Steaks on the Grill

[DCLonghorn]

Cooking some ribeyes tonight on the new grill and want to know how they should be cooked? Should I turn the grill to high to get the grates really hot to sear and then move the steaks to other side of the grill to cook for 5-7 minutes? Suggestions appreciated.

 

[Sixth Street]

I sear them to the desired color on the outside. Get a little carmelization going. If they require more cooking after that to get the internal temp where I want, I'll pull them to the cool side of the grill and finish them with the lid closed.

I like them sort of charred-medium rare (very dark outside, warm red inside). On a hot charcoal grill this usually takes me 3-6 minutes per side and then possibly another 5-10 minutes with the lid down on the cool side. In the summer heat they very rarely require any cool side cooking for me. The size of ribeye I cook is usually 3/4 to a full pound per steak, so, in other words, a good thick cut.

For a gas grill I imagine you'd want it as hot as you can possibly get it.

 

[Smoky Brisket]

and make sure theyre near room temp when they go on the grill.

 

[Fanny McLonghorn]

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[Smoky Brisket]

here's one explanation:

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[TaylorTRoom]

Here you go, from the WSJ article, and it works:

Buy good quality meat, prime beef (Central Mkt sells it), minimum 1 1/4" thick

Allow meat to reach room temperature.

Rub in frsh ground sea salt and black pepper, both sides

Get grill extremely hot. Place steaks on and sear for 60 - 75 seconds.

Turn over, with tongs, not a fork (puncturing the meat damages it)

After the other side is seared, place steaks (with tongs) on upper rack. Reduce temperature and close lid.

When steaks are cooked just short of what you want, remove them. Allow them to sit for min 5 minutes before eating (they are completing the cooking). Enjoy your steaks.

 

[GakFoo]

TRoom has it. the only thing I do differently is i brush my steaks with olive oil before i put on the sea salt and fresh ground black pepper and i sprinkle a little ground white pepper too.

i think a bone in ribeye is better than a boneless also.

i haven't had a better ribeye at a restaurant than the ones i make at home, and i've been to just about all the "top" steakhouses.

i use charcoal though, so instead of moving to the "top" rack, i move the steaks to the part of grill opposite of where the coals are to cook after searing, and have the vents on the cover over that side to allow the air to be drawn across the grill.

 

[jt09]

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[C-Man]

I've had a Cordon Bleu-trained, five-star chef friend here in Dallas tell me exactly what SmokyBrisket said.

 

[DCLonghorn]

The Ribeyes were really good. I marinated them for a couple of hours in a mixture of Shiner Bock, garlic, parsley, tarragon, Dijon mustard and then reduced it to a sauce after the steaks were on the grill. 2 minutes on a very hot grill on each side and a couple minutes warming on they were done.

 

[TexasHooch]

Marinated Ribeyes huh? Hmm. Maybe you should have asked that question.

 

[Sixth Street]

Yeah, I'm a strictly salt and pepper guy when it comes to prime beef...but to each his own.

 

[DCLonghorn]

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[MAROON]

just got a new grill for my birthday yesterday and broke it in last night with filets and ribeyes

salt/pepper

grill up to 500 degrees

4 minutes on one side, three minutes another - perfect medium rare steaks

 

[DeadHeadHorn]

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[OzzieVirgil]

As has been mentioned before, the quality of steaks on your plate will be directly related to the quality of steaks in the market. Make sure you use "prime" grade beef, and look for evenly distributed fat marbilization.

I actually use the firebox of my three chamber pit to cook the steaks. I throw some pecan or oak wood on a separate fire pit, then scoop the hot coals (lots of hot coals) into the fire box of the bbq pit. I try to make a pile on one side of the box to create a "hot zone" on the grate. The temp in the horizontal chamber of the bbq pit ends up being 400-500 degrees, so I'm guessing that the fire box is in the neighborhood of 500-600 degrees.

