# Grill like a restaurant?



## eggberger (Jan 2, 2008)

Hello from a newbie. Is it possible to grill meat in the kitchen and it should taste like the steaks they serve in the grill restaurants? If yes, what do I need?


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## camp_cookie (Jan 2, 2008)

Absolutely.  Not to brag, but I regularly turn out steaks much better than the common steakhouse fare.  I've never eaten at a Morton's or Ruth's Chris; so, I can't compare my product to the high end joints.

Basically, all you need is a grill a steak.  Find a run or seasoning that you like (hard to beat kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper), apply it to the steak, and grill it to your liking.  Grill setup will depend on what grill you have.


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## eggberger (Jan 2, 2008)

Please excuse my ignorance, but what'a a "grill a steak"? Is that like a George Foreman because that certainly doesn't give a grilled taste like at a restaurant grill house?


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## Jeekinz (Jan 2, 2008)

Ruth Chris's uses butter.


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## eggberger (Jan 2, 2008)

What are you talking about? I don't understand.


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## college_cook (Jan 2, 2008)

Secret #1 in making your food taste like restaurant food is to use enough seasoning.  Don't be afraid of S+P.

Other than that, just make sure your grill is hot and don't be afraid to finish your steak in the oven if needed.

If you're doing the above, you can't really mess it up unless you're buying poor quality meat.


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## Phil (Jan 2, 2008)

*I'll take a stab at it...*



eggberger said:


> Please excuse my ignorance, but what'a a "grill a steak"? Is that like a George Foreman because that certainly doesn't give a grilled taste like at a restaurant grill house?



...I think they mean outdoor grilling, using charcoal, wood, both, or gas flame under a metal grate. There are volumes written on the technique. Now Cookie is using an oven top grill or he is broiling them. If he's getting great results, he's buying good steaks from the start. Interestingly though, the Foreman grill  does do a great job on burgers. A friend told me once he saw a burger-cook off where the winner used a griddle, not a grill. Back when, and I mean way back there, I was at a YMCA summer camp where we were to cook our own burgers. The technique was to dig a hole in the ground about a foot in diameter and about eight inches deep, and fill it with wood and burn it until it turned to glowing embers. A beef patty wrapped in tin foil was placed in on the coals for three, four minutes. I think it was the best burger I ever ate. I believe it's because it cooks in it's own fat. That is why a perfectly marbled rib eye is so great.


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## Hawkeye16 (Jan 2, 2008)

eggberger said:


> Please excuse my ignorance, but what'a a "grill a steak"?


 

Perhaps he forgot a comma.  I think he meant a grill and a steak.  I just use my stove top (electric), it is all about the meat quality and the seasonings.  I also just use sea salt and pepper.


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## Uncle Bob (Jan 2, 2008)

eggberger said:
			
		

> Is it possible to *grill *meat in the *kitchen *and it should taste like the steaks they serve in the grill restaurants?


 
Hey Eggberger, Welcome to DC. I am going to approach your question a bit differently. In the KITCHEN? I'm gonna say IMO..NO! In your back yard on a BBQ grill fired with a good lump charcoal..my answer is YES and even better than restaurants. You would only need a basic BBQ grill...Weber would be a good choice of brands. 

Can you pan sear your steak in your kitchen, and finish in the oven. Yes. with excellent results!

Hope this helps...

Fun!


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## camp_cookie (Jan 2, 2008)

Sorry for the typos in my previous post.

As for cooking a steak in the kitchen, if you have an oven safe fry pan or skillet, put some oil in the pan/skillet and heat it on the stove stop.  Sear both sides of the steak and then put put the skillet in the oven with the steaks (400-500 degrees) and cook until you reach your preferred level of doneness.  The leavings in the pan can be used to make a sauce.

Here is a youtube video of a chef doing steaks in such a manner:

YouTube - Peppercorn Steak (Steak Au Poivre)

Personally, I'd grill steaks, but pan frying will work in a pinch.  I have a coworker that likes cooking them in such a manner.


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## camp_cookie (Jan 2, 2008)

Here are a couple more done inside.  I personally don't go for the extravagant sauces, but the techniques can easily be adapted to other applications.

