Steak Grilling question

[John D]

Anthony check the hose. I have the same grill and when I first used it when I would roll the bottle back in under it was pinching the hose double and slowed the flow. I twisted the bottle and it made all the dif. jb

 

[Highbeam]

I'm with goalidad. I think you popped the high flow safety device in these new fangled propane tanks. You probably did it when opening the tanks gate valve the first time. If you open it too fast and have a bunch of downstream hose to fill, as you do with all those valves and that side burner, you can actually here the little device click in place to limit gas flow to a trickle. I have done this several times on my old gas grill and the amount of propane admitted by the triggered safety device is just enough to create a flame along the entire burner but it would make an awful steak.

Turn off the propane tank, wait a second, then slowly open the tank and relight the flame.

 

[Jimbrown]

I had a charbroil grill and had exactly the same problem. It just would not get hot enough to cook steaks correctly. Mine was one that had the square burners in it. I fianlly just threw it away and bought a different make of grill and the new one cooks fine. The one I have now happens to be a Brinkmann but i don't claim it is the best just far better than the charbroil ever was.

 

[Volfandt]

1st thing I add on a grill that doesn't come with one is a temp gauge. I'm gonna guess that your grill came with one but my smoker and other charcoal grill didn't so I added one.

when I 1st changed over to gas it took me awihle to learn the nuances of this new fangled maethod of cook'n the meat.

What I discovered was to start and run the burners on high until the temp hits max. The lid is closed during this process also.
Once it hits the highest setting I then know that the grill surface is hot enough to "brand" the meat. Leaving the settings still on high, I go about 2 to 3 minutes on side one then flip. Then I crank the flames down to between medium & low. Another 2 to 3 minutes then it's back to the other side but at the opposite angle to get that cross hatch thing going. 3 to 5 minutes later it gets flipped just once more to get that crosshatch on the other side.

This usually gets me a medium well on a 1" thick piece of meat.

 

[anthonyk]

I appreciate all the tips!
As far as flow goes, I'm not using a bottle. I plumbed it right into my 500 gallon propane tank, so that should alleviate that concern (I hope).
As for some of the other questions, it is one of those grills where the flame can't hit the meat. It's sort of under a cover, if you will, but at least the drippings don't clog the burners.
I preheat the thing for 45 minutes sometimes, but the temp gauge (don't know how accurate it really is) never gets above 500 degrees, and that's with all the burners lit and the grill closed!
I've been grilling with it open, as I was advised to, so I hope that's right. I figured with it closed it would dry out the steak even more.
I'm just not sure that it's truly hot enough.
anthony

 

[anthonyk]

oh, and by the way, JohnK, your pictures looked great!

Now I really wanna get this thing working!

anthony

 

[johnk]

Spiders are also famous for laying webs and they get in the orfices that could restrict the flow. Pull the burner turn on the valve and make sure you have good flow. If not, take the fitting off the end of the valve that the burner goes over and check for obstuctions...

 

[HGM]

I appreciate all the tips!
As far as flow goes, I'm not using a bottle. I plumbed it right into my 500 gallon propane tank, so that should alleviate that concern (I hope).
As for some of the other questions, it is one of those grills where the flame can't hit the meat. It's sort of under a cover, if you will, but at least the drippings don't clog the burners.
I preheat the thing for 45 minutes sometimes, but the temp gauge (don't know how accurate it really is) never gets above 500 degrees, and that's with all the burners lit and the grill closed!
I've been grilling with it open, as I was advised to, so I hope that's right. I figured with it closed it would dry out the steak even more.
I'm just not sure that it's truly hot enough.
anthony

Well, you just answered my questions..... I do just as you say here, preheat(lid down) until the lid is smokin hot, then put the meat on the hotest parts of the grill(lid up).. I'll usually give it about 3-5min on each side and I'm done.. All with the burners on high.. If its a cold day, I may even leave them on preheat...I never cook a steak with the lid down, it will cook internally much too quick, long before it browns....

It sounds to me like you have a flow problem..

 

[Highbeam]

So the regulator on your propane tank or your home is set to provide a particular low pressure of propane to your home appliances. This pressure may not be the same as your barbecue is expecting. Is there a way you can temporarily hook up a bottle to the barbecue? Does the barbecue have its own pressure regulator right close to where it hooks to the house?

Big propane tanks make the same pressure in the tank as little ones but at least you now have eliminated the highflow safety device from the list.

500 is too cold. You might as well hold your Zippo under it.

 

[randy41]

I've got a barbecue grillware grill that i got at lowes last spring...it was a leftover from the previous season and i paid $38 for it. its got 2 burners. it cooks my steaks real good...i preheat it on high with the lid down then turn down the burners to low and drop the steaks on and close the lid. turn them over after a few minutes (depends on thickness) and leave them till they look good. my mouth is watering just thinking about it (pavlovian). no temperature gauge.

preheating for 45 minutes is wasting gas. 5-10 should do it. is the flame blue at all levels? if not you need to adjust the venturi thing.