Grilling help, please

Grill report!

Did some things right. Missed on the timing. The steak was thick enough but the grill was not hot enough for the 4 minute per side thing. Did get it to the right 'pinkness' for me. Plenty juicy, too. Yum.

Also think I would like to try the pan sear. Guess I'll need to shop for a nice cast iron pan. The seasoning was what I wanted to try and was tasty. Can say that this is an area I would like to explore further.

What was new to me was bringing the meat to room temperature and drying it before seasoning. And then letting it rest after cooking it.

So thanks for the tips, folks. The good news is I need more practice!

Sorry, no pictures. I ate the evidence!
 
... Guess I'll need to shop for a nice cast iron pan. The seasoning was what I wanted to try and was tasty. Can say that this is an area I would like to explore further.

What was new to me was bringing the meat to room temperature and drying it before seasoning. And then letting it rest after cooking it.

...

Cast iron isn't necessarily the issue. I use a stainless steel skillet as do restaurants. That is, when I've cooked a steak that way!!! (Which is like never anymore!)

Seasoning is a personal choice. I say: look at the choices professional chefs make! Seasoning might be all over the place, but the common thread is light marinade, then dry seasoning just before tossing on the grill. Look it up, if you don't believe me.

NOT letting meat of any kind rest after cooking is another common mistake. It has to be allowed to redistribute its juices. Again, look it up!!!!!!!!!!
 
Somehow I missed this thread. I typically do use the Montreal Steak Rub that Vaughn linked to, but lately I've been adding a little Beazell's Cajun rub to it as well for a little kick. A co-worker brought me some back from Louisiana recently and been using it on a bunch of stuff. It's a little like season salt, but with a kick. Will have to give it a try with the pan searing method.

I typically use the Steve Raichlan poke test to gauge the doneness of most meat, but takes some time/trial & error to get used to the grill one is cooking on. Always rest the meat tightly under some foil after taking it off for 10-15 minutes. I've been allowing more time for the meat to get to room temp before cooking and has made a difference, but don't always have time to do that.
 
I don't need to be convinced, Bill. I am happy with the first experience. I have lots to learn, but if what I did was a mistake, I'll eat those mistakes any day! Wish all my mistakes tasted as good. :rofl:
 
The trick with pan searing (anything, not just steak) is to leave it alone until it let's go of the pan itself. I find cast a bit easier to use than stainless but either works fine as long as you don't overload your pan. If you put to much meat in the pan at once the pan will cool off and you'll start boiling the meat instead of searing it (and no searing doesn't "hold in the juices" but it does make delicious brown bits and boiling makes the meat tough gray and not delicious). If we're doing larger amounts of stew or stir fry we'll often do them in batches to avoid overloading the pan. Basically the reason cast is easier is thermal mass, but if you have good stainless with good thermal mass properties it'll hold heat well enough.
 
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