HELP! i suck at cooking steak on my new treager

A

Alikair

New member
I bought this cheap Costco Treager Pellet BBQ not sure the model its the small one without the digital thermostat.

I think my steaks tasted much better with the special grilling fry pan than this BBQ.


Last night we put 2 15 $/lb New York's on after it preheated to over 350 on the high. monitored with a new remote digital thermometer. set the alarm to 140 degrees.
the only mistake I made was at around 130 I was going to flip over for grill marks when the temp jumped up from 130 to 140 so quickly we only had then flipped over for less then a minute.

The steak did come out overdone a bit, (next time, will try 135) but I have to say it tasted like a nasty pan fried steak not like something cooked in a real BBQ!

I feel this oven is more a convection oven then a BBQ at high temps.

Also read elsewhere other people not cooking steak on these things for the same reason.

Can someone tell me if this unit sucks when it comes to doing steaks?
 
sparky

sparky

New member
get yourself some grill grates. your steaks will cook much better on your pellet grill then. its what i use.
 
sparky

sparky

New member
yes. Big Poppa Store sells them. got to the top of this page and hit shop. they sell them in accessories. they are great for using w/ a pellet grill.
 
Big Poppa

Big Poppa

Administrator
put over you existing grates...try to learn the reverse sear method....smoke your steaks until they hit about 120 125....pull them from grill...heat your traeger up to high with the grill grates and then sear 2 0r three minutes a side then rest 10 minutes and serve....takes about 50 minutes but you will forget about the grilling pan!
 
A

Alikair

New member
Thanks BP, I will try that, not sure if your grills will fit my junior model though the manufacturer web site show it at 292 sq. in. (15" x 20") Grilling Area
 
Rip

Rip

New member
Ditto Sparky, BP, and Deb. I cooked a lot of great steaks in my Traeger using Grill Grates. They work great for veggies (like asparagus) too.
 
Big Poppa

Big Poppa

Administrator
no not at all...that works with the maks fire system stick with the Grill Grate brand and size the deb reccomended
 
A

Alikair

New member
another question, when you guys do this reverse sear method, do you leave the temperature probe in to the very end or remove during the searing? not sure if the probe would get in the way of flipping the steak over.
 
Big Poppa

Big Poppa

Administrator
I put the probe in the side and not from the top so it doesnt get in the way...but I also dont use the probe after about 1000 steaks!
 
H

HoDeDo

New member
The grill grates are hard anodized aluminum, and essentially act like a heat sync. (think about your electronics, amps, and such) The Grill Grates work the same way... they flair jsut a bit at the top, and transfer all that heat to the steak, giving you great grill marks. Juices dripping off the steak hit the bottom, which has holes in it, but is not completely "open".... and those juices vaporize back into the meat adding more flavor.

Couple that with the nice light smoke profile, doing the reverse sear method BP notes above, and you will be Golden.

Also, I don't know to what level of doneness you like your steaks, but pull it before it hits the temp you like. If you are waiting til 140, they will be 150 by the time they are eaten. You have thermal inertia from the cooking process, that will keep the temp rising on that meat after you pull it for a little bit. Depending on how hot the grill is - that will be 5-10 degrees. If you like a med-rare steak, pull it 130 at the latest. if you cooker is blazing, I would pull it at 125. That might help you with your doneness.
 
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A

Alikair

New member
thats good to hear. it seems i cant find a store that sells good new york steak consistently here in west linn ( just south of portland)
 
TentHunter

TentHunter

Moderator
I'm with the others. Get yourself some GrillGrates and you can get some results like this even at lower temps. These were seared at 400°
LEECHOP2.JPG



The reverse sear method, as BP described, is what we use because it works great! While the steaks are cooking slowly on one side of the grill, the GrillGrates can be heating up on the other side. Like Andy (HoDeDo) says, pull the steaks off before they're done, tent with foil to keep warm. Crank the heat up and give the grill grates a few minutes to super heat, then sear the steaks at the end. When you taste them you'll never want steaks cooked any other way!
 
sparky

sparky

New member
let me make a email a friend of mine who lives in beaverton. i will find ya a good butcher. i use to live in aloha for 4 years back in the 80's.
 
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