We all know how great a steak right off the grill is… The grill marks, the seared outside, the juicy interior… There’s just nothing like it!
I used to believe the myth of searing a steak to seal in the juices. I figured it out before Alton Brown’s Myth Smashers show that this is false, but there are still benefits to a well seared steak…
Among this is the visual appeal; we’ve probably all heard the saying, "You eat with your eyes first". An appetizing-looking meal is a great thing. I love putting together a plate that looks like a restaurant would serve it.
If searing a steak doesn’t actually seal in juices, but instead causes more loss of juiciness than not searing, is there another reason than simply the visual appeal? Yes… It’s the flavor enhancement the searing creates. The searing is called the Maillard reaction (named after Louis-Camille Maillard. This has to do with the proteins and sugars on the surface of a steak reacting, resulting in color changes (darker, charred exterior). Basically, the reaction causes a browning of the surface, and the loss of juiciness concentrates flavors.
How do you get this reaction? Generally, from high heat searing, which is cooking the surface of something at high heat. The grill is a great place to do this. By setting up a multizone fire, where coals are concentrated on one side of the grill and spread more sparsely across the grill, or only one burner on a gas grill is turned on, a steak can be seared quickly, then moved to lower heat grill space to finish cooking. My favorite way to do a steak is to put it at a 45 degree angle to the grill grate for 45 seconds, then turn it 90 degrees for another 45 seconds, flip and repeat, then move to a cooler section of the grill until done.
Cast iron grates seem to give the best grill marks, and the grill needs a bit of time (15 minutes) to reach a high temp to have the grates good and sizzling hot.
Another method is to cook the steaks first, then sear them on high heat. This works well for smoked steaks; cook them low and slow until they’re just underdone, then move them to a high heat grill to sear the surfaces.
One piece of beef I don’t like to sear is prime rib. The surface-to-interior ration is so low that you get very little benefit from searing the edge. Instead, I prefer a kosher salt crust on the prime rib, cooked slowing to 120 degrees, then sliced and served (after removing the salt crust).
Curt,
The info that comes out of this blog is great. I look to see you have your own Alton Brown style show on the food network. One more weekend went by with out smoking anything. However I did do chicken on Friday and grilled quesadillas on Saturday. I look to break the drought this weekend with ribs for Father’s Day.
Todd
Todd, unfortunately, most of my info is gleened from shows like Good Eats; I just try to soak some of it up to use it.
I didn’t get to cook outside at all this weekend; SW Ohio was rained out most of the time. I did make up a batch of beans that turned out really good, with pulled pork cut up in them and some Javacue sauce used along with chicken stock for the liquid (also some Drambuie). I also did some bacon/jalepeno cornbread that turned out really good.
I made up a huge batch of sauce, but goofed… I forgot in the middle of it that I was using a 2 cup measure, and ended up screwing up the ratios, so I’ll make some more tonight most likely… and hopefully, we’ll see more comments this week to get some out to people!!!
Curt,
I was up at Marblehead this weekend (Lake Erie). A little cold but no rain. Got out on the Lake and caught some Walleye. Had a good time but a liitle rough. I need to invest in a bullet smoker for easier transport. The beans and corn bread sound great. Corn bread with bacon and jalepenos sounds like a winning combo to me.
Todd
Why not use an infrared burner to sear?
And I prefer prime rib cooked wrapped in lettuce.
BTW, this blog is excellent! Good job.
Do NOT publish this response, just send BBQ sauces.
Dad, whoever you are, what is this infrared thing??? Not having newfangled contraptions like your behemoth grill, I just use high heat charcoal, but I bet the infrared would do a great job.
You can cook your prime rib however you want it… I’ll even eat it when I’m there and not complain!
And I’m well past the point where I have to do anything you tell me to, so I’m publishing your comment anyway.
Quit, all this Father / Son bonding is making me misty eyed. =)
Todd, check out http://buckymcoinkumsbbq.typepad.com/buckyblog/2006/03/it_runs_in_the_.html before you get too misty eyed… My father at least taught me verything NOT to do on a grill! Though I have to admit we had some pretty good meals off that Weber years ago.
What I failed to mention was that I almost destroyed a Jacuzzi brand grill he had back in the late 80′s by loading it on a pickup and consequently having it fall off onto the side of the road is a few pieces.