Hi,
Please apologize any blunders in grammatical or technical terminology, I'm neither native nor experienced in grilling.
Looking at buying my first (more serious) grill, and there are 2 options i'm looking at.
One is a pellet smoker, the other a more traditional gas grill (links to both in the bottom, but they are in Danish).
My big question is, the smoker claims to have a max temp of 275C (527F), is this hot enough to sear meat, especially thin cuts (around 1cm (Little less than 0.5 inches))?
I typically find thin cuts to be bone dry by the time they're nicely brown, which I assume is due to too low temps on the rather terrible grills I've used thus far, resulting in way too long cook times.
The regular gas grill also has a searing station, iirc they claim it goes up to about 700C (1300F), which should be hot enough for basically any cooking challenge, i should hope.
My main priority is definitely "regular" grilling, but I've been wanting to dabble in smoking for a while now, but not if it comes at the cost of good searing.
If 275C (527F) is too cold for my typical grilling applications, how well does the different method for smoking in a gas grill work? I've seen that it's possible, maybe some of you have tried it, and can report whether it was a success?
Links:
Gas grill (Nexgril Deluxe 5B++) https://shopping.coop.dk/vare/nexgrill-gasgrill-deluxe-5bplusplus-5-braendere,-bagbraender,-2-sidebraendere-og-protouch-system/6009880808236
Pellet smoker (Nexgril Oakford 26) https://shopping.coop.dk/vare/nexgrill-pillegrill-oakford-26-low-og-slow-tilberedning-med-autentisk-roegsmag/6009897133529
Any tips, tricks or experiences for either grill type is also much appreciated 🙂
Thanks in advance.
by BellyMeister
1 Comment
Let’s define “searing” first. My definition of searing is creating a delicious crust with the Maillard reaction and carmelization. My goal for searing never includes burning, burn marks, or unnecessary drying out of the meat.
With that in mind – searing (from) RAW MEAT happens in a specific range from as low as 310 F to as high as 525 F (or around 150 to 275 C). Nothing much lower will work – and much higher will introduces high risk of burning/drying. Those rules change if quick-searing sous vide or slow-smoked meats – for those, I like a higher sear temp (700 F or so) with much less time – but it all depends on the application. Realistically – 375 to 425 F is a good target on something cooked from raw – and the best crusts I’ve gotten are actually on the lower to mid temp ranges. There are many ways to skin the cat – but ultra-high temp burners are not required for a great crust – they just enable a few extra use cases. But if you like those use cases – they are really nice to have.