Cooking with live fire is as primitive as it comes. Smoke, flames, and char have been ingrained into our subconscious as flavor enhancers since the dawn of time. You can’t beat the aroma and taste of an impeccably grilled steak cooked over wood. There’s something special about taking a quality cut of beef and exposing it to the intense, flavored heat of a wood grill. The crust has more complexity, and the interior is more tender and juicy than what your charcoal or gas grill could produce.
But when it comes to wood-fired steak specifically, there is also a certain finesse you’ll need to master. Understanding heat, fuel source, and patience are key components to mastering the technique. Heat from wood differs from charcoal or gas in that you have the opportunity to bring different flavor profiles to the table: oak and hickory are dark, bold woods that lend themselves nicely to beef, while fruitwoods like cherry or apple have a far different impact on the final flavor of meat.
Which brings us to perhaps the most challenging aspect of cooking with wood — the fire itself. Logs aren’t flat. Every cut of wood burns at a different rate, making fire a living, breathing thing that you must learn to manage. It’s the attention to the flames that draws so many backyard pitmasters and professional chefs to live fire cooking. We’re trying to capture all of that thermal energy and propel it into a steak to create a deep mahogany crust packed full of flavor from the wood smoke. Pair that with a velvety smooth interior, and you’re well on your way to grill master status.
Whether it’s a thick ribeye you’re smoking for your family on a Sunday evening or 50 NY strips for your latest crowd-pleasing feat, the concept remains the same: airflow.
Top Wood-Fired Steak Recipes
Once you make the switch from your typical cooking techniques to a wood-fired grill, you’ll unlock a whole new world of recipe potential. Below are some of the highest quality, high-heat searing methods you’ll want to practice.
Ribeye Steak
Let’s talk about ribeyes. For most, the wood-fired ribeye is the gold standard when it comes to steak on a stick. Fat is your friend here. As the juices from the meat drip down into the coals, they create flavored smoke that will rise right back up into your steak. Here’s what you need to know about nailing the perfect wood-fired ribeye.
Start with a bone-in ribeye that is at least 1.5 inches thick — you don’t want the inside to overcook before you get that dark, crispy crust you’re looking for.
- Take the steak out of the fridge and let sit at room temperature for 45 minutes.
- Liberally season all sides with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
- Fire up your wood-burning grill! For steaks, we like to use oak or hickory and make a tall bed of hot coals.
- Set the steak right on the hottest part of the fire and sear for 4-5 minutes per side.
- Once you get that perfect crust, move the steak to a cooler part of the grill and cook to your desired temperature, usually around 130 degrees for medium rare.
- Let it rest for at least 10 minutes.
Chimichurri Steak and Shrimp
Surf-and-turf may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think about wood-fired cooking, but shrimp cook at a high temperature, and they benefit from that quick burst of intense heat you can get on a commercial wood grill. Pair that with the acidity of a chimichurri sauce, and you have a winner! This recipe calls for flank steak or skirt steak.
- The Steak: Flank steak seasoned with cumin, garlic powder, and salt.
- The Shrimp: Large peeled and deveined shrimp loaded onto skewers.
- The Sauce: Equal parts parsley, oregano, garlic, red wine vinegar, and olive oil.
Grill your steak for about 3-4 minutes per side over high heat. Because this cut of steak is so thin, your wood-fired steak will be perfect almost as soon as it hits the grill.
Toss your shrimp skewers on in the final minutes of your steak’s cooking time. The sweetness of the shrimp will absorb some of that wood fire, pairing perfectly with the acidity of your chimichurri.
NY Strips with Garlic Chili Sauce
The New York strip has a much tighter grain than ribeye and a deeper “beefy” flavor. It pairs exceptionally well with this spicy garlic sauce.
- Pat the steak dry and season with salt.
- Build a two-zone fire on your wood-burning grill.
- Sear steak for 3 minutes each side to build a dark crust.
- While the steak is resting, place minced garlic, red chili flakes, and a neutral-flavored oil in a small cast-iron pan on the edge of your grill.
- Simmer for a couple of minutes, then slice the steak against the grain and cover with the sauce.
You can thank the high heat of the wood for rendering down that fat cap on the side of the strip into a crispy, delicious treat.
Technical Tips for Mastering Your Fire
There are several good habits you should get into when operating a wood-burning grill.
Preheat
You don’t want meat on the grates as soon as you see flames. Wait for the logs to break down and become hot, red coals. This will radiate heat more evenly than hot flames trying to cook your food.
Airflow
Always remember: oxygen is feeding your fire. You want to keep your vents open as much as possible. Without airflow, wood will start to send out white smoke, also known as “dirty” smoke. This will transfer to your wood-fired steak and make it taste like ashes.
Scrub When Hot
Scrub your grates with a high-quality stainless steel brush while they’re hot. Wood cooking creates a lot of carbon buildup on the surface of your cooking grates, which will cause sticking.
Upgrade Your Kitchen With Aztec Grill | Commercial Quality for the Home
It takes a special grill to truly execute these recipes with finesse. That’s where Aztec Grill comes in. Professional chefs cooking for crowds of 50+, and everyone in between, can benefit from understanding the craftsmanship that Aztec Grill puts into wood-fired grills and accessories. When you start cooking over the fire with a wood-burning grill, the build quality becomes the difference between a stressful cooking session and one of your proudest moments in the kitchen. Heat intensity, cleanup, and grill durability are just a few factors that will determine if your investment was worth it or not.
If you’re in the market for a commercial wood-burning grill, visit www.aztecgrill.com/ to find your new grill and enhance your meals.