I got a bunch of cedar planks at Costco the other day and managed a nice salmon cookup. I love the cedar aroma and taste that results from using planks - got me thinking about using cedar planks to cook steak. Here is my thesis: An 18.5" kettle is too small to do a proper 2 zone cook for a reverse sear (especially if the steak is big). My thought is to fire up a full chimney of lump, cook the steak on a cedar plank until the middle gets above 100, and then remove the plank to finish it off directly over the hot coals, just like a reverse sear.
This Pat Pending 18.5 that I rescued and restored gets the call:
Big Porterhouse on a Cedar plank over lump. I was monitoring the temp - just because I am obsessed with thermoworks products....
Once the steak hit 115 internal, I removed the board and seared it directly over the lump. Here it is after resting and carving out the T bone:
The payoff. Wedge salad with pepper bacon, red onion, croutons, blue cheese, and chives. Steak topped with blue cheese compound butter.
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The technique worked well. If you like cedar, give it a try. You can really taste the wood in the steak. The only thing I will do different next time is to pull the plank at 90 degrees internal and let the steak sear for longer to develop a nice crust.
Winz