Technique Guide

The Perfect Sear. Cold Grate Technique

How to turn your charcoal grill into a professional searing machine

What Is Cold Grate?

We all know grill marks, those dark lines seared into the meat. But in reality, only the part touching the grate gets the Maillard reaction. Everything else just cooks without caramelization or depth of flavor.

The Cold Grate technique flips the approach: instead of a hot grate leaving stripes, you use a cold grate and intense radiant heat from the coals, achieving an even sear across the entire surface of the meat.

✗Grill marks — only strips of flavor

✓Cold Grate — all-over sear and flavor

Why a Cold Grate?

In most grills, the grate absorbs heat and transfers it to the meat at contact points. The result: seared stripes with pale areas in between. It may look nice in a photo, but flavor-wise you are losing out.

When the grate is cold, it does not burn into the meat. Instead, the intense heat rising from the coals through the Slow 'N Sear® basket sears the entire surface of the meat evenly. Full caramelization from edge to edge.

No tan banding — wall-to-wall uniform color with Cold Grate technique

How Does It Work?

Step 1: Build a Strong Fire

Fill the Slow 'N Sear® basket with lit coals. The walls of the basket concentrate the heat, creating temperatures above 500°C, ideal for searing.

Step 2: Cold Grate

Place the grill grate just before cooking — so it stays as cold as possible. Use a thin stainless steel grate that does not store heat.

Step 3: Sear for One Minute and Rotate

Place the steak on the grate above the coals. After one minute, rotate the grate a quarter turn so the section above the coals is now cold again. Move the meat to the cold grate and flip.

Step 4: Repeat

Continue rotating and flipping until you reach the desired temperature. The result: an even, dark, deep crust across the entire surface of the meat.

Watch: Reverse Seared Ribeye with Cold Grate Technique

Combining with Reverse Sear

The technique works beautifully with Reverse Sear: first cook the steak in the indirect zone at low temperature (120°C) until the internal temperature reaches 52°C, then sear using the Cold Grate technique.

Extra secret: before searing, pat the meat dry. A dry surface means faster, more efficient searing.