YouTube - Steak au Poivre "Pepper Steak"

YouTube - Open-Face New York Steak Sandwich with Garlic Balsamic Glaze


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## Bilby (Jan 3, 2008)

Personally I like pan-fried steaks and I like 'em rare with garlic and Worcestershire sauce but anyway.... Welcome to DC!!


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## jerseyjay14 (Jan 15, 2008)

college_cook said:


> Secret #1 in making your food taste like restaurant food is to use enough seasoning.  Don't be afraid of S+P.
> 
> Other than that, just make sure your grill is hot and don't be afraid to finish your steak in the oven if needed.
> 
> If you're doing the above, you can't really mess it up unless you're buying poor quality meat.



i agree.... to be honest, i think a pan seared +oven approach is the best way to make a great steak, in fact, i only use the grill at the end to get some lines on it for effect.

season your steak then sear in a very hot pan (i prefer cast iron).  then transfer to the over at a lower temperature until its 10 degrees short of your desired doneness.  then let rest for 10 minutes, finsih on the grill to get some nice lines on their and serve


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## suziquzie (Jan 15, 2008)

A grill is best, just go outside. I live on the frozen tundra, I hate the cold, but I will go throw meat on a fire. Otherwise you can make a steak just fine inside, if you want the pretty lines get a grill pan.


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## TATTRAT (Jan 15, 2008)

Most higher end restaurants use high temp, infrared broilers. 

Best bet is a ripping hot grill(gas or coal, let the debate begin) or a smoking hot cast iron pan. Make sure your meat is at room temp before cooking, and like mentioned, SEASON your cut, it is fundamentally incorrect to not season things. Cook your cut until just under desired temperature, pull and rest for at least 5 min.


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## Michael in FtW (Jan 15, 2008)

eggberger said:
			
		

> Hello from a newbie. Is it possible to grill meat in the kitchen and it should taste like the steaks they serve in the grill restaurants? If yes, what do I need?


 
The short answer, if you're talking about the steak houses that I know of - probably not unless you have a fireplace and are willing to grill in it! And, your fireplace is vented properly, and you have good airflow.

Restaurants use grills with hard wood, lump charcoal, or a gas grill with lava rocks (like a backyard gas grill) and have very high volume vent hoods that exceed what you will find in a home kitchen. This not only removes the smoke - it removes the lethal buildup of Carbon Monoxide in the air. 

If you're going to grill in the fireplace - use hard wood and let it burn down to coals ... then grill over them. _Charcoal should never be used indoors._ I have done this a few times - but I also had a window open to get better airflow, and my chimney was clean and venting well.

I just built a small fire, let it burn down to coals, then threw a grill (actually it was a cooling/draining rack from a restaurant supply that fits in a 1/2 sheet pan) over the fireplace grate ... and grilled away! Of course, when I did this, I was living in an apartment and couldn't have an outdoor grill, it was winter, and the electricity was out ... so the fireplace was my only source of heat and way to cook anything.

About the only thing you can do "in the kitchen" is use a grill pan ... and that's nowhere near the same.

Hope this helps some.


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## BrazenAmateur (Jan 18, 2008)

+1 again to the "pan + oven" method for steaks.

The big boys (Luger, Bern's, Smith & Wollensky, Craftsteak) don't use grills, they use pan searing and infared broilers, AFAIK.

I use a big ungodly heavy cast iron skillet.  Sear on each side for like 1:30, throw entire pan into oven, cook until desired level of doneness, allow to rest.

Steak is actually one of the easiest of all foods to do prepare very very well.


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## ironchef (Jan 19, 2008)

BrazenAmateur said:


> +1 again to the "pan + oven" method for steaks.
> 
> The big boys (Luger, Bern's, Smith & Wollensky, Craftsteak) don't use grills, they use pan searing and infared broilers, AFAIK.
> 
> ...


 
+2.

I'll take a pan seared steak over grilled any day of the week.


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## DrThunder88 (Jan 20, 2008)

It's hard to go wrong with a simple recipe of salt, pepper, steak, and skillet.  There are also those grill pans, but the only thing close to real kitchen grilling would be a trip under the broiler.  I remember Alton Brown on Letterman showing how to put "grill marks" on a pan seared steak using an electric charcoal starter.  Fancy for sure but gustatorily unnecessary, in my opinion.