Here's my recipe:
1-1/4 cut prime grade bone-in ribeye @ room temp
Light brushing of olive oil
Kosher salt + coarsely ground black pepper
Sear for 60-90 seconds per side

I then throw the steaks into the horizontal chamber next to the fire box and back the temp down quite a bit by closing the baffles. They sit there for 2-4 minutes (medium rare steak). As mentioned earlier, I try to let them sit for five or so minutes on the plate before serving. If I can find a really killer cut, it's as good or better than anything in a Morton's, Ruth's Chris, etc.

 

[MirrOlure]

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[Basketball Jones]

I saw thisrecipe for Smoked Tri Tip with Sicilian Herb Sauce in my issue of Bon Apetit earlier this month. It's on their website. Haven't tried it, but it sounds good:
ingredients
3 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt or coarse sea salt
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 well-trimmed 2 1/2- to 2 3/4-pound tri-tip beef roast
3 cups oak, mesquite, or hickory wood chips, soaked in water 1 hour and drained
preparation
Blend thyme leaves, garlic cloves, dried oregano, and coarse salt in mini processor until garlic is finely chopped. With processor running, gradually add lemon juice, then olive oil. Season herb sauce to taste with pepper and transfer to bowl. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before using.

Sprinkle roast generously on both sides with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Let stand at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.

Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). If using gas grill: Wrap wood chips in foil; pierce foil all over with fork. Remove top grill rack, place foil packet directly on burner, and replace grill rack. Place roast over packet and grill uncovered 6 minutes (wood in foil will begin to smoke). Turn roast over. Move to spot on grill where heat is indirect and medium-hot. Cover grill and cook until thermometer inserted into thickest part of roast registers 128°F to 135°F for medium-rare, turning roast occasionally, about 13 minutes. If using charcoal grill: Sprinkle wood chips over coals and place roast on rack. Cook roast uncovered 7 minutes. Turn roast over. Move roast to spot on grill where heat is indirect and medium-hot. Cover grill and cook until thermometer inserted into thickest part of roast registers 128°F to 135°F for medium-rare, turning roast occasionally, about 13 minutes.

Transfer roast to platter. Let stand 10 minutes. Thinly slice roast across grain. Serve, passing sauce separately. Bon Appétit, July 2007

Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison

 

[GakFoo]

tri tip, keep it easy. marinate in olive oil, chopped garlic, fresh squeezed lime juice, salt, pepper & worchesteshire sauce. i don't measure it, just eyeball until the marinade tastes good.

marinate in a ziploc for at least one and if possible, for several hours.

sear and grill over hot coals until cooked rare in the middle.

slice and serve with crusty french bread and horseradish sauce. i've cooked it different ways with fancier recipes, and this one that i made up is the one i always come back to.

 

[Smoky Brisket]

ive been getting into tri tip lately since theyre pretty prevalent out here in CA. It's relatively quick too.

Traditional Santa Maria style calls for a rub of salt, pepper and garlic (powder). I threw some other stuff in there for grins though.

add to hot hot heat for 6-9 minutes per side

flip

after searing both sides, move em over to the cool part of the grill

Depending on how red you like your center (again, traditionally it's medium-rare, but whatever) keep them over on the side til they get to the inner temp of your liking.

Good as a sandwich on a toasted kaiser roll with some roasted peppers.

 

[DCLonghorn]

Tri tip is not as available in the DC area. My local Harris Teeter carries tri tip but they are small. I bought one last night and the largest that I could find was 2 lbs. Yours must be at least 10lbs. I plan on marinating them for a couple of hours in olive oil, garlic, lime juice and worcheshire. Since they are small, do I grill them similar to a steak? Sear 2 minutes on each side and then place on the cooler side of the grill for about 10 minutes? I'll be cooking on a gas grill.

 

[Smoky Brisket]

they look big, but are actually a touch over 3 pounds.

I'd sear a little longer than 2 minutes per side, but if yours is just under 2 pounds, not much longer.

let us know how they turn out. I'm curious about the marinade.

