in a few places.

Michael, what cuts of steak are these? For a thin steak I've found that chuck can be a little more forgiving and can take a little more cooking while still remaining rare to med-rare.
 
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You can try to explain that she's not saving money on the thin steaks as they're the same price per pound as the thick ones.

Kroger's and other stores slice their steaks thin because that's what sells. People will buy two thin steaks for $12 each but will pass up a thicker steak for $18 because they perceive it to be more expensive. Occasionally I'll find a thick cut in the mark-down section because of that.
 
She might like them more well done.
I have a solution, put two or more together, thead needle, i mean cook together or put together like a tenderloin.
 
Followed everyones advice and did Hot-n-Fast.. REALLY hot. Used Royal Oak lump and got it ripping hot. Dried the meat straight from fridge, then a very light layer of olive oil and light application of Kosher salt and black pepper and went right on the grill. Set a timer on my Apple watch (I refer the haptic instead of an alarm) and did 90 seconds per side, total of twice per side. Result was outstanding. Repeated with marinated skirt.
 
I have finally convinced my wife to only purchase the thickest cuts possible, as previously we would each eat one "thin" steak, but it seems when we purchase a single thick one (and I slice it before serving) we eat less as well in total....there is always some left over, even though the total weight would have been the same.
 
Just picked up two thin cut rib eyes in the managers section of the meat area. Also scored a nice T bone 30 percent off as well!

I’m going to do the ribeye on the gasser slice it into bite size slices and put it on a plate with cheese. Wine. Great snack food!

Since were having friends over and socially distancing on the deck.
 
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