Man I really messed up on my first cook EVER today. I live in St. Louis, so pork steaks are a thing here. That’s what I went with
I used a charcoal chimney to get it started, poured it into some charcoal baskets I got. (Both items recommended by my grilling buddies)
Threw the pork steaks directly above, closed the lid (vents open) and after 10 minutes they were burnt on the bottom, but fully cooked through. Didn’t taste terrible, but man did I mess up. (I also tossed them in Bbq and then ate em)
Do I cook them indirect? Pour the charcoal straight into the lower grates instead of a basket? Was the charcoal too hot? My kettle doesn’t have a temp gauge fyi
Any advice?
by Maleficent_Pop_8766
48 Comments
Gotta flip them and keep an eye on it. Just like pan cooking. 10 minutes on one side directly over the coals will burn just about anything
Bro it takes like 2-3 minutes per side to get a good sear. Those steaks are too thin to even cook indirectly.
You did a great job of getting some hot coals. You just have to know that when you’re cooking on that kind of heat, you can’t leave anything alone for more than 2-3 min.
You should only sear on direct heat. Sear it with the top open. When you close the grill put the meat on indirect heat. The vents are what controls the heat. With the vents fully open thats going to increase your temp. Half closing the vents will decrease your temps. You have to play around with it.
The direct heat the entire time and the vents open caused it to burn.
Takes time and experience, I’ve used propane most of my life and having gone to charcoal was a whole new monster. I usually go direct to seat and have it open while I’m searing then flip them to the indirect and put the lid on to get them to temp. There’s a large learning curve to it, at least you could salvage it 👍
Great Sear!!!
Yikes on spikes bro. But you gotta start somewhere right. Grill on 🫡
Dust yourself off and try again.
Lol hey you tried, next time watch em a little better I guess.
Learn about cooking zones. Get the book Meathead. That will have solve good info for you.
Can probably scrape it off and they’ll be fine. But you gotta watch them close if your cooking direct on high heat and move them constantly till you flip them so you get a nice uniform crust. People always give you a hard time but a good instant read thermometer helps a lot
Pork steaks need time to get tender, they’re not beef. Direct heat is ideal for them, but has to be at least 8-12” above the coals that the Weber will not allow.
I’d cook them indirect at maybe 275 to 300 until the inside is about 180*. Then, wrap them in foil to get even more tender. Direct heat after that to get a sear if you like.
Pork steaks are awesome! A good mop sauce is my favorite part of them.
Yes, cook them indirectly; charcoal on one side, meat on the other. There are very few cuts of meat that can stand being cooked directly over a hot charcoal fire. I can’t think of any that could take 10 minutes of direct heat and not be burnt.
Watching YouTube videos can help a lot. Patience is your friend.
I cook indirect. I put my coals on one side and let it get up to temp then cook on the other side. I’ll put them over direct for a few mins to get a sear. The basket that you used puts a tremendous amount of heat at one spot and will burn like that. Lesson learned on your first cook. Like someone said, you probably don’t need that basket. Don’t worry, we’ve all done this, it gets better.
Dont beat yourself up too bad. Your temp was high and you left meat at searing temps that usually cook in 2 min for 10 min. At least you got your coals lit and made a hot grill. Next time put those coals over to one side – thats your direct heat. Other side is indirect. If those pork steaks are thin they can just go on direct for 2-3 min a side. If they are thicker then you will need a mix of the two until you get temp to 145 that everyone recommends. You wont learn until you botch a couple of cooks and better pork steaks than prime NY strips. Next one will be better – good luck!0
I can’t offer any better advice than you’ve already received here but I’m glad you asked for help instead of giving up. Follow the suggestions here and you’ll be cooking up some baller meats in no time!
These are pretty thin so I would keep flipping and moving around and expect them to finish in a short period of time. An instant read thermometer will be your friend going forward. And if you want more room for error, use thicker cuts
That concrete step needs a bit of love
Keep your head up man. You’ll get better with experience. The first time I grilled I couldn’t even get it hot enough to cook on ha. Keep learning from this community and check out YouTube vids for help.
Don’t cook over the open flame cook when coal are white and cook on side with less or no coals and slow
Did you have a Busch beer in one hand while you were cooking these? That may be the issue here…
Chin up, fellow St. Louisan! As others have said, get those coals over to one side of your grill next time, and get the meat to the other, for indirect cooking. Let em go for a while like that…patience is key…and having at least a 12’er of Busch on hand.
If you’re gonna paint on some BBQ sauce, only do it for the last 10-15 minutes or so… otherwise the sugar burns and gives you…that photo.
Plenty of spring/summer ahead of ya to get it right!
You just had them over direct heat for too long. In general, for a sear you want to cook over indirect heat until you are close to your target temperature and then put it over high direct heat for a minute or so per side. Technically this is called “reverse searing” but it’s a bit less likely to burn your food while keeping the inside at a good temp.
