Interestingly terrible steak on the kettle

[LMichaels]

... Sleep... Sleep would be nice...

This is also in the back of my mind. That was also why I wrote it down. I am tempted to repeat the cook. But its hard to justify: "Honey, why don't we try some more terrible steaks? What do you mean with 'No'?"

Just "bad meat" is the most boring plausible explanation. The butcher is the biggest in the region I bought it from. The biggest, not the best.


That's interesting. What temperatures are you cooking your steak?

Because this would be a counter example to my hypothesis. My current hypothesis is that thanks to the on/off direct heat and the closed lid I had high (200c/400f-ish) convective heat, which is bad for tenderness. And a tender steak is a combination of even/low heat, and you sacrifice some tenderness for a good maillard reaction.

First Jonas I usually cut my own steaks. I will buy a primal then break it down. I.E. I buy whole strip loin, then take off the sirloin side for about 5"-6" and that becomes a strip loin roast. Then I cut my steaks at 1.5" To my way of thinking thinner steaks don't lend themselves well to how I like a steak. I will do the same thing with a rib primal. I buy the whole boneless primal. One part becomes a "roast" the rest is cut into steaks. Occasionally I do buy a cowboy steak from Sam's Club. They're usually between 2" and 2.5" thick. Occasionally closer to 3".
Now as for temps. I will usually do them on my Super Smoke setting (160), let them go until they hit 90-105F internal temps. Then I finish them at higher temps. If it's a large cowboy I'll stay in the 375ish range on the pellet grill. If one of my thinner steaks I'll run at 425 until my desired temps internally.
I am not a fan of insanely high heat cooks. I find not liking a steak cooked at temps beyond necessary for a nice Maillard reaction. This gives me just the right "char" on the fat, and perfect edge to edge cooking. One thing that truly helps on a pellet grill is they're very much like a convection oven. So there is a surprising amount of internal air movement.
If doing them on a gas or charcoal I think a relatively higher (but indirect) heat would be called for. Again I like to avoid that distinctive taste when a steak is done on insane heat levels

 

[Teddy J.]

A lot of interesting info here to try for those searching for their perfect steak.

Consistent steaks cooked over wood or charcoal fire was probably the most difficult thing for me to conquer in the meat cooking and BBQ world. After cooking them on just about every Weber line of cookers available pre 2010, both gas and charcoal, WSM and portables included - The Jumbo Joe is my go to. Something about that shallow lid, tight confines, and minimal depth from charcoal grate to cooking grate make it a killer steak cooker.

If you like a ribeye or t-bone with nice char and medium rare, here is what I do;

Find your nice thick steak.
Get a SCREAMING pile of lump going in the Jumbo Joe, all vents open, no thermometer needed. Pack it full. To give an example, if I’m cooking two steaks the charcoal almost fills the entire bottom, almost touching the top grate. I let the fire preheat lid off to really get it going HOT HOT HOT. Shooting flames and stuff is what you are looking for.
Steak on the grill, close the lid, all vents will stay 100 percent open.
~2.5 minutes in, rotate steak, lid back on.
~5 minutes in flip steak, lid back on.
~7.5 minutes in rotate steak, lid back on.
~10 minutes in remove steak and rest for a few minutes before slicing.

If it’s a real thick one maybe add another 30 seconds to each time listed.

I’ve also used to use the JJ like a stick burner for steaks, but I found if you want more wood flavor just toss in some wood chunks into the lump right before the steak goes in.