...there is talk of Grilling, your majesty...

Hey all - please let me preface this with the fact that this is my THIRD thread ever on this forum and I absolutely love this place. You all have been incredibly kind and generous with your help of me, a COMPLETE quenube, and it pretty much makes me feel better about the human race that this site exists.

SO...I am by no means suggesting any changes! Ok, that's out of the way.

So I do enjoy grilling quite a bit, and just had a truly out-of-this-world steak at a restaurant (and it had better have been for the price), and it reminded me that as proud as I am of my own steaks, I certainly have not reached perfection yet! In fact, this steak was purposefully blackened via a cajun rub beforehand, and it was simply delicious. I've always stuck by salt and pepper on my steaks, but it occurred to me that I would really like to learn more about y'alls grilling techniques much as I have learned SO much already from your Q techniques.

I know that Q-talk does say it's also about grilling, but I sort of feel bad posting any grilling topics there since...well...it's Q-talk! My first thought was to ask you all is there is a grilling forum out there that is somehow on par with this one, but then I thought man, if there was a grilling subforum here, it would be simply unbelievable. In a way it really is a different universe than Q; wouldn't it be great to have people check in with "hey, choice ribeyes are at Aldi again" or "best rubs for pork chops" or "how to best dry-age steaks", etc.

So just talking out loud! I have been totally shocked at how good my grilled delights have been turning out since I got my Weber kettle last year, but can only imagine how they would improve if I were able to regularly become better informed as I am able to about Q here. I know there's some grilling (smokeless ) talk in Q-talk, and perhaps that's the way it should be.

Just steak for thought!

You all are the best.

Once again you all have demonstrated why this is literally the coolest place on the internet.

My modus operandi thus far (the results of which has shocked the pants off of me time and time again) has been:

1. Liberally sea salt both sides and let it sit for 1 hr. per inch thickness, then wash off and pat steaks dry with paper towels
2. Add pepper and lately some cooking oil (will likely try olive oil next time)
3. Get the Weber as hot as I possibly can (caveat: until you came into my life I was too ignunt to know that I can't trust the dome thermometer, plus I was leaving the lid off trying to build up heat.
4. Cooking the steaks for about 4 to 5 minutes per side (only one flip); I was leaving the lid off for the last minute or so on each side in the hopes of actually causing a flareup in order to force some crust, but I believe I've gleaned from here that the lovely crust comes either from a rub or high heat or most likely both. I've also been cooking without any thermometer at all; my thermopop arrives tomorrow and that will give me a MUCH better understanding of when it's done! Too many surprises so far; oops, back on the grill...I really hope all the juices don't drain out :doh:

Will definitely be adding the butter while resting trick to my list!

I've been buying choice steaks and they have been turning out better than I've ever had except at two restaurants, both of which charge $40+ per steak - and worth every penny!! I seriously can't order steak anywhere else - totally spoiled.

If you haven't tried the presalt/wash/dry trick, I commend it to you most highly. Most of the salt washes off, but according to this link "How to turn cheap choice steaks into gucci prime steaks" the salt breaks the steak down making it wonderfully tender; just enough salt remains in the meat postrinse to give it just the right amount of saltiness. Seriously, this WORKS, and it's certainly not exclusive of rubs, pepper, etc. applied afterwards.

In fact, I've found with this method that I prefer NO pink!! One would think that steak blasphemy, but it's wonderfully flavorful and very, very tender.

So getting the Weber as hot as possible - I've been dumping a full chimney of RO Lump onto what lump is left (usually a fairly good amount) from the last cook and let it sit with the lid off in the name of getting as much air to it as possible; would I be better served to leave the lid on to build temp? Or is it simply a matter of waiting for the temp to rise enough? With my newfangled Maverick 733, grate temp won't be a holy mystery anymore.

You guys are the best! Here's to beautiful, charred meat.

Ha!!! Yes, even grilling (it takes me forever to prep even burgers/steaks, then get the grill going, then cook) is a fantastic opportunity for some good old brews. When it's hot out, even better - much as I hate the heat, it's great!

Dang, Cowgirl - four gassers? You are serious!!

BTW, a wee nugget I've gleaned on burgers is that the less they are handled, the better; we've all seen people slap at a piece of beef until it's patty-shaped; it does take me forever, but I use a sharp knife to cut hamburger into basically squares, then I very gently and gradually work it into a large, flat square. Apparently the more you handle it, the more it "bruises" the meat; I can't absolutely vouch for that, but I've actually had burgers fall apart because they are SO tender nice problem to have! And not hard to fix - just be *slightly* firmer when "patting them out." Mine usually end up 2/3 to 3/4 pound and they are delightful! The lump gives them such a great flavor as well. And just salt and pepper beforehand; and a nice deep dent in the middle (careful not to destroy it; it's tender and fragile!) makes them come out perfect.