Smoked Steak
By Michael · from our van kitchen
This one isn’t a van recipe. We cooked it at home in New York in the summer of 2025, while I was building our new van. We had just bought a charcoal grill with a smoker on it, the first grill smoker I ever owned that cost more than about 40 bucks, and I was excited to use it a lot more. I’ve grilled steak on it a few times on camera: a New York strip for a family dinner in the front yard, a big tomahawk for my sister’s birthday, and the ribeye in this recipe, which is the one where I explain every step. Watch me make it.
Smoke first, sear last
The idea is simple. All the charcoal goes on one side of the grill. The steak sits on the other side, away from the fire, and smokes with the lid closed until it’s almost done. Then it goes over the hottest coals for a fast sear at the end.
I flipped it a few times while it smoked, and every time I flipped it the garlic and thyme came off and went back on, with a little butter on top. It was so smoky.
The one thing I do differently on a grill
When I cook a steak in cast iron, I start basting at about 100°F and get it up to about 114°F. On a grill the steak sits right over the fire, and it burns much faster than a cast iron pan. So I let it get higher on the smoky side first, to 107°F, and only then put it over the coals. That way I don’t burn it too much. Over the coals it gets up to temperature fairly quickly, so it only needs a nice sear, and I pulled it at 116°F.
My other trick is the vacuum. I use the back end of a little vacuum cleaner to blow air on the charcoal. It gets the fire going super quickly, and right before the sear I turn it on again to get the coals really, really hot.
How it came out
The ribeye was a prime grade one from Costco. My mom cooked the rest of dinner that night: fish, tofu, asparagus and a Chinese yam soup. When I cut into the steak it was 134°F, and it came out perfect. Spencer got a big piece and kept saying “yummy, yummy”.
The New York strip I did the same way with Montreal steak seasoning. I had it on the cool side until 105°F, seared it over the fire, and took it off at 114°F with a piece of butter on top. It was so tender and easy to cut into. So much flavor from the seasoning, and so much marbling from the prime grade beef.
In the van we don’t have a smoker grill, so there I sous vide or pan-sear in cast iron, with beef tallow. But if you have a charcoal grill at home, this is how I’d cook a thick steak on it.
Ingredients
The steak
- A thick prime grade ribeye (a prime New York strip works too)
- Steak seasoning: a truffle and garlic one, or Montreal steak seasoning
On the grill
- Charcoal
- Wood chips, a handful and then a little more
- Garlic
- Fresh thyme
- Butter
You'll also need
- A meat thermometer that stays in the steak
Steps
- Season the steak all over and let it sit for a little bit.
- Light the charcoal and pile it on one side of the grill only. Leave the other side with no charcoal. To get the fire going quickly, I blow air on it with the back end of a small vacuum cleaner.
- Throw a handful of wood chips on top of the coals, then a little more, so it starts smoking.
- Put the thermometer in the steak and set the steak on the side with no charcoal, not over the fire. Close the lid.
- Let it smoke and flip it now and then. When it was at 53°F I gave it a flip, tossed some garlic on the grill to smoke too, put the thyme on top of the steak, and closed it back up.
- At 66°F, take off the thyme and garlic, flip the steak, put the garlic and thyme back on, and add a little butter right on top to melt. Close the lid.
- At 84°F, take off the thyme and spread the melted butter around, flip it one more time, then garlic and thyme back on with a little more butter on that side. Close it one last time.
- On cast iron I start basting at 100°F, but a grill is right over the fire and burns a lot faster. So I let the steak keep going on the cool side until it was at 107°F before it went anywhere near the coals.
- While it gets there, make the fire really hot. I turned the vacuum back on because I want to sear the steak fast and hot.
- At 107°F, move the steak right over the hot coals and give it a nice sear. It gets up to temperature fairly quickly here.
- Take it off at 116°F. Put the thyme and garlic back on and add a big piece of butter on top. Let it melt.
- Bring it inside and cut into it a few minutes later. When I cut ours, it read 134°F.
Amounts are what I said in the video. Where I didn't measure, it says "to taste". Cook it your way.
