I just love cooking steak over my chimney lighter. This weekend I plan to use some Chugwater Steak Rub on the meat.

I never use smokewood in the chimney because the wood catches fire due to the extremely high heat.

Please answer a few questions. What is the advantage of cooking over a chimney as opposed to just building a thick bed of charcoal in the kettle? Either way, I would think the same result could be achieved (i.e. high sear)?

Finally and most importantly, how was the Rubicon? I have a case of 2003, and bought a couple of bottles of 2002 at the winery while on a visit last week. This wine is getting some very impressive ratings, but other than a taste of the 2003 during the tour of the estate, haven't had occasion to drink any yet.

Thanks,

Bill

Chimney is GREAT GREAT GREAT for either just 1-2 steaks or 1-2 burgers. Simple and xlnt for searing. The meat ends up dark and nearly crispy on the outside and nice and pink like you like it on the inside.

quote:

Please answer a few questions. What is the advantage of cooking over a chimney as opposed to just building a thick bed of charcoal in the kettle? Either way, I would think the same result could be achieved (i.e. high sear)?

Finally and most importantly, how was the Rubicon? I have a case of 2003, and bought a couple of bottles of 2002 at the winery while on a visit last week. This wine is getting some very impressive ratings, but other than a taste of the 2003 during the tour of the estate, haven't had occasion to drink any yet.

OK, here's my take on cooking over the chimney vs. building a stack of charcoal. I think you're getting much higher heat than you could reach by stacking charcoal . . . and with fewer coals. The chimney funnels the heat straight-up vs. some of the heat escaping out the sides of your kettle. What was interesting is you have this intense heat over the chimney, however, just and inch or two outside the top of the chimney it's not hot at all . . . well maybe a little warm but nothing like just over the chimney. In all my charcoal grilling experience I think it would be very difficult to reach as high of temperatures in the kettle as you can with the chimney. Maybe if you used a couple fire bricks and a lot of charcoal . . . but this method is much simpler. Anyone who's done this have an opinion?

Rubicon - Don't get me wrong, it was good, very good in fact, probably one of the best 03's I've had in a while. However, I was expecting a "bigger" cab. I like my cabs almost "chewy." It had very soft tannins and had a great finish. Paired very well with my filet. Don't know if I'll pick-up a case as I think there are many other great buys out there at $65 a bottle right now, but I'll probably pick-up a few bottles to cellar for a few years, should become a far more complex bottle with aging and will be a fantastic cab. You're right on the reviews, it's getting some very impressive reviews.

Larry,

Thanks for the reply. It sounds like I need to give this chimney thing a whirl. With respect to the Rubicon, you might want to keep in mind that it is not strictly speaking a cabernet, more of a meritage. The thing that struck me about it is that it had a lot of body and complexity and almost an imperceptible amount of tannin. If you are paying $65 a bottle for it, please let me know. It is roughly double that here in Florida and at the winery in Napa.

Regards,

Bill

Yea, give it a "whirl" it may or may not be for you. I'd recommend a thick aged filet. I'm probably going to try a ribeye on it this weekend.

Hmmm . . . I thought I paid $65 for that bottle, that's what my database said, maybe I paid more for it. I'll check this weekend and if I did in-fact get it for $65 I'll let you know where I purchased it. With this information, I don't think I'd buy additional bottles at $130 a bottle . . . maybe two or three at that price but no more. Interesting, I did not realize it was more of a meritage than a cab. I could detect the tannins in the bottle I had, however they were very soft.

Let us know if you try the chimney and how you like it.

Here is a good review of Rubicon for those who might be interested. http://www.winereviewonline.com/rubicon_02.cfm#

Bill, the bottle I had was a cab, Rubicon Estate Cask Cabernet, 03. Price was correct, $65.00 at a local wine shop. This bottle is different than the Rubicon Estate Rubicon bottle. My fiancee and I are planning a trip to Napa/Sonoma in a few weeks and will plan a stop at winery. I spent a minute on their website and it looks like they have a pretty decent wine club. The history is quite interesting. Also, I didn't realize this was a Coppola winery. Anyway, if you crack a bottle of the Rubicon Estate Rubicon let me know what you think of it.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: LarryR,

Very interesting post. Don't know how many times I looked at that blue hot flame coming out of that weber chimney over the years and thought that it would be great to sear over top of that flame. I will definitely give it a try. Also if you wanted to cook more than one steak at a time, I beleive you would get a similar effect by taking the middle section off your WSM and dumping two fully lit stacks into the WSM fire ring and setting the grill rack directly on top. Might want to give that a try. I'm thinking you could get a really good sear from it. On another note, setting one or two of the cast iron grates from my CG pro on should work really well.

