Coffee Rubbed Steaks on MAK 2 Star Pellet Grill
Coffee rubbed steaks on the MAK 2 Star pellet grill combine wood pellet smoke flavor with sear marks from high temperature grilling.
At first thought, coffee on a steak doesn’t sound good. I know that's what I thought when I first heard about it. High-end steak houses now offer coffee rubs as add-ons to your steak. Coffee has become a popular rub that is now used on ribs and brisket. And for good reason. It's creates a beautiful crust that is delicious!
Cook Details
- (3) choice ribeye steaks around 1 lb each
- SuckleBusters Espresso BBQ Rub
- MAK 2 Star pellet grill on “Grill” mode
- Front FlameZone cover off
- MAK Grills Searing Grate
- Lumber Jack wood pellets
- Grill temperature was 530F
- 6 minutes, flip, 4 minutes for medium
- 6 minutes, flip, 7 minutes for medium to well done
- Adjust time based on thickness of your steaks
Trimmed up Ribeye Steaks
Our steaks had a lot of hard, white fat I wanted to remove. This type of fat does not render well during a cook and leaves you with a less than desired finished product. As you can see in the photo, we trimmed off lots of hard white fat. This might make some of you cringe, but it did not go to waste. Our dogs almost took our fingers off enjoying their afternoon snack.
Many purists will only season their steaks with salt, but for this cook we are going with a heavy coat of SuckleBusters Espresso Rub. We are reverse searing this tomahawk ribeye on our MAK 2 Star pellet grill using the side smoker to bring up the internal temperature. The side smoker on the MAK 2 Star will heat up as you are bringing up the main chamber to grill mode. This is a great way to put some smoke on steaks and increase the internal temp.
Seasoned Steaks with Espresso Coffee BBQ Rub
We are big fans of trying new rubs and the Espresso BBQ Rub did not let us down. One third of this rub is fresh ground espresso beans. They also include black pepper, sea salt, and other spices to round out the flavor profile. We put a good coat of this rub on the steaks after trimming them up. Both sides were covered with a liberal amount of seasoning and the side of the steak. They were put in the fridge until we cooked them later in the day.
Our tomahawk steak was a very large chunk of meat so we applied a heavy coat of our espresso rub. Larger cuts of meat can handle more rub and the coffee will provide an amazing crust once the steak is seared. It took us a long time to try a coffee rubbed steak, but it has become one of our favorite ways to eat steak.
Tomahawk Ribeye in MAK Side Smoker
The tomahawk ribeye is starting to get some great color in the side smoker of the MAK 2 Star pellet grill. If you have larger cuts of meat like this, you can put them in the side smoker to reverse sear it while cooking smaller steaks on the main grill.
This is also a great way to get some smoke on the meat. Once the larger tomahawk gets up to your desired internal temp, you can move it over to the main grill and put the final sear on the steak. The side smoker on the MAK 2 Star General has so much versatility and is one of its most underrated features.
MAK 2 Star Grill Mode
The MAK 2 Star pellet grill was reading 530F when we first put the steaks on. We cooked the medium steak a total of 10 minutes flipping once and the well done steaks 13 minutes flipping once. We had the MAK Grills Searing Grate on the front of the grill during this cook. All four steaks were cooked on the searing grate which gets hotter than standard stainless grates.
The tomahawk steak took longer as we first started it in the side smoker to bring up the internal temperature. We then moved it over to the main grill to put the final sear on. The searing grates did a great job putting a good crust on these steaks.
I have seen the MAK Pellet Boss Controller read as high as 590F in grill mode. At this temperature, the MAK Searing Grates would be running well over 600F and possibly closer to the 700F mark. Not sure as I have not checked the temperature, but I do know it can run hot enough to pull your arm away quickly while searing steaks on the MAK 2 Star General.
MAK Grills Searing Grates
The Espresso Coffee Rub combined with the MAK Searing Grates and the high heat capabilities of the MAK 2 Star pellet grill resulted in a beautiful crust. The outside of the steaks had an amazing texture when eating the steak. There is no coffee flavor on your steak with this rub. The coffee grounds create a crust on the steak and the final result was fantastic.
Below is a video we shot of the tomahawk steak searing on the MAK 2 Star General pellet grill using the MAK Searing Grates. The grill was piping hot during the cook and the Lumber Jack wood pellets did a great job of keeping the temperature up during this cook.
Resting Ribeye Steaks With Real Butter
We let the steaks rest about 10 minutes before cutting into them. By this time the real butter we put on top melted down all over the meat. When we plated the steak, we took a spoon and scooped the natural juices along with the melted butter and poured it back on top of the steak for additional flavor.
Beer Pairing: Buried Hatchet Stout
Southern Star Brewing Company out of Conroe, Tx brews this little gem. The Buried Hatchet Stout is a 9% ABV beer with a heavy chocolate and coffee profile without being too sweet. The beer is a smooth drinker and pairs well with a coffee rubbed steak.
Conclusion
This was the first time we tried a coffee rubbed steak and we were very pleased with the entire cook. The SuckleBusters Espresso BBQ Rub was delicious and like always the MAK 2 Star pellet grill did exactly what we asked of it. The MAK Searing Grates did a great job creating a good crust on the steaks while keeping the inside a warm pink for us medium lovers. A great end to a great night!
