Finishing Sear Over Wood

I am doing a finishing sear of a piece of SV cooked meat. I want the fire as hot as possible to get a great sear. I've looked at AmazinRibs and other places, but am curious if anyone has any techniques (using wood) that will get the temp I am looking for. I've had moderate success, but it isn't clear how much should be embers, how much should be active flames, etc.

Find more posts tagged with

Recipes Q's

Comments

Nicky_J_17040

I would not cook over a live flame at all. If that flame is too close to the protein, chances are it's going to give it a sooty bitter flavor. I would take some oak, maybe mixed with some mesquite, or really any other wood that burns "hot". Let the wood burn until the flames die down and you will be left with the embers you referred to. This is what you wanna cook over. Smaller logs will obviously burn down faster so you can get cooking sooner. What protein are you cooking? How thick is it?

Have fun!

mike.minasian

Thanks for your response. This is what I was doing, but wasn't getting quite the hard sear I wanted. I'll keep playing with it! I'm doing Tri-Tip. It's about 2 -3 inches thick.

Pepijn_31744

make sure the airflow is optimal, that will have as much as an effect as selecting the right kind of wood

SteveM_20803

Have you thought of using lump charcoal? I've been told that it will burn hotter and faster than most regular hardwood.

mike.minasian

Interesting, I do use lump charcoal in another grill for other purposes, but am trying to be more "authentic." I may try using a combination.

Nicky_J_17040

Cool. The last time I was working over coals, I actually got them too hot! They did more than just sear my steaks. But thinking about the final product, they did have good flavor. I didn't allow them to sit for too long in the same spot. But they did get a nice char.