Best steaks I've been able to make are by using the ultra sear with a cast iron pan (fajita pan in particular) to develop the a crust on both sides. Then finish them in the regular grill on med-low heat. When cooking large amounts, you can only fit so much in the fajita pan, meaning steak would be done at different times. I saw an episode of good eats where AB preseared a roast, I can't remember why, lol. But it could be a great idea, pre sear the steaks in the morning, throw them in the fridge and put them all on the grill in dinner time. Anyone think of a downside? I think perhaps a lost of moisture...

You could rest the steaks under a foil tent after searing and then put them on the cooler grill all at once. On another forum (its a ceramic cooker forum) I frequent, many use a "T-Rex" method for steaks which involves a high temp sear (600 degrees or higher) then a rest under tented foil for up to 20-30 minutes while the grill comes back down to finishing temperature. People over there swear by it and insist the rest is integral to the method.

I can't see why it wouldn't work on the gas grill as well. I prefer almost an opposite approach though, I cook about 25-30 degrees below desired finished state then pull the steaks while the grill comes up to searing temp and finish with the sear. I then rest the steaks about 10-15 minutes.

On my BGE I use a cast iron griddle and an accessory called a "Spider" which allows me to place the griddle around an inch above the glowing coals. The over all temp of the egg never gets above 400 but the griddle gets well hot enough for searing. I can then move the steak off the griddle and on to the cooking grate higher in the dome and finish at the 400 temp.

Another method for thinner steaks is referred to as "Hot Tubbing" which involves placing the steak in a sealed plastic bag and floating it in 100 degree water until the steak comes up to that temperature (usually 30 minutes to an hour), then doing a high temp sear to finish, seems to work well if you like a rare steak since it brings the internal temps up gently and yet still benefits from the yummy carmelization of the sear.

My favorite method so far has to be the cast iron though, the griddle I have is double sided, smooth on one side and raised grill lines on the other, so I can do a "blackened" steak with the smooth side or get the more traditional grill marks with the other.

Let me know if you give the tenting a try and if it has any affect on the taste, tenderness, or juiciness of the steak.

Plus the experimenting give you an excuse to cook steak more often.

Huck

Bacardi ...

The techniques is worth a try ... let us know how it turns out.

BG in WV

very interesting Bicardi

I have 2 fajita cast iron pans that I will use directly on the stainless steel flame tamers next time (I hope that's not damaging)...I haven't tried steak on that yet.. but getting back to your concept....what you could do is measure the weight of the steaks of 2 similar sized steaks and get the % loss of the pre-sear vs the traditional way...my bet is that there will be a loss on the pre-sear...but very interesting nevertheless

As always, some great insights...I'll let you know what I come up with!