Searing on a Gas Grill
You might think that you get a great sear on a charcoal grill. However, if you effect these three steps, you'll have a restaurant potential steak in no time with perfect grill marks.
Searing isn't only for steaks, just so you know. The other meats like pork chops, roasts, and chicken benefit greatly from the searing process. Searing just means to start out grilling at a high temperature, which browns the meat, and then finishes the cooking at a lower temperature. The technical term is the Maillard effect as was described by Louis-Camille Maillard who researched how fat, collagen, and muscle type sway the tenderness and juiciness of meat. The browning is caused by carmelization of the sugars simply present in the meat. And that's where a special and fantastic flavor comes from.
Let's see how we can do this speedily and in fact on a gas grill such as the Twin Eagles line. First, have a super clean grill. If you clean the grill after every use, you're good to go. If you haven't, turn all the burners on high to cook off any leftover meat or grease on the grills. Turn off all the burners and wait a few minutes with the cover up. Using a good wire brush, knock off the chunks, and then wipe with a soft cloth to clean the grills. Then wipe down the grills with some good high temperature oils like canola, safflower, or peanut oil. Do not use olive oil, butter or lard as they break down and leave a bad flavor on your food.
Secondly, you will want to dry off the meat. Blot it with paper towel. You should do this even if you have marinated. Having the meat dry and close to room temperature will allow the heat to do its job better.
Finally, get the grill good and hot again. Set all the main burners to high and close the cover for at least ten minutes or anyone your manufacturer recommends. While you're waiting for things to warm up, accumulate all of your tools that you'll need like a plate, tongs, any added marinade for the last ten minutes of cooking, etc. You won't want to leave once you start.
Since you spent all this time getting the grill heated, and you want a good sear, you need to move speedily to get the meat on the grill as speedily as possible and get the cover concluded in order to keep the heat in.
After about a minute, turn the meat, on to an unused part of the grill, close the lid and wait an additional one minute. Then turn down the temperature to medium-high and terminate cooking. The next time you turn the meat, also turn it 90 degrees to get a beautiful criss-cross grilling pattern.
Once you've finished, let the meat rest off of the grill and under foil for at least ten minutes. Your patience will be rewarded.