Now that Phil mentions it, I also recall "hobo dinners" from my days in Boy Scouts.  Now I'm thinking of pouch braising a steak with butter, a few cloves of garlic, and maybe a touch of balsamic vinegar and then searing it with a super hot skillet.  I may have to stop by the market on my way home from work today.


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## Maverick2272 (Jan 20, 2008)

My first choice is a charcoal grill, with wood chips for a little smoke and flavor. I go light on seasonings preferring a coarse salt and some fresh ground coarse pepper so I can get as much of the meat taste as possible coming thru.
If I cant grill, then I have a countertop grill I use indoors. In this case I do tend to use more merinades and more seasonings as well. I did have the chance to go to the Absynthe in Chicago and tried a New York Strip there and have to admit it was one of the best steaks I have ever had. I believe they use the infrared grill there, but not completely sure. 
I am not big on the Outback or Longhorn steaks as I think they cover the taste of the steak too much with seasonings. I did try a Roadhouse steak in Atlanta and while it still had too much seasoning IMHO, it was still better.
I like to keep an open mind, and am always willing to try new things and new ways of doing things. Variety is the spice of life, right? Some of the best steaks I have had were prepared and cooked in some of the simplest ways, like at the boy scout camp over a wood campfire. Or maybe it had more to do with the ambience then the food?


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## VaporTrail (Jan 27, 2008)

I'm with the "pan sear and oven finish" group personally. 

If you start with a good cut of meat (I usually use thick Porterhouses), season well (I use McCormick Steak Rub most of the time), and give each steak a good sear before finishing on a rack over a sheet pan in the oven (I tend to slow cook mine at about 375, for a 30 minute medium) you should end up with something your regular steakhouse wouldn't just serve, but would promote as thier signature steak.

Grilling a good steak requires equal parts good meat, good seasoning, and good technique. Doing it with a stove and oven takes a LOT of the technique out of the equation. In other words, t's a lot easier to screw up on the grill.


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## elaine l (Jan 27, 2008)

Ever since I received some very good instructions from my friends at DC, I have been cooking my steaks indoors this winter.   Finishing them in the oven.  I feel they are as good as any steak house, including Morton's.


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## allwellbeing (Jan 27, 2008)

college_cook said:


> Secret #1 in making your food taste like restaurant food is to use enough seasoning.  Don't be afraid of S+P.
> 
> Other than that, just make sure your grill is hot and don't be afraid to finish your steak in the oven if needed.
> 
> If you're doing the above, you can't really mess it up unless you're buying poor quality meat.



I agree college cook


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## jerseyjay14 (Jan 27, 2008)

elaine l said:


> Ever since I received some very good instructions from my friends at DC, I have been cooking my steaks indoors this winter.   Finishing them in the oven.  I feel they are as good as any steak house, including Morton's.



its the only way to go in my opinion... havent grilled a steak in years... in fact, i usually go to a pan sear + oven approach for all meats.


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## Wart (Jan 28, 2008)

Best steak IMNSHO is grilled over a lump charcoal and wood fire. 

In the kitchen?

Season the steak. Preheat the oven and iron pan, sear one side, flip and put it in the oven.

Seasonings? I like simple fresh ground pepper and Kosher salt.

Best part is, while the steak is resting I deglaze the pan and reduce then pour over the steak. Best steak sauce ever.

P.S.: IMHO grill pans are a waste of time and money. An every day, generic, flat iron skillet is best.


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## Maverick2272 (Jan 28, 2008)

For me it boils down to two things:

If you put a steak down in front of me cooked medium rare the way I like it, and it is juicy and flavorful then I don't care how you cooked it, I am just thrilled you cooked it for me!

If I am doing it myself its the pan and oven in winter and the grill in summer because, as someone else pointed out, its harder to get it perfect on the grill than the pan and I get a thrill from getting it right and seeing the smiles on their faces as they eat it!


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## ironchef (Jan 28, 2008)

VaporTrail said:


> *Doing it with a stove and oven takes a LOT of the technique out of the equation.* In other words, t's a lot easier to screw up on the grill.