Don’t sweat it, messing up and having charcoal for dinner the first time is all part of the learning process
🤣🤣 it’s ok, practice makes perfect! You will learn.
Always low and slow unless it’s steak then fire that shhhh
Only go over the charcoal to sear OR if you’re doing something thin and fast like a burger that you’re gonna be on top of flipping and getting off. Grilling is fun, don’t be upset! Also, You can put those baskets on opposite ends of the kettle for a nice big indirect cooking area in the middle or you can put them next to each other on one side, but I highly recommend a Slow n Sear. A bit pricey but the absolute #1 must have accessory IMO
Get a thermometer. Check after 3 minutes. Soon as the inside is 145, pull em. They’re all set
Don’t sweat it. You’ve got a solid setup that you can grow with for years to come. Plenty of people have already mentioned direct and indirect heat. I like to put the baskets on either side so I can sear stuff and then move it to the middle to get to temp. Keep at it. It’s going to get so much better.
Part of the question may be when did you start the fire and when did you start putting the meat on. Some things just need time. Sometimes, one has to wait and understand heat distribution, type of meat, length of cooking time and when is it best to create a hot area for a sear and when to create an area where indirect heat will help with a low and slow.
You can learn it. Be patient and read up on cooking and grilling. Learn from others who know what they are doing.
I very rarely use a basket and even more rarely use two. Just my personal preference. I always put my coals to one side and leave a “cold” side. Only put food directly over the coals for short periods of time to get a nice sear. 10 minutes is crazy.
We all start somewhere so don’t be too upset about it.You’re off to a better start than I did. When I first started I didn’t even know to let my coals turn ashy and I didn’t know to use a two zone setup. So I had black coals flaming all over the grill 😂
I normally sear them, then cook indirect for the remainder.
Been there! I don’t put steak or any other cut directly over coals anymore. Put coals on one side, put meat on the other. More of a smoky cook, works really good.
Next time don’t put the top on if the meat is over direct heat. At least pork is pretty cheap!
It takes time to learn how to control the temperature with coals. Sometimes I make a hot side and a cold side and move the food around until it’s happy
Do you cook in a kitchen? I’m not trying to be mean; I just want to understand. Do you usually cook indoors, and was this your first time grilling? Or was this your first time ever cooking?
Flip it sooner.
Well i just bought a Gas Grill using it for first time! Never used one before Strictly charcoal and wood. Any suggestions? It almost seems like I’m going to be cooking
On an oven. Not a grill!
First – it’s incredibly hard to master a grill without a thermometer. Second – first time. Third – every grill behaves a little different. Fourth – even brand of charcoal can make a difference. Take this as a learning experience. Use cheap meats to practice as much as possible. Learn how the meat looks under direct vs indirect heat and when you take the lid off too much.
My story, and note I had been cooking for several years at this point. My wife (girlfriend at the time) tells me her mom bought half a cow and she was bringing over steaks. I get pumped and buy Kingsford charcoal. Note: I had been using cheapest charcoal i could find since day one. Well because my cheap ass charcoal barely burned i always had to cook vents wide open to get them half hot. You can see where this is going. I light up the Kingsford, once ashed over, put the lid on for 5. Then I throw the steaks on. Walk back in (because I think I’m hot shit). Two minutes later the wifes sister asks if flames should be visible. I run outside to find these amazing steaks burnt to a crisp… lesson learned. Always watch the grill, the temp, and never think you’re hot shit because you’ll end up with burnt shit.
I would try and look at it like this, at least it was something fairly inexpensive with minimal time investment. I burned many things in my early years of grilling, including things like beef ribs I smoked for hours then wanted a little more sear on and 2” thick prime ribeyes. We learn just as much, if not more, from our failures as we do our successes.
Stay on site and sear first ( 2 minutes and then turn 1/4 another 2 minutes , nice crisscross sear marks)
Flip steaks and do exact same thing
Then take off the high heat zone and feel for desired results
A good instant temp probe goes a long way. A cheap $10 one will do the trick but it’s worth the investment for a Thermapen if you can swing it.
Cooking with live fire is fun and you’re constantly learning. Make note of what went wrong here and adjust each time. You’ll be eating well for the rest of your life. Happy grilling
If it was edible, that’s a win. Next time, sear over the coals, 2 min per side and move to indirect and cover. Check often with an instant read thermometer.
Place the coals on one half so you can use the other half for indirect cooking
When cooking right over coals (direct) you cannot walk off as much compared to indirect cookong (opppsite side of your coals) where you can affored to be away a llitle longer
Set the charcoal on one side of the grill to give yourself a hot and cold(er) zone where you can cook on indirect heat. Bring it over the coals to sear. Just takes some practice.
Don’t walk away, stay at the grill and pay attention.
Food over direct coals is a No no unless your searing even then max two minutes per side and take them off direct to finish cooking
Got side cool side. Sear on the hot side until you get the color you want then move the meat to the cool side until the hit temp. You will get the feel for it.
You’ve just learned direct heat, now do indirect hear next time