Your steak technique with weber gas

[ricklea1953]

Looking for tips and hints about using my weber gas grill for the perfect steak.
Have the summit platinum d4 (4 burner with rotisserie and smoker box).

My current process is to preheat the grill with all 4 burners on and clean the cooking grates. All 4 burners on puts the temperature around 550-600 degrees.

Next I turn off the two middle burners and wait for the temp to drop.

I normally do 2-4 ny strip or ribeye using only one burner. All weber cookbooks say to cook the steak over direct high heat. It just seems too hot on high. The meat sears nicely but tends to cook too fast on the outside. I have to juggle the meat between direct high and indirect high even though the cookbooks say to do it all on direct high.

Am I missing something here? Are the weber cookbooks (I have 3 of the large ones) all wrong about direct high heat?

I should add that I am not using the typical grocery store cut of steak. I typically buy from a butcher shop were the ny strip is 1 & 1/4" thick. I also buy prime cuts when available so there isn't much fat.

Input would be appreciated.

Rick

[SeanB]

My grill isn't gas, but the technique should work about the same on gas. I would cook them direct on each side for 2-4 minutes per side. I turn them 45 degrees half way through the sear on each side. Then you can move them off to indirect and let them "bake" to finish. Reducing the flame to Med-High wouldn't hurt. It will probably take about 5 minutes of "baking" to get to Med-Rare. You will have to adjust the time for your grill and your preferred doneness. When you pull it off the grill let it sit for 5 minutes, it will continue to cook a bit more while it rests so keep that in mind when you check the doneness.

The important thing is to not mess with it too much during the sear. Oh yeah and use tongs, no forks.

[sharky]

How well do you like your steaks cooked? If you are a well or medium well guy that method won't work unless you lower the temp after the initial sear. I myself like them medium and it works like a charm. Though I generally have the heat medium high for 4-5 minutes on each side, turning 45 degrees as SeanB mentioned for the nice grill marks half way through.

[ricklea1953]

Thanks to both of you. In my case, the weber cookbook recommendation doesn't work. High is too high on the summit grill. I will try the medium high next time and I suspect that I will also have to use some indirect heat to finish them off. Was trying to avoid roasting them as I was under the impression that steak needs to be done quick and hot to keep it tender.

[sharky]

Just do a quick sear on each side and then reduce the heat or move it indirect...

How do you lik eyour steaks cooked? I'm guessing well done?

[SeanB]

I sear my steaks at 700-800 degrees for 2 minutes per side the close down all the dampers to put out the fire, and let them sit in the hot grill for another 5 to 10 minutes.

For medium rare to medium my steaks are on the grill for no more than 12-15 minutes.

I have never tried to go beyond medium but I can't see how you could cook beyond medium without roasting.

[Mingo]

Glad I'm not the only one with this problem...I don't mind a good sear, but cooking on high through out is way too much heat for my picky medium rare taste. I've got the platnium B Weber.

I usually start on near high for the sear, then turn the two outter burners to medium, to medium high (depending on the steak thickness) and let them cook slowly for about 12 to 15 min....thing I DON'T like is that I can't walk away and trust it to be consistent...bout the time I do, then I'm looking out on the deck only to see flames shooting up, and that ain't never a good sign! :mad: that's tough when you are trying to multitask other cooking duties in the kitchen to be completed and ready to serve when the fat steaks are done...nuthin worse for a chef to have cold side dishes waiting on the main event to get done.

I'll keep a look out for more pointers.

Mingo

[swamp smoker]

i usaully cook 1in thick ribeyes and cook them the whole time at 550.
4min on first side and then anywhere from 2-4 min on the other side for desired doneness . A lot depends on the temp of your meat when it hits the grill. You 'll never get it down until you do everything the same way start to finish in my opinion.

Seeyaaa
swampsmoker

[SeanB]

I can't find good instructions right now, but another thing to try is what I seen called "the hot tub method". It involves putting the steak boiling water for a few minutes before putting it on the grill. The idea is to bring up the internal temp on the meat before putting it on the grill for the actual cooking.

I know it has been discussed on the BGE forum and I want to say it came from a magazine or something...I will keep digging.

Edit - found this:

It's no secret. It was a scientistic experiment talked about in Cooks Illustrated to improve flavor of cuts that came from active muscles. They used a London Broil. Two of the by-products of this technique were a even doneness and a faster cooking time.

It calls for bagging a steak and putting it in 100° water for 1 hour, then cooking. So, your meat is 80°+ when it hits the grill. (Much warmer than "room temperature") If your target for doneness is 130°, it requires less time to get there. Since the warming time is only 1 hour, there are no issues with the 40°/140°/4 hour rule.

Naturally, some of the eggers tried this on several other cuts and reported good results. After reading those results I did a rib steak, NY steak and lamb chops. I really like this method.

http://beef.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/London_Broil_For_a_Charcoal_Grill/3419