 
I disagree with this. From what I've seen both in the industry and from various homecooks, it takes more technique to get a perfect crust on your steak from proper pan searing. The hardest thing about grilling a steak is knowing and controlling your hot spots so that you don't char the outsides of the meat without it properly cooking through.


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## BrazenAmateur (Jan 29, 2008)

ironchef said:


> I disagree with this. From what I've seen both in the industry and from various homecooks, it takes more technique to get a perfect crust on your steak from proper pan searing.


 

I agree.

If it was that easy to put a perfect char on a steak in a pan, all the steakhouses would get it right all the time, but that isn't even close to being the case.


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## Wart (Jan 30, 2008)

Perfect crust?

What is that?


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## Rob Babcock (Feb 1, 2008)

IMOHO it's hard to touch a steak from a top steakhouse when cooking at home.  First off, it's not easy to find a steak that good- there's only a very small percentage of the best beef in America that rates as USDA Prime, and the great majority of it goes to restaurants.  You can get superb beef at a high end butcher shop, but it's a crap shoot...and you'd better be ready to pay thru the nose!  A steakhouse will also age the beef better than you'll be able to do at home.

Unless you use charcoal it's going to be tough to get the level of heat steakhouses sear the meat over.  The hottest shelf broilers can reach temps of much higher than you can get at home.

That said, you obviously can get a great steak at home.  I agree that pan searing in cast iron & finishing in the hottest oven you can get is a great way to cook a steak.


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## TATTRAT (Feb 1, 2008)

Wart said:


> Perfect crust?
> 
> What is that?




Basically, the amount of sear. Be it grill, salamander, char-coal, wood....you get the idea.


When cooking a good cut of meat, it should only be flipped once. When you see your meat rendering juices on the top of the cut, flip it and let it ride. This will get a "crust", or "bark". The higher the heat, the better the crust on a cut. Contrary to public belief, it does NOT help sear in juices, it just helps caramelize things and add texture.

Just my opinion. I like my meat MR at the most. The flip once philosophy does not work if you like your cut killed again.


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## Maverick2272 (Feb 1, 2008)

I know people that flip it twice on the grill to get that nice criss-cross pattern. Alas, that is not me, I flip only once as well and like it MR. Then again if you pan sear it, grill patterns just don't factor in, LOL.
My thing is I can turn out an equally great steak in the pan or on the grill. I mastered the grill long before I mastered the pan sear, it was easier for me. But it is different for everyone I am sure. I grew up with a dad that grilled anything and everything he could in the summer, then refused to eat anything grillable in the winter as he couldn't go outside in a blizzard and fire up the grill. As a result, I learned great grilling technique right from the beginning, and had to learn the pan searing later.
As for me, in the summer I grill as much as possible. You stay in the hot kitchen while I hang outside under the patio umbrella sipping a nice cool drink and enjoying the breeze. My poor window air conditioners just can't keep up with the stove. And in the winter no way I am going out in the 'windy city' at 5 below to grill something up. So I guess you could say a big factor for me is environment and personal comfort.


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## auntdot (Feb 1, 2008)

Twenty eight years ago we purchased a very cheap house, all we could afford, and were rehabbing it.  Go to work, rehab for eight hours or so, and grab a bit of sleep.  Took Christmas and Thanksgiving off.

Would take some fruit wood, don't know what kind it was, found it in a pile, put it is the fireplace, a few bricks to rest a grate on, and we made some fantastic steaks. Also loved the mickies we put into the fire.

Can also cook good steaks in a pan or in the broiler.

To me you need the best quality steak you can find.  We often buy ungraded 'Angus'.  But we look at it carefully for the marbeling.

And IMHO no one can cook a thin steak properly, unless one likes partially cremated beef. The wafer thin stuff they try to sell in the supermarkets as steaks, well, they should be ashamed.

Season, a hot grill, griddle, pan and maybe a turn in the oven can all lead to great steaks.

A fairly thick good cut of beef and you can turn out a great product using almost any source of heat.


