Searing s steak on a Weber Genesis II E-310?

[Hank]

I bought a Genesis E-310 in May and used it for the standard stuff like chicken and burgers etc. I did attempt a steak on it not long after I got it but it didn't do a great job and I put it down to not being familiar with the grill yet to get the best out of it. I ended up buying a 57cm Kettle for doing steak, which has been fine. The convenience of the gas was what appealed to me, and waiting 30mins for coals to heat for 10 mins cooking (thereabouts) is sometimes not ideal in the Scottish climate. So to improve the searing, I bought a set of GrillGrates (3x13.75") that arrived yesterday. So I fired up the grill and let the grates heat up. I was doing 2 x M&S 450g sirloins, and the grill only seems to retain any heat with the lid closed, and this has the effect of the steaks being done in an oven. It wasn't the warmest day yesterday and it was rather windy, but I am stumped as to why my grill doesn't get hot enough to do a steak. The steaks were edible, I suppose, but I can do far better on a cast iron griddle across two burners of our hob, but has a tendency to fill our kitchen with smoke. Which gets me back to why I bought an £800 grill!

Surely you should be able to do anything on a grill of that standard? Help!

[Tiny]

Welcome chum,
A common problem, I don't think it is your BBQ, I just don't think that gassers or pellet grills can get up to the searing heat you need to get that sear. A cast iron skillet on the bars with everything roaring is your best bet but I see no difference to when I cook it inside with the extractor on.

I have now found the compromise which means I smoke my steaks in my pellet grill to warm them through and get some smoke flavour on them. I then light half a chimney of coals and skewer my steaks in a cross pattern and then perch them one at a time over the top of the chimney when its roaring. Known as afterburner steak it does give a top crust.

Good luck
tiny

[Toby]

To be honest it sounds like you didnt let the gas grill get up to temp first. You want to make sure the grate is hot enough to sizzle the steaks imidiately

[Hank]

I did find out that there is a safety mode that the Genesis can get into if the ignition is pressed before the gas pressure is balanced. I did try it since with a bit of improvement but still not as good as on the cast iron griddle over the hob.

Thanks for the responses.