Why Can't I Grill A Decent Steak?

[vailpass]

Grilled steaks last night, they came out ok but not great. Good cuts of meat but they weren't juicy like a restaurant. I only turned them once, used high heat. I like them medium rate.
I have 2 grills, gas and infra red, just can't seem to get the perfect streak.
Anyone have any tips?

[R8RFAN]

Originally Posted by manchambo

You don't understand sous vide at all. You can set it at 125 and leave it there all day and it will come out rare.

Thats prime rib then

[lcarus]

First off, this thread has me hungry as SHIT for a steak. Secondly, I've been wanting to get more into learning how to cook lately. It's time. Since I'm a KC guy, naturally a lot of that "cooking" will be grilling meats. So don't be surprised if I come here for much needed advice quite often in the near future.

[manchambo]

Originally Posted by vailpass

Sounds good. Does sound like a roast though.

Lots of good restaurants cook their steaks this way. The temperature is perfectly controlled so it will never cook more than you want it to. And because it only gets seared, it doesn't dry out as much.

[lcarus]

So who is the best cook here on CP? And who wants to volunteer to answer all my idiotic questions on my quest to learn how to cook?

[tomahawk kid]

I actually learned to grill good steaks using T-bones.

Since you have the bone in element - they're less easy to dry out while you're learning how to grill a steak.

Also - all grills are diffferent. I've only owned two grills in my life, but both were a trial and error process to figure out what "worked".

[lcarus]

Originally Posted by tomahawk kid

I actually learned to grill good steaks using T-bones.

Since you have the bone in element - they're less easy to dry out while you're learning how to grill a steak.

Also - all grills are diffferent. I've only owned two grills in my life, but both were a trial and error process to figure out what "worked".

When I get a grill, I really just want a Weber charcoal grill. That's all I've ever wanted actually. I just love charcoal grilled meats.

[Pablo]

Originally Posted by saphojunkie

Seriously watch that video I posted. It is the only way to do it.

Science FTW.

That video sent me on a Good Eats watching spiral.

I'm confident I'm going to brine my turkey for the first time this Thanksgiving thanks to my morning marathon.

Thanks for that.

[AustinChief]

Originally Posted by vailpass

Great tips, you apparently know your grill. But I'm too lazy to do the charcoal thing.

Rausch has the best advice but if you can' take his advice, you might want to try a spray bottle to spritz the meat with to keep it from drying. The key is to NOT spritz it right away but wait until an exterior crust starts to form... which where you live could be pretty damn quick.

Cool thing about spray bottle is that you can experiment with different flavors of spray like 50% beer or Worcestershire (although don't expect it to make much real difference, the primary purpose is to just keep your steak from drying out too quickly)

[Amnorix]

Originally Posted by vailpass

Do you use any seasoning on steak? I never have but wonder if people do.

Definitely. I used to have steak straight up, but there's alot of good stuff you can use to make it even better.

[Dayze]

Originally Posted by Pablo

That video sent me on a Good Eats watching spiral.

I'm confident I'm going to brine my turkey for the first time this Thanksgiving thanks to my morning marathon.

Thanks for that.

I own two of his Good Eats cookbooks. outstanding.

[J Diddy]

Originally Posted by Bwana

The one thing you NEVER want to do with it is let the lid drop. Wind can take the lid off off easily if a decent storm rolls in. If the lid hits the cement, it's still useable, but it will never seal the same way. You will end up getting unwanted drafts in the thing, which can easily start fires inside and mess with what you're cooking. You can compensate to some degree for a bent lid by closing off the top vent, but it's a pain in the ass. I end up replacing them at least every two years because of a bent lid issue.

Thanks, for the heads up.

[J Diddy]

Most of the time when I do mine I just rub some sea salt and ground pepper and let it set out while the coals are warming up.

If I were to use a prepackaged steak mix the A1 Dry brand cracked peppercorn is pretty good.

[ptlyon]

Originally Posted by J Diddy

Thanks, for the heads up.

Don't be wantin any bent lids, yo

[Easy 6]

Without reading through all of this, i'll just say...

let it come to room temperature before putting it on the grill

a few bastings of butter while it cooks never hurts

get a good sear on both sides

never pierce it

let it set for 5 minutes before eating

Do that and you should always have a great steak.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Bwana

The one thing you NEVER want to do with it is let the lid drop. Wind can take the lid off off easily if a decent storm rolls in. If the lid hits the cement, it's still useable, but it will never seal the same way. You will end up getting unwanted drafts in the thing, which can easily start fires inside and mess with what you're cooking. You can compensate to some degree for a bent lid by closing off the top vent, but it's a pain in the ass. I end up replacing them at least every two years because of a bent lid issue.

I'd recommend never closing off the top vent under any circumstances.

Too much smoke/creosote buildup in the dome and it creates a bitter taste in the food.

If you need to control air flow, do it through the bottom vents; less air in through the bottom can make up for unwanted air flowing in through the top. But in the end, if you're cooking something so precise that an imperfect seal in the top of the kettle ruins it, you're probably just going to need to drop the money on a BGE and be done with it.

For the vast VAST majority of anything you'll ever do, a little extra air in the top won't be the end of the world by any means.