Cooked on my Big Green Egg. A Weber kettle grill will probably work, don’t know about a gas grill, but it ain’t the same. That’s my Big Green Egg (EGG) in its environment to the left.
For openers, buy a really good steak, at least one inch thick, two inches is better. I prefer Porterhouse, but Rib Eye will do. Bone-in NewYork will do, as well. You’ll know it when you spot it in the meat case and can’t walk on by. This one is a Raley’s two inch Choice Ribeye.
Build a great fire, to burn HOT for 20 minutes or more once it reaches full strength.
Marinate your steak while the charcoal lights, about 45 minutes to an hour — some marinade recipes follow.
Open bottom vent fully and leave the top vent off.

marinating with rum, soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, garlic
When the fire is ready, put in the grate — use the cast iron grate if you have one — and close the lid. When temps reach 500°F, put on the steak and close the lid. Don’t worry about grill temperature any more.

steak cooks
Sear 2 minutes and turn, 2 more minutes and turn, 1 minute and turn, 1 minute and turn, close all vents, cook 2 minutes and turn and check internal temps of steak; you’re looking for 115°F, keep cooking and turning at 2 minute intervals until you reach that. Remove to a cutting board and let rest for at least 10 minutes.

off the grill and ready to rest
Here is a picture of my notes:

Slice across the grain and serve.

steak is sliced about half inch thick
Served with 2012 Bonny Doon Le Cigar Volant Reserve, sun dried tomato risotto and a small green salad.

steak onna plate with rissotohappy carnivours at table

we enjoy the steak with risotto
One of my guests gave up red meat several years ago. She swooned over this steak.
• • • • •
All of my TTT Recipes — I’ll explain TTT in a subsequent post — have a backstory. Here’s the backstory for THE PERFECT STEAK; and some Marinade recipes. (Note, a flank steak is different. I’ll write about that, too.)
B A C K S T O R Y
I’m still into trying new stuff — new ways of grilling on the Big Green Egg. When I took inventory of the garage freezer I found a Porterhouse steak on the bottom wrapped in white butcher paper. Not sure where or when I got it… probably from Blue Ribbon Meat, they use that kind of paper. Anyway, it was lovely, about 1 1/2 inches thick and with a nice size tenderloin.
I went to the Big Green Egg website in search of a cooking technique, and found this:
Basic Recipe from
BIG GREEN EGG COOKBOOK
Hot and Juicy
The Perfect Steaks.
The Perfect Steaks
Ingredients:
2 steaks, 1-1/2 to 2-inches thick, preferably rib-eyes
1/4 cup kosher salt
1/2 tsp white pepper
2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Trim the steaks of any excess fat. Mix all of the dry ingredients together and apply to both sides of the steaks. Allow to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before grilling.
Set the EGG® up for direct cooking. To increase sear marks use a cast iron cooking grid; for extra flavor add wood chips.
When the EGG is heated to 650°F, place the steaks on the grill and sear for two minutes.
Open the lid and flip the steaks onto a new section of the grid. After two more minutes, flip the steaks once more.
Completely shut down the EGG by closing the damper top and draft door. Let the steaks continue cooking for 3 to 4 minutes, until they reach the desired internal temperature (check with a meat thermometer).
Remove the steaks and let them rest for 5 minutes before serving.
• • •
I planned to steam green beans and grill them, along with a peach for dessert, as the steak rested. I had only one steak, but that’s enough for we two.
Cooks notes:
Cooked 7.13 — Porterhouse steak from somewhere… dunno, found it in the bottom of the freezer. I set up for direct cooking and threw in soaked wood chips. The fire seemed rip roaring, and I had the bottom draft door full open and the top damper full open, but it didn’t look like the temps were going to go above 400°F.
Change of plans. I grilled the peach and green beans that I had planned to grill after the steak. When those were done, I just took the top damper off the EGG.
This was not a technique noted in the recipe but Hoo Baby. the temps started climbing. At 600 I threw on the steak and the temps just went up to 700 by the time 2 minutes had passed. Flipped the steak for another 2 minutes… by now the temps hovered around 650. Flipped and took the instant read temperature of the steak, about 85°F. Seared another minute on each side, inside temp 98. Flipped the steak and shut all the grill vents. Temps stuck about 500.
Left another 2 minutes, flipped; inside temp about 115, another 2 min, inside temp about 130, took off the steak and took its picture. After resting about 4 minutes, internal temperature at 145, a little overcooked, but real juicy with a fine crust.
So, the timing for my 1 1/2 inch porterhouse:
2 min + 2 + 1 + 1, shut down vents, 2 + 2 more minutes. Coulda shoulda taken off at 115 to 120°F.
Now I know.
I’ve cooked by this method many times since then. It flat works.
• • •
In the basic recipe, a dry rub was used. I also do with a marinade, here are a few:
Top Four
flank steak a la Sue (from Paula)
Sometime in ought six…
Marinate 1 or two flank steaks 3 hours in:
1/4 cup [60g] soy sauce
2 tbls. [30g] light oil (we use olive)
2 tbls [30g] honey
1 tbls [15g] red wine vinegar
at least 3 cloves garlic
The honey makes a nice change of flavor.
Drunken Steak from Cooks Illustrated
6/2008 Serves 4
Other thin steaks with a loose grain, such as skirt or steak tips, can be substituted for the flank steak.
1 cup light rum
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 garlic clove , minced
1 scallion , minced
1 flank steak (about 1 1/2 pounds), scored on both sides at 1 1/2-inch intervals
** Good idea from Bittman — serve hot over lettuce leaves.
Bourbon Marinade
Used for USDA Prime Rib Eye 9.14
2 oz bourbon
brown sugar
soy sauce
chili flakes
nice
Vietnamese Style
5.15 Reno Gazette Journal
3 Tbsp fish sauce
1/4 C lime juice
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp minced ginger
2 tsp brown sugar
marinate 1/2 hour