Weber Kettle Club Forums

I recently bought a Weber 18" Kettle and my first try was a marinated Ribeye.

After three grilling sessions (4 minutes, 2 minutes, and 2 minutes), it was still too rubbery and hard to cut and chew, but I managed to eat half of it.  :-\

Next, I tried a T-Bone, with no marinade or seasoning, at 4 minutes and 2 minutes. It was great on the Filet and the Strip, and it was easy to cut and chew, so being a Happy Cooker, I ate it all!  ;D

Hal, age 80.

Welcome @Hal Pollner , we've all had it happen to us also, HELL, i've probably even had a disappointing 360something grilling event!  The way I see it, if its edible, even half, its all good! 

Well thanks for the reply, varekai!  I'm looking forward to another unmarinated, unseasoned T-Bone!

What's a 360something grilling event?

Thanks,
Hal (also a Californian)

If at first you don't succeed......  LOL.  I'm overdue for messing something up!  Glad you gave it another shot and found success!

@Hal Pollner , (360 event) I was just saying, as much and as often as I grill, and I grill minimum 4-5 times a week, I still have times that I feel its turned out so-so. But we persevere because we like it!!  Its like golf, have a good round, you want to go back and do it again, have a bad round and you want to do it again because you KNOW you can do better...LOL

I'll accept that philosophy, varekai!

Hal

@Hal Pollner When I  cook steaks on a kettle I first set up a direct zone and an indirect zone by putting the coals on one side.  Then I cook my steak using the 3 method.  3 minutes direct then flip 3 minutes direct then move over to the no coal side for indirect cooking.  For this you need to put on the lid. 3 minutes then flip then 3 minutes and done.  This will give you (depending how thick your steak is)  about a medium rare to a medium.  Don't over load the coals.  Try it.  It works great for me. 

And damn man...Sometimes ya just get a stubborn chunk of cow that just don't wanna turn out right no matter what you do... >:(

Keep up with it, Hal. You'll nail it, brother


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I'd recommend getting a thermapen or another quality fast digital thermometer. In my opinion it's best to cook to temperature. Cooking to time has too many variables. Steak thickness, type of meat, internal temp of meat when going onto the grill, the fire, the coals...heck, ambient temp and even the wind.

Find a good butcher. Don't buy steaks from Albertsons(local Dallas store). Always tough. Whole Foods and central market have good meat departments.

Forgive the short answer..I'm passing a kidney stone.

The instant read thermo will make you a better cook. That's just good advice. What cut are you cooking?

@Hal Pollner, don't give up on marinated steaks, especially ribeyes.  I've cooked hundreds of 'em.  I agree with @SMOKE FREAK, sometimes it's just the cow.





BD

You cant go wrong with any of this advice,  I am a salt and pepper guy, two zone cooking for me! But I usually reverse sear, so I keep the steaks on the cool side ,  insert a digital probe and wait till internal temp is 115 or so remove steaks and cover them with a little butter and foil meanwhile open up all vents to get a good hot fire going then sear for a couple of minutes per side till I get the internal temp I want

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Quote from: MINIgrillin on March 10, 2017, 06:00:59 PM
I'd recommend getting a thermapen or another quality fast digital thermometer. In my opinion it's best to cook to temperature. Cooking to time has too many variables. Steak thickness, type of meat, internal temp of meat when going onto the grill, the fire, the coals...heck, ambient temp and even the wind.

Find a good butcher. Don't buy steaks from Albertsons(local Dallas store). Always tough. Whole Foods and central market have good meat departments.

Forgive the short answer..I'm passing a kidney stone.

Dude that sounds painful! hope all turns out ok!

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I guess grilling steaks ain't the simple process I hoped it would be.....George Foreman, are you standing by?

HAL

You'll get it Hal, don't give up. Reverse sear is super easy and gives excellent results. Use the search feature of the WKC and find some examples.


