How to best use a searing burner?

I have a new grill this year with a searing burner. Do you sear first & then cook steaks normally or what? (do uyou nbeed to cover the searing burner to protect it at all??)

I find it's best used to kill yellow jackets who build nests in there due to unuse.

I have two on my grill and can't for the life of me figure out what they are supposed to do. The side burner is too small to do much with and the back burner burns half the food and leaves the other half raw.

jpete wrote:I find it's best used to kill yellow jackets who build nests in there due to unuse.

I have two on my grill and can't for the life of me figure out what they are supposed to do. The side burner is too small to do much with and the back burner burns half the food and leaves the other half raw.

I think you're supposed to sear the steak first & then move it to a normal burner but I hate to dirty it since it's new!!

Devil,

I always sear the steaks first. I find that by using the regular burner and having it on high as in the preheat mode, I get a nice sear on the first side. I'll let it up on high a little then flip them on to a previously unused part of the grill to sear the other side. I then turn it down to medium to finish the cooking.

Searing is supposedly to seal in the juices to keep the steak moist and tender. Same thing with burgers. Never squash the burger with the spatula. You lose all that good juice.


I prefer mine made medium rare. I like my meat pink on the inside.



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Rick

Steaks are best cooked fast on a hot fire. Cooking meat on the grill with low heat for a longer period of time will leave you with a piece of shoe leather. The hotter the better.

If a good veterinarian can't have it up and walking in 10 minutes, it's too done for me.

Wood'nCoal wrote:Steaks are best cooked fast on a hot fire. Cooking meat on the grill with low heat for a longer period of time will leave you with a piece of shoe leather. The hotter the better.

grillFire.jpg

jpete wrote:If a good veterinarian can't have it up and walking in 10 minutes, it's too done for me.

Now I concur with both of those!!

sear first,,usually the sear portion has somewhat wider grate, and the grilling grate is a narrow more pointed one so as to gather more temp at the bottom and direct it up to the meat. at least thats what i read with the gazillion dollar grill owners manual. .... and yes i read the manual and instructions from front to back first!!!!

then do it my way anyway!! we just had our first NY strip cookout tonite Ymmmmmmm!!

Searing a steak is the best and only way to cook a steak. If done right you retain the juice inside and just the right char on the outside and the taste is out of this world.
IMHO Weber makes the best of grills and I recentlly went the extra dollar and bought one.
Per the instruction manual.
Preheat the grill on High for 5 minutes.
Put the steaks on.
Close the lid and keep it closed till its time to turn them.
TIme your steaks. I like mine cooked through so about 8 minutes per side and its done.
Higher temps result in faster cooking times so go by your grill.
My thermometer reads about 500deg F when I put the meat on.
Do not touch the steaks until its time to turn them.
The meat will stick for a short time then release as they are seared.
Once you know your grill you will have perfect steaks everytime.
Cheap grills flare up and will not sear like a well made grill.

Here's mine http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/naviga ... tem=377882

Thats a nice looking grill Devil. What brand is it?

wnyjim wrote:Thats a nice looking grill Devil. What brand is it?

It's a Members Mark (Sams Club)
I put in a natural gas conversion kit so I don't have to worry about changing propane tanks...Great for long rotisserie burns!)

Does anyone use charcoal besides me?

Real charcoal!
Chunk Charcoal.

SuperBeetle wrote:Does anyone use charcoal besides me?

No ....& most of us don't use hand crank starters for cars or telephones anymore either!!

Devil505 wrote:

SuperBeetle wrote:Does anyone use charcoal besides me?

No ....& most of us don't use hand crank starters for cars or telephones anymore either!!

Well then let's see. I use real lump charcoal because I prefer the taste and it gets very hot and sears meat very well. I prefer a hand-fired coal stove as well so maybe you should have a stoker stove instead of a hand-fired since you like newer more expensive technology than I do, Dick.