 

[Idahorn2]

I learned to grill steaks from my Dad; I am fairly sure he learned from the chef at a hotel restaurant (La Vielle Auberge) in La Rochefoucauld (France). We went to this place many times when we lived in Angouleme and my Dad was great friends with the owner/chef. It works for bacon-wrapped filets, T-bones, Porterhouses, NY Strips and Ribeyes. I prefer Ribeyes.

Allow the steaks to come to room temperature. Hot fire under the freshly cleaned grill. Throw the steaks on and cook them a minute or less until they turn a little gray, then turn them over and season with salt (first), garlic powder, and then fresh ground black pepper. I like McCormick's "Gourmet Collection" garlic powder because it is little flecks of dried garlic; Spice Island's garlic powder is too finely ground and powdery to suit me. Do not use very much garlic powder on the steak, just a very light dusting. I use the back of my kitchen tongs to press the seasonings lightly into the meat. By the time you get the first side of each steak seasoned, it is time to turn them again to season the second side in the same manner. Turn only once after this-when the first side you seasoned is browned the way you like- and cook to your desired doneness, I prefer medium rare.

I have tried the shortcut of doing the seasoning in advance--it just does not come out as good. The experiment was done on two steaks cooked at the same time. No idea why, but this A-B comparison convinced me and Mrs Idahorn2 as well.

We went on a long-term binge eating in steakhouses whenever we traveled; Peter Luger's, Smith and Wollensky, Harris (SFO), Mortons, The Palm, Ruth's Chris, Gene & Georgetti's (Chicago), Pacific Dining Car (LA). We loved them all, but Mrs Idahorn2 tells me the above method yields a steak that is as good as or better than any of them, and I tend to agree. The only way to improve it is to add a quarter cup of good tangy homemade Bearnaise sauce.

 

[GakFoo]

dc, do you have a meat thermometor/probe? if not, that may be worth the investment. i have a wireless one with two probes -- one for checking the internal temperature of the pit (for when i'm smoking) and one to measure the internal temperature of the meat. it has a remote monitor i can take into the house with me. it was about $40.

i kind of felt like i was cheating when i first started using it, but when i detremined the exact temperature of how i like all kinds of meat, and could get it to that exact number every time, that feeling went away pretty fast.

if you serve that tri tip marinated as i reccomended, cooked medium rare with a french baguette and some horseradish sauce, you may be making that with regularity. i love it but i have to go out of my way to buy it here in austin -- not at my neighborhood stores. let us know how it turned out.

 

[DCLonghorn]

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[DallasCowpoke]

Costco carries a great packaged/marinated tri tip. They're really reasonable, will feed 4 adults easily, and are almost fool proof as far as cooking. I highly recommend them.

 

[GakFoo]

i have only cooked on a gas grill a few times in my life when at my folks house or a friend's house, so i am not sure about the translation between coal and gas, but the tri tips that i cook are pretty thick, so cooking 10 minutes on the cool part of the grill after searing seems pretty short. the 30 minute range to get to medium rare seems more reasonable.

 

[suttree]

You don't need a probe or thermometer. You push your thumb on the center of the steak, and go by feel. Medium rare is the feel you get by pushing the fleshy part of your palm, right under your thumb. A good thick fillet usually is about 10 minutes for me.

Keep the seasoning simple, and make a sauce if you want something to accent the steak (Bearnaise for example).

If you are doing fillets for a bunch of people, you can get a tenderloin and butcher it yourself. It's easy and you typically save some money.

Believe it or not, but Sam's has pretty good beef. I cooked fillets from Sam's last night, and they were every bit as good as the fake "prime" stuff you get at Kroger's. It doesn't have anything on CM's real prime, but it also costs half as much. The guy who butchers at the South Rice location in Houston knows what he is doing and they are cut to the proper thickness, and they are cut uniformly.

Pete's Fine Meats also has excellent steak, although not exactly cheap. They have all the cuts that are hard to find (tri-tip, etc).

I think Tri-Tip is on for this wednesday.