griling directly on charcoal

Has anyone tried this??

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/01/dining/steak-on-charcoal-cooking.html

It works very well. I picked up the technique from Adam Perry Lang when I worked with him. I use it from time to time when I need a fast hard sear.

I've never tried this, but the method seems legit as I find the author's reasoning profound. I'll be trying this for sure.

The only tidbit I can't agree with(although I've never tried it) is adding sugar to the spice rub and cooking the meat at 800-1000 degree. I'd imagine the flavor would be off. Maybe one of the Chefs in here can enlighten me?

I've messed with that as well, and it works. For a hard sear I prefer using this:

i did a deer flank steak like that at camp. i thought it was going to be a disaster but it was pretty good. i felt like a caveman.

Dardeau said:

I've messed with that as well, and it works. For a hard sear I prefer using this:
View attachment 28155

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I thought this was a joke but I was just reading a cookbook where they talk about stoking a charcoal grill with a hairdryer and now I don't know what to think :scratchhead:

chiffonodd said:

I thought this was a joke but I was just reading a cookbook where they talk about stoking a charcoal grill with a hairdryer and now I don't know what to think :scratchhead:

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Heh...I'm doing some research to see if I can build a non-mechanical version of this using the stack effect. Think of something like a very tall, skinny charcoal chimney. Hoping to get temps well over 1000F.

You can, one of our regular customers built a copy of our grill at his home using a stack chimney instead of a commercial hood system. No hairdryer needed!

The hairdryer not only stokes the fire but manicures the coals blowing all the ash off and increasing airflow over time.

Dardeau said:

You can, one of our regular customers built a copy of our grill at his home using a stack chimney instead of a commercial hood system. No hairdryer needed!

The hairdryer not only stokes the fire but manicures the coals blowing all the ash off and increasing airflow over time.

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I was thinking of canned air for manicuring the coals (I like that term!), keeps things as simple as possible.

what kind of material did you build it from? I'm concerned that I'm starting to get to the point that steel will lose tempering/structural integrity...

Zwiefel said:

Heh...I'm doing some research to see if I can build a non-mechanical version of this using the stack effect. Think of something like a very tall, skinny charcoal chimney. Hoping to get temps well over 1000F.

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i've balanced my regular weber grill on top of the chimney starter and it is a blast furnace. never tried, but i bet it would melt an aluminum beverage can. easily as hot as a good campfire, and i have melted plenty of cans in those.

if i added air, man, i bet i could make horseshoes.

The one our regular built doesn't have a restaurant style stainless hood, it just goes to a brick chimney stack out the roof. The one in the restaurant looks like this:

It has no real chimney, just ductwork and a giant ducking fan on the roof. The power flickered on the fan last year and the aluminum squirrel cage on the roof melted. With the fan it stays less than 450 in the hoods, probably around 1500-2000 in the firebox if it is raging.

Dardeau said:

The one our regular built doesn't have a restaurant style stainless hood, it just goes to a brick chimney stack out the roof. The one in the restaurant looks like this:
View attachment 28157
It has no real chimney, just ductwork and a giant ducking fan on the roof. The power flickered on the fan last year and the aluminum squirrel cage on the roof melted. With the fan it stays less than 450 in the hoods, probably around 1500-2000 in the firebox if it is raging.

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Had to stare at that for a while to understand...looks like the vertical chamber on the left is used to reduce the wood to coals? then it's shifted to the chambers on the right?

Yep, like a fire box on a BBQ rig.

I saw a similar set up in a restaurant in Rome, only the stack of burning wood was behind a grate on the back wall, and the coals were raked forward. It was really cool. The cook would rake a lot of coals to sear a steak, less in another area to grill veg or other items. But, on topic: grilled a few flank steaks this weekend: one over a blazing lump charcoal fire on my Weber, wide open; the other directly on the maxed - out hot coals in my Kamado joe. Both turned out well. The direct-on-coal steak (the friend who showed me this technique calls it "caveman style") seemed better controlled, where the Weber steak was completely consumed in flames that caused me to panic a little bit. It's a legit technique.

Cheers,

Jack

Turk forged iron with a bit of oil and butter on a blazing burner on one side and a Searzall on the others works great for me. Flip every thirty seconds until both sides get nice and charred. A fan blowing out the kitchen window helps.

Not actually tried it. But I will put this one wishlist. Will post here when I finish with pics.

jackslimpson said:

But, on topic: grilled a few flank steaks this weekend: one over a blazing lump charcoal fire on my Weber, wide open; the other directly on the maxed - out hot coals in my Kamado joe. Both turned out well. The direct-on-coal steak (the friend who showed me this technique calls it "caveman style") seemed better controlled, where the Weber steak was completely consumed in flames that caused me to panic a little bit. It's a legit technique.

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I remember seeing Alton Brown grill a steak directly on the coals in a Good Eats episode 10+ years ago. It supposedly works so well because there are no flare-ups like you would have if the steak was raised and fat dripped down onto the coals.