Ray

WSM
Weber Performer
CG Pro SFB

I started using the chimney for cooking after the Alton Brown episode where he did tuna on it.
It works great for this and is just as good for steaks, less charcoal, intense heat, love it...works good for wokking too, but be careful with it, it's unstable at best, so after a few beverages, it can get tricky

Larry,

I did have the Estate Cask Cab at the winery. If you take the tour they give you five or six wines ending the the Rubicon Rubicon. What you had is not a wine I would pay $65 for, like you said there are some better wines out there at that price point. But the real deal Rubicon is a wowser and probably under priced at $130 a bottle. It is getting scarce too, so if you are inclined, I suggest you get a bottle to try sooner rather than later. The other great California red that I tasted recently was Insignia 2003, impossible to find now, but another wowser.

Bill

Ray, what a great idea, using the WSM ring. When cooking for more than two what I think I'll do is use the ring in my kettle with two chimney's of lump. I don't think it will be quite as hot as the chimney, but it will be close.

Bill, yea, I didn't think it was the bottle you were referring to. We'll take the tour that they do a tasting on. I think it's like $25 bucks a person. Also, if you join their wine club you get a pretty nice discount on wine and maybe I'll pickup a bottle or two if I like it. If you're into big cabs I'd recommend Lewis Cellers 04 Cabernet. A very "big" cab that I highly recommend. Not much of this left, I found some at a little boutique wine shop here in town. Lewis is a former race car driver, I think formula 1 who does a very good job making wine.

We're pretty lucky, we live between 2 1/2 and 3 hours from Napa, just don't get up there nearly enough. We're so close that we can do day trips if we have a designated driver. We're also close to the central coast (Paso Robles) which produces some pretty good wines too.

Anyway, back to my Chateau Ste Michell Cab and the prime rib I have on the kettle.

BTW, the prime rib turned out excellent! She was a Harris Ranch (choice/prime) pre-marinated roast. Did her in-direct in the kettle, lid temp between 385 and 405 over rancher and two pieces of red oak. Amazing flavor!

Larry,

You are right, Rubicon tour costs $25 per person. Many years ago, I was stationed at Mare Island and my wife and I spent some time in Napa. It is nice to get back once in a while. I didn't look into joining the club because I live sort of far away, in West Palm Beach, FL. Did I screw up?

After you get a taste of the Rubicon let me know what you think. I am not sure I would call it a big cab. It is a Bordeau style blend of mostly cab, but it has only a hint of tanin. Too much tanin is a flaw in my opinion common to too many big cabs.

Thanks for the tip on the Lewis Cellers cab, I will look for it. Florida is not the wine capital of the world and finding the good stuff can be an elusive goal. Not just wine either, the shortage includes single malts, another of my many bad habits.

Regards,

Bill

Gosh this is a great idea. I'm going to try it out this weekend!

I'm doing this tonight. Just need to find the perfect sauce to go with the fillets...

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Just need to find the perfect sauce to go with the fillets

I recommend the compound butters I listed earlier in this post. The truffle goes very well with filet . . . if you have some truffle oil laying around the house.

I like a chimichurri sauce with filets. Very tasty!

OK Steve, the rule here is if you mention it, you have to post it! My rule, actually. Don't blame Chris.

I agree; a Chimichurri Sauce is great with steaks and I love the variation in Chimichurri sauce recipes. Hint, hint!

Yum. 3 minutes per side was definitely rare. Had to finish the missus in the oven on a pre-heated cast iron skillet, as the mooing was annoying her. Meat was about 1 1/2" think. I was impressed with how hot the lump got. This has potential in a big way.

One comment I have is that the lump (Whole Foods brand) burned extremely hot and fast. I am sure it had to do with the chimney starter accelerating the burn of it, but if I wanted to do a second round, I am not sure there would be enough fuel or heat left to fully cook the meat. I filled it half way. I think if it was filled anymore, it would have had the heat far too close to the meat.