Dirty Steak

[BlackFriar]

Forgive me right off the bat for using charcoal, embers, and coal interchangeably. This is a wood campfire / home fire-pit recipe only.

This is a recipe that I like to use for steaks on a large camp fire or a fire pit / brazier if you have one at home. To do this well you have to burn through a considerable amount of wood so that you have a bed of glowing charcoal that is at least 2 inches (5 cm) in depth. You want your fire at that stage where the embers are super hot but there is no flame left. At that point lay your steaks ( 1 inch / 2.5 cm thickness is the dead minimum) directly onto the coals. The heat of the fire and thickness of the coal bed (a thin layer will cool to quickly for this recipe to work well) will determine how long you cook the steaks directly on the coal bed. A red hot coal bed that you would have to wear a mitten to handle the steaks would translate to 2 minutes a side for rare beef. This method is great to get a crust on the steaks that a top-notch chop-house achieves by using a commercial broiler that operates at the 1,000 degree Fahrenheit range (you will be lucky to get you grill at full blast with a fat fueled fire above 650 degrees). The steaks will come out with bits of the charcoal sticking to them (hence the nickname dirty) but don't worry. Just put the steaks on a plate and cover them with tin foil to rest for about 10 to 15 minutes (this is crucial to allow the juices to redistribute through the meat and give it that lovely red but not bloody juicy texture). Once the meat is done resting, use a stiff bristle brush or whatever is at hand to knock off the charcoal that adhered to the steak and slice it thin for presentation so your guests don't complain about your cooking methods (if you camping who gives a S&*! about the appearance).

This is a great and easy way to get that charred flavor you normally can only get from a top end chop-house.

Enjoy!

Chris

[shrink]

I've never heard of this technique, but it sounds good. thanks for the tip.

[semery74]

This is an awesome technique. Works great with steaks and salt crusted whole fish.

[ckearns]

Thanks a lot for posting this technique because I've always wondered if this would work. Every time I'm around a camp/cottage fire, I find myself mesmerized by those burning ambers you talk about and wonder what would happen if I placed a steak on top. I'll have to give this a try next summer. Cheers!

[sosamscott]

Just got a fire pit in the backyard and last night after burning through 5 or so logs this thread came to mind... I will be trying this out within the next week or so. Thanks for the idea!