Meat grilling methods

[ScoopKW]

I'd say that proper grilling of meats isn't all that easy. I've had far more bad steaks in backyards across America than good ones -- people buy the wrong cuts, marinate when they should dry rub. Dry rub when they should marinate. Fire too hot. Fire too low. Ash on the meat. The taste of starter fluid. The taste of "no fluid" briquettes. And people seem to uncover and flip meat ENTIRELY too often.

I was taught that a steak should be touched exactly five times on a grill:

1) Drop on grill

2) Turn

3) Flip

4) Turn

5) Plate (and rest)

Even in the classic brigade, a cook has some serious time to put in before working his way up to grillardin.

Host Note: This topic is the result of splitting off some discussion in this topic about what marks a bad cook.

[Twyst]

I was taught that a steak should be touched exactly five times on a grill:

1) Drop on grill

2) Turn

3) Flip

4) Turn

5) Plate (and rest)

Even in the classic brigade, a cook has some serious time to put in before working his way up to grillardin.

I was taught the same thing, although Modernist Cuisine seems to disprove that theory though and advocates flipping things very often. I dont know what to think on that subject anymore

Edited July 15, 2011 by Twyst (log)

[gfweb]

If even heat transfer to meat is the goal, then multiple flips are the thing to do. It actually makes it easier to get an evenly cooked steak.

[ScoopKW]

If even heat transfer to meat is the goal, then multiple flips are the thing to do. It actually makes it easier to get an evenly cooked steak.

Wouldn't that depend on the heat source -- convection vs conduction vs radiation?

I like radiation for cooking steaks, and to me it seems best to leave the meat alone as much as possible. To quote the BBQ gurus, "If you're looking, you ain't cooking."

[gfweb]

Yes you are right BBQ is a different kind of cooking...low and slow etc.

I think of grilling as cooking with high heat on one side and relatively cool air on the other (ie on an open grill). A closed top on the grill will get my weber up to about 350, which would make it oven-like and make flipping less important.

Of course there may be more to grilling methods than just heat transfer to meat and getting grill marks. Perhaps the cooler side of the meat "rests" and juices redistribute while the bottom cooks..and these turn into a nice sear.

I've always been a frequent flipper on an open grill though and the meat comes out nice. As it does the other way too.

[Jaymes]

I was taught that a steak should be touched exactly five times on a grill:

1) Drop on grill

2) Turn

3) Flip

4) Turn

5) Plate (and rest)

Even in the classic brigade, a cook has some serious time to put in before working his way up to grillardin.

I was taught the same thing, although Modernist Cuisine seems to disprove that theory though and advocates flipping things very often. I dont know what to think on that subject anymore

And I don't know what to think on that subject anymore, either, and maybe what I always heard is wrong, but, in order to determine the exact point at which the steak is perfectly cooked, i.e., medium rare, you should watch for "pearling," when the juices rise through the steak and begin to pool or "pearl" on the surface.

Easy to do if you only flip the steak once. With repeated flipping, not sure the juices would ever rise properly to the surface.

Not that that necessarily would ruin the steak, but it sure would mess up my method for timing.

ETA: And since we're talking about grilling beef, how about those folks that flip the burgers repeatedly, and smash down the patty with a spatula with each turn in order to squeeze out every last drop of juice? Not sure what they have in their pantries or refrigerator doors, and quite possibly they are brilliant cooks in other ways, but they sure don't know how to produce a juicy burger patty.

Edited July 15, 2011 by Jaymes (log)

[Dakki]

I'd say that proper grilling of meats isn't all that easy, either. I've had far more bad steaks in backyards across America than good ones -- people buy the wrong cuts, marinate when they should dry rub. Dry rub when they should marinate. Fire too hot. Fire too low. Ash on the meat. The taste of starter fluid. The taste of "no fluid" briquettes. And people seem to uncover and flip meat ENTIRELY too often.

You listed a few things that can go wrong with grilled meats - I'm sure there's a few more. They're all fairly obvious flaws. A ribeye or sirloin requires little in the way of preparation and there's a reasonable margin of error in times and temperatures. You could teach a reasonably intelligent child to competently grill a steak in an afternoon, unless they've picked up bad habits from Mom and Dad.

BBQ is quite a bit more complex, not to mention hermetic. Dry or wet? What sort of wood? What style? What sauce, if any? Are we doing pork ribs, butt, beef ribs, brisket? Chicken, turkey? Poultry doesn't count. We're doing beef cheek and tongue - but that's not even BBQ, that's barbacoa. Let the temperature get too high, there goes the whole batch. Let the smoker run dry, ditto. But wait, this isn't even a water smoker. What the heck?!

So if grilling is hard, what's easy? Green salad? I've had my share of terrible salads - an incompatible mix of badly washed, tired greens with soggy croutons swimming in bottled dressing. So green salad is hard. And so on.

Everything's relative. Grilling well is simpler than BBQ'ing well.

[OliverB]

I tend to flip more often if I grill on high heat - 650 degree or more. I always have a thermometer in there as well. I could work w/o one, but why risk it. A line cook that makes hundreds and hundreds of steaks has the timing in their bones, but if I spend a good amount of cash on a piece of meat I want to be sure :-)

If I cook it on lower temp, I do the 5 step mentioned above.

And then there's Sous Vide of course, with a quick 30 sec sear on very high heat for a delicious crust!

[Twyst]

I've had far more bad steaks in backyards across America than good ones -- people buy the wrong cuts, marinate when they should dry rub.

Since I really started loving and learning to cook in the last 7-8 years I have always lived in apartments in populated urban areas and dont have very many chances to grill or bbq so I am not well versed when it comes to outdoor cooking. Can you please explain the the pros and cons of marinades vs dry rubs and when each should be used? Thanks!

[Dakki]

I don't think this conversation makes a lot of sense out of context.

Anyway, flip once for the good people who like it medium-rare, three times for the crazies who faint if they see pink.

[ScoopKW]

In general, the more tender the cut of meat, the less needs to be done with it.

(Flank and Plate cuts -- the bottom of the cow)

Flank steak, skirt steak: tasty but tough -- a perfect cut for a marinade. A mix of oil and acid (and usually sugar). Breaks down the connective tissues for a more tender meal. But ALSO DENATURES PROTEINS, so marinate too long, and you end up with mushy, salty meat. The marinade can be asian, southwestern, classic Worcestershire/vinegar -- whatever you're going for. I let my side dishes determine the marinade.

(Rib cuts -- the middle of the cow)

Ribeye, Porterhouse, NY Strip, Filet -- tender. I simply season with salt (and let stand at room temp for an hour) and grill. (I don't add anything other than salt because at 1600f, it just turns to carbon. I'll give the steaks a grind of pepper when I flip them. That seems to work well.)

(Chuck, Loin and round cuts -- the two ends of the cow)

Sirloin, tri-tip, flatiron -- less tender than the rib cuts, but more tender than the flank/skirt. Flatiron is my single favorite cut of meat. These I rub. My rubs are invariably 1/3 salt, 1/3 sugar and 1/3 spice blend (mostly black pepper, and then whatever floats my boat that particular day).

This isn't set in stone -- you can pound the hell out of chuck or jaccard a plate cut . There's a lot of ways to grill beef, after all.