Jax, evening.... You are right about it being a different way to cook steaks... I have charcoaled and added mesquite, which I like... I've had rib roasts in the oven, which I like.... I've pre smoked 1" steaks and grilled and fried on a cast iron griddle in the kitchen, which I liked... But the long, long smoke has never been in the recipe for cooking a steak or a roast.... It's different.... produces a very uniform doneness in the meat.. which I like..... and the additional smokey flavor is very good, which I like.... I guess it boils down to I like steak anyway you can cook it... especially a RIB steak....I've now tried this three times. Way off on the first try - way underdone for what I was trying to do. Second try was exact opposite, but that's because I seared it too long. It started pouring down rain while I was trying to sear and I couldn't get them on and off how I wanted. Third time was the charm - sort of. I would say they were between a MR and and M. However, they were very tender and tasted good.
I usually like my steak a true MR - and maybe even a little on the rare side, but even though this one was a little closer to M, it was super tender and still had the beef flavor that I love in a MR steak. This process does produce a more consistent doneness through-out, which I like.
I didn't add any wood to the smoker while I was cooking them, but they still picked up quite a bit of smoke flavor. I have to think that it is from previous smokes, but I was surprised at how much smoke flavor it picked up without any smoke added.
Slowly cooking them to a certain IT is easy to do. I think the key to getting the steak you want with this method is the time and temp of the sear. I use charcoal so my temps fluctuate.
I would not call this a better way to cook a steak, but more so a different way that is very good. That's good because even the best steak gets old
I bet the broiler would work just fine. Just get it as hot as possible so it sears quickly. That should help insure that the inside doesn't get overdone. On the grill it usually doesn't take more than a minute per side.Hi All, new to smoking here. My Grill is having issues. I could do the reverse sear on a cast iron pan but I'm curious -- what about throwing the steaks under the broiler for a few seconds each side? Or would that cook into them too much? (I love the broiler for crisping up fat.)
Well, I discovered last night that my broiler shuts off automatically when the oven temp reaches 500 anyhow. SO annoying. I am really tired of stoves and ovens that try to protect me from myself by shutting the broiler off based on oven temp (how can you broil without direct heat? Why call the setting broil?) and gas stoves that won't let you turn the gas down below a certain point. (I assume they assume I'll let the flame go out and end up gassing myself, but the temp it drops to is too high for certain things). I suppose that's a topic for another forum though. SO right now the case iron sear is my new plan next time I do steak in the smoker.LauraLee: my 2 cents for free (worth what you paid)...
The broiler will certainly work, but I favor the cast iron as the direct heat will provide a much better sear
Let us know how it turns out!
LauraLee, Ever try leaving the oven door open ???Well, I discovered last night that my broiler shuts off automatically when the oven temp reaches 500 anyhow. SO annoying. I am really tired of stoves and ovens that try to protect me from myself by shutting the broiler off based on oven temp (how can you broil without direct heat? Why call the setting broil?) and gas stoves that won't let you turn the gas down below a certain point. (I assume they assume I'll let the flame go out and end up gassing myself, but the temp it drops to is too high for certain things). I suppose that's a topic for another forum though. SO right now the case iron sear is my new plan next time I do steak in the smoker.LauraLee: my 2 cents for free (worth what you paid)...
The broiler will certainly work, but I favor the cast iron as the direct heat will provide a much better sear
Let us know how it turns out!