Grilling/cooking steaks and hamburgers

[Evan]

Summer is almost near which means firing up the grill for those juicy steaks and hamburgers in the great outdoors, drinking some fine lager or hefewiesen while you tend the grill.

I personally favor flipping only once for both steaks and hamburger patties. I haven't run a comprehensive side by side comparison of the meat that has been flipped once vs flipped twice vs flipped multiple times but I was taught to flip them only once and I have had no complaints. The hardest part is knowing when to flip. If flipped to early, then you would require additional flipping, while flipping to late may result in overcooked piece of flesh. I tend to like my meat medium rare.

I have heard many different techniques:

Searing both sides then slow cook on each side (Three Flips)

or

Flipping once (Self explanatory; each side only gets cooked once)

or

Flipping twice (Cooking both sides and then an additonal flip to sear in the juices on the first cooked side of the meat)

or

Flipping numerous times for that well done piece of rubber ( can you tell that I don't like well done beef?)

Do you have a preference? I would like to know if there are advantages/disadvantages to each of these styles of grilling/cooking a steak or a hamburger patty. Does the number of flipping have consequences on juicyness or tenderness? What are people's opinions on this matter?

How many flips does it take for the best steak or hamburger?

[daves]

Over the years I've concentrated more on the beer in my hand instead of using the spatula My technique for steak: 1 rotate and 1 flip.

I grill in a kamado: with grill temps around 550-600, and the ceramic nicely heat-soaked (for all-around heat), I want to minimize the time with the lid open. So, for 1.5" steaks, I usually tend to do my 12+ minute routine:

1. Place steaks on grill for 3 minutes with lid shut.

2. Open lid, quickly rotate steaks 60 degrees or so to get nice hatched grill pattern. Close lid for another 3 minutes.

3. Open lid, flip, and close lid for 3 minutes more.

4. At the 9 minute mark, close the dampers to cut the direct heat and finish off the steaks for 3 minutes more with indirect heat.

At the 12 minute mark, I open it up and use a thermopen to figure out where they're at. They usually come off at this time just shy of med-rare for a rest or they might take a couple of minutes more in the indirect heat... and yes I whimp out with the thermopen -- I just can't determine steak done-ness by feel

ps - I thought searing only resulted in more browning reactions rather than 'searing in the juices'.

[Malawry]

Steaks, I only flip once. I usually sear on both sides on grill or in a pan, and then finish them by throwing in a hot hot oven for a few minutes.

Burgers, I flip twice. They cook almost all the way on sides 1 and 2, and then I flip them again and cover with cheese. When the cheese melts, they're done.

[Kevin72]

I'm a one-time flipper for both burgers and steaks. I usually cook them 2/3 to 3/4 of the way through and then finish on the other side. As far as when to flip . . . I've just gotten to know my grill well enough to instinctively time it. Then of course when I do it on someone else's grill, I wind up overcooking/burning things . . .

[Jason Perlow]

Two flips, like Malawry.

[jsolomon]

I'm a one-time flipper for both, also. My key is to make sure that the burgers are sufficiently thin and wide so that they both cook in a reasonable time and shrink up to fit the bun. Nothing more than 80% lean, too... unless it's my parents' homegrown beef.

[HungryChris]

I like to flip my steaks 3 times. I place a steak on the hot part of the grill, let it sear long enough to get a good grill mark, flip it the first time like you would open a book. Let it sear about the same amount of time then I flip a second time and rotate from portrait to landscape so that the first sear marks are now being crossed then flip a third time so that the marks are crossed on the other side. I like my steak rare and sometimes the steak is not thick enough to tollerate that much time on the heat and not progress past rare in which case, I have to compromise on the crossed grill marks. I don't care much about grill marks with hamburg, but only cook them rare if I have ground the meat freshly myself.

Cheers,

HC

[k43]

I've read a Famous Expert's grilling method (probably from one of the "visits with chefs" articles in the NY Times) that recommended flipping every 30 seconds or so after the initial sear to keep the juices inside the steak rather than letting them go to waste by dripping down onto the coals.

By the way, why does everyone say don't move the meat once you put it on to sear? Does that produce more fond? If so, what about the advice to drop a steak on the grill or hot pan and immediately move it once to keep it from sticking and then don't move it again?

[WolfChef]

One flip, if you do the steak markings right, the first seared side always looks better and more defined. Of course 3 and 1/2 years as broiler chef in a 300 seat private club honed these skills.

[wilewil]

Note to AgaCooker re:

Lt. General Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller was one of the most decorated of all U.S. Marines. During WWII, when he was a colonel, he gave his hard-pressed regiment(they were surrounded by more than a hundred thousand chinese) the following tongue-in-cheek reassurance: "The enemy is in front of us, behind us, to the left of us and to the right of us. They can't escape us this time."

The Chinese were on our side in WWII so he shouldn't have been too afraid......... I think the quote may be from Korea.

[bleachboy]

I flip beef only once.

If I'm doing steaks for guests, I will give them the rotation to create the diamond-shaped grill marks ("so you know it's grilled"), but I won't count that as a flip.

If I'm grilling chicken, I'll usually flip it a few times, but bone-in chicken or parts takes a lot longer to cook than beef does. The flipping is mainly just so I can keep an eye on how things are progressing.

[godito]

By the way, why does everyone say don't move the meat once you put it on to sear?  Does that produce more fond?  If so, what about the advice to drop a steak on the grill or hot pan and immediately move it once to keep it from sticking and then don't move it again?

←

You don't want to move the steak for a couple of reasons. If you're on a grill, and you want to mark your steak, i fyou move it, the lines will not be even. But I think more importantly, once you put it on a hot pan, it will stick to it. Moving it will cause the meat to tear, affecting presentation and juice preservation. Once the meat is seared, it will detatch itself from the pan. SO, not moving the meat actually helps preserve the juices.

As for my burger flipping, I do like daves: one flip and one turn for the presentation. Sometimes I don't even turn it, but always just one flip.

[deltadoc]

I do the sear both sides of the steak and finish off in the oven.

For hamburgers, I grill one side thoroughly, then flip once, salt & pepper, and turn the heat down and slow cook until done.

I most always fine dice some onion, and add about 1 - 1 1/2 TBSP of Lea & Perrins or my own homemade Worcestershire sauce to the meat before making the patties.

doc