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Hey @Hal Pollner   Keep it simple. There are all kinds of ways to cook a steak. Reverse sear is my favorite, but start out straight forward. One inch thick, well marbled steak. The quality of the steak is the most important part. HOT fire. As hot as you can get it. Put the steak over the hot coals and don't move it. I like a rare to barely medium rare steak, so 2 minutes one side, flip, 2 minutes the other. Pull off and rest for a couple minutes. If you like a steak done different add a minute. Good starting point, sir.


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Quote from: Travis on March 11, 2017, 05:41:42 PM
Hey @Hal Pollner   Keep it simple. There are all kinds of ways to cook a steak. Reverse sear is my favorite, but start out straight forward. One inch thick, well marbled steak. The quality of the steak is the most important part. HOT fire. As hot as you can get it. Put the steak over the hot coals and don't move it. I like a rare to barely medium rare steak, so 2 minutes one side, flip, 2 minutes the other. Pull off and rest for a couple minutes. If you like a steak done different add a minute. Good starting point, sir.


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Simple huh @Travis, LOL.... Simple is salt that bad boy toss her right on top of the coals!!... LOL

@varekai I've yet to rave the caveman steak. Totally want too. That IS simple!!


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@Travis, I think I've done it twice, started just for the "Holy Shit" factor, it was actually really good!..lol

I will coat both sides with coarse sea or kosher salt.  After a half hour I will rinse and dry with paper towel and cook after the steak has come close to room temp.  Absolutey awesome, tender steak!  Seriously it works.

Hi HAL,
With meat that is minimally cooked, quality is critical. If It's tough to start with, it's not going to get any better. Any steak cooked well done is likely to be tough too.

Another strategy is is to start with something that is normappy tough and cook in a manner that will make it tender. This is the basis of smoking brisket, ribs, pork butt... I did some corned beef brisket points yesterday. They come off the smoker at 165° and go into an oven to finish. I like to taste them when they come out of the smopker (because I can't wait ;) ) but hoo boy, are they ever tough! After a couple hours of moist heat (covered Dutch oven with a little beer) they cut like butter.

Keep trying!

Edit: I thrrow steaks right on the charcoal too. Special people I cook steaks for (SWMBO, fishin' buddy) specifically request this technique. I also buy ribeyes at Sam's Club because they are good quality.

Quote from: Love-a-Weber on March 11, 2017, 11:07:02 AM
You cant go wrong with any of this advice,  I am a salt and pepper guy, two zone cooking for me! But I usually reverse sear, so I keep the steaks on the cool side ,  insert a digital probe and wait till internal temp is 115 or so remove steaks and cover them with a little butter and foil meanwhile open up all vents to get a good hot fire going then sear for a couple of minutes per side till I get the internal temp I want

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I second this.  Reverse sear all the way!

Quote from: Travis on March 11, 2017, 05:53:41 PM
@varekai I've yet to rave the caveman steak. Totally want too. That IS simple!!


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I've done it with a New York Strip and it was awesome. I don't know if I would try it with something fatty like a ribeye.


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Hey Hal, glad you found this place and are trying new things.  There are many ways to cook a good steak and everyone has an opinion.  It's all about personal preference. My opinion is to buy good quality,  well marbled beef for the best tenderness. To sear or reverse sear depends on the thickness of the steak. I like the reverse sear for cuts over 1" thick and only cook to medium rare. I usually only salt and pepper, and sometimes use a red wine dry rub.


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Hal left the WKC. He couldn't figure how to post pics. A shame too. Interesting fella.


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A couple of you said it "could be the cow".

I always thought the FDA allowed only Steers to be slaughtered for public consumption, with Cows reserved only for Dairy use.

HAL

Follow the above advice on cooking.
Better cuts of meat normally give better results.
Not a fan of marinating at all. If you have a good steak properly cooked salt is all it needs in my opinion.
I keep a little Country Bob's around for Hamburger Steak, for a real steak salt and a little smoke flavor is all that I need.

Bob