Steak on the tuscan grill

[christo]

We made Steaks in the oven last night. Was hankering for a wood fire grilled steak vs the propane variety we normally cook.

Typically, we use the tuscan grill primarily to prepare pizza ingredients - grilling chicken, peppers, eggplant.

Was feeling a bit lazy and seasoned the steaks with Lawrys seasoned salt, a bit of pepper and coated them with olive oil.

Put in a few sticks of wood, fired it up, and had nice coals 30 mins later. I pulled one bigger stick to the side as it kept wanting to burn and slid the tuscan grill over the flat pile of coals to heat up.

I used the tongs to pull the grill back, wiped it with oil, threw the steaks on it and pushed it right back over the coals.

Sliding the grill in and out of the opening was very easy and kept my hands from getting too hot by reaching far into the oven. Two minutes, turn 90 degrees, two minutes flip, two minutes turn 90 degrees, two minutes remove. Beautiful sear marks on Med Rare Steaks that were really tasty.

Christo

[texassourdough]

Re: Steak on the tuscan grill

Hi Christo!

You have discovered my favorite way to do steaks!

From what you describe, I am even more aggressive than you! I like to build essentially a normal pizza fire and fully clear the dome so it is REALLY hot. I like to keep a pile of burning logs on the side so I have flames going well up the wall. Rearrange the coals to about 1 to 1 and 1/2 inches deep well into the oven. Pop the grill on top. I use fireplace tongs (but we need a tool for that James or someone on the list who likes to work with iron!). Best I can tell I am getting temps near 1000 at the steak on both sides. I rotate and/or turn about every minute and they cook FAST! This works especially well with thinner steaks (say 3/4 inch). Too thick and they will be burned on the outside and raw on the inside so there is definitely a place for a smaller fire/cooler oven when you have thick steaks!

My one suggestion for either thick or thin steaks would be to try a good dry rub instead of Lawry's - something with some paprika and dried garlic for sure.

You're making me hungry!
Jay

[lwood]

Re: Steak on the tuscan grill

.... what is a Tuscan Grill?

[texassourdough]

Re: Steak on the tuscan grill

A Tuscan Grill is a cast iron grill made to be used in a WFO. It is about 5 inches tall and about 14 inches square.

[christo]

Re: Steak on the tuscan grill

Here's a pic.



Here's a link where you can get one! I've been using mine off and on for 2 years and it still looks like new.

14" Cast Iron Tuscan Grill :: Cookware, Grills & Bakeware :: Forno Bravo Store

Christo

[Les]

Re: Steak on the tuscan grill

Or you can buy the angle iron and weld one together

[christo]

Re: Steak on the tuscan grill

Very nice!!!

How do you move it in and out of the oven? Did you make a handle?

Christo

[Les]

Re: Steak on the tuscan grill

Yea, I made a simple tool for the grill, dutch oven, etc...

[Ken524]

Re: Steak on the tuscan grill

We broke in our Tuscan grill for the first time tonight. I bought 5 fresh-cut NY Strips (3/4" thick) from Whole Foods market. I rubbed them with olive oil, kosher salt, pepper, paprika and garlic powder.

The oven was fired to a clear dome. Tuscan grill preheated for about 5 minutes. Steaks cooked a bit under 3 min/side. I put the finished meat in a cast-iron pan that I had heating in the oven at the same time to transfer them up to the kitchen (kinda like Ruth's Chris).

FANTABULOUS!!

[texassourdough]

Re: Steak on the tuscan grill

Hi Ken!

You know, the biggest problem with doing steaks on the Tuscan grill is you may never buy a steak in a restaurant again! And all those steak places lose - but we (who use the Tuscan grill) win! Big time!
Jay

[scwino95]

Re: Steak on the tuscan grill

A real Tuscan steak or Biftek Florintina is a 2 1/2 inch porterhouse cooked very rare and then topped with just a little evoo. We did one on the tuscan grill in the wood fired oven and it was the best steak we had ever tasted! It was a certified angus steak from the grocery store not one of the really expensive ones.

[lwood]

Re: Steak on the tuscan grill

Your right Jay, I never order a steak in a restaurant any more.

[texassourdough]

Re: Steak on the tuscan grill

My wife and I were recently in Chicago with friends and they wanted to go to Morton's original restaurant....so we went..... I got the bone in ribeye which was very good - a great piece of meat. But I could have cooked it as well or better. They all got smaller steaks and the lazy cook put them all on at once and took theirs off at the right time but let them sit longer than mine which meant theirs were barely warm - and mine was okay - somewhat warm - but just barely. The waitress was rude...dumped a full fourth of a bottle in one person's glass and then said, want another bottle. It will be much harder to get me to a "steakhouse" again. The tip was the lowest percentage I have given in years! (And we were only the third table seated and served so the lazy cook had NO excuses.

Just not worth it!

[Dino_Pizza]

Re: Steak on the tuscan grill

Jay, don't me started on the level of wine pours in supposedly serious restaurants! I've never found a classy way to ask for "shallow pours" as they're filling the glass without getting the "I was going to pour it that way, anyway" look. Sometimes it happens so fast, end up pouring half our 2 glasses back in when the waiter leaves the table so we can swirl the wine a bit.

Too bad about that Mortons. I agree with everyone else, (on this thread), it's so easy to make an excellent steak at home, that it's really disappointing to pay big bucks for mediocre or poor.

Say, isn't one of the things that makes Biftek Fiorentina unique is that it is brought to solid room temperature (warmed up almost) before grilling? Thought I read that somewhere.

[texassourdough]

Re: Steak on the tuscan grill

Hi Dino!

Yeah...the Fioretina needs to be warmed to at least room temp. I have tried to do one (full 2 1/2 inches) on a Tuscan grill and it was pretty ridiculous. To have ANYTHING beyond raw in the center (and I mean "blue" in the jargon) the outside had to be charred severely on the coals below, oven over, grill. And it was warmed before cooking...

I am a medium rare to rare meat-lover but I don't know how people do it on a hot Tuscan grill. Perhaps they drop the temp a bit.

I find that I prefer cold 3/4 inch steaks or warm 1 inch steaks on the T Grill. The fierce heat cooks the outside perfectly in about 3 minutes total and a 5 to 10 minute hold brings the interior to a nice doneness.

With thick, proper steaks for Fiorentina you probably need an hour and a half to two hours warm-up time.

Jay

"Steak! The carnivore's WFO alternative!"