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## Wart (Feb 1, 2008)

Rob Babcock said:


> IMOHO it's hard to touch a steak from a top steakhouse when cooking at home.  First off, it's not easy to find a steak that good- ... You can get superb beef at a high end butcher shop, but it's a crap shoot...  and you'd better be ready to pay thru the nose!



The local butcher sells dry aged beef. $20/pound _on sale_ and then you have to buy more than one pound. Makes me want to give dry aging in the fridge a shot.

Funny how what use to be the standard way of doing things (hanging meat in the cooler) has become an expensive specialty.



> Unless you use charcoal it's going to be tough to get the level of heat steakhouses sear the meat over.



Yep, when shopping for a range I found home owner units don't make enough heat.

Charcoal requires the skill of fire tending. Fire tending seems to be a diminishing skill. Not that people can't learn to tend fire, for the most part I think they don't want to be bothered.


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## nezza (Feb 3, 2008)

I'm fairly proficient at using a skillet for steak, never finished them off in the oven. What advantage does that give you? Is it more tender than a pure skillet method? 

Out of interest, what would the timings/temps be to sear then oven finish?

How long to sear, then how long in the oven for a Medium Rare and a Medium?

Thanks


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## Wart (Feb 3, 2008)

nezza said:


> I'm fairly proficient at using a skillet for steak, never finished them off in the oven. What advantage does that give you? Is it more tender than a pure skillet method?



Keeping heat on both sides of the meat for a more even cooking.



> Out of interest, what would the timings/temps be to sear then oven finish?



Till it's done.

That's the best answer available because of the variables, skillet temp, oven temp, meat thickness, water content, meat type, ..... oven.

Ok, I'll admit it, I never timed it.


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## nezza (Feb 3, 2008)

I understand what you're saying wart - it varies, but as somebody who's never done it before, what's a start point? Based on steak thickness, aging etc.

What are your variables so I can compare mine.


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## TATTRAT (Feb 3, 2008)

Maverick2272 said:


> I know people that flip it twice on the grill to get that nice criss-cross pattern.



That isn't a flip, but a turn to achieve grill marks.


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## Maverick2272 (Feb 4, 2008)

TATTRAT said:


> That isn't a flip, but a turn to achieve grill marks.



I know, I tried telling em that, they didn't get it. They still flip twice even thought when they came to my house I grilled for them, did it my way, and they agreed they liked my steaks better.
They blamed it on me having a better cut.


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## knight76 (Jun 5, 2008)

I love this forum I am learning so much already.

I tried cooking with this method today. Bought some nice scotch fillet, seared it in a very hot frying pan for 1 minute each side and whacked it in a 500 degree oven. I left it in the oven till it was medium which was my error, by the time it hit the table it was well done cooking in its own heat. 

But, even though it was a bit over cooked I have to say this definately tasted better than my usual steak cooking. There were bites of it that really reminded me of my local steak restaurant and if I had cooked it medium correctly, it would have been awesome.

Can't wait to try it again.


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## kitchenelf (Jun 5, 2008)

knight76 said:


> I love this forum I am learning so much already.
> 
> I tried cooking with this method today. Bought some nice scotch fillet, seared it in a very hot frying pan for 1 minute each side and whacked it in a 500 degree oven. I left it in the oven till it was medium which was my error, by the time it hit the table it was well done cooking in its own heat.
> 
> ...



Yep, you just have to take it out at the rare-ish stage.  Me, I take mine out when I can faintly hear the last moo


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## knight76 (Jul 12, 2008)

Just an update on this. 

I have cooked a few more steaks like this and am very happy with the results.

Just a question though. If your not making a sauce to go with this, does anyone put some olive oil on their steaks when removed from the oven? I see this done often on the telly. Celeb chefs seem to add olive oil to everything.


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## ironchef (Jul 12, 2008)

knight76 said:


> Just an update on this.
> 
> I have cooked a few more steaks like this and am very happy with the results.
> 
> Just a question though. If your not making a sauce to go with this, does anyone put some olive oil on their steaks when removed from the oven? I see this done often on the telly. Celeb chefs seem to add olive oil to everything.


 
I do that, but not when I remove it from the oven. After the steaks rest, I drizzle it on after they are sliced to get the flavor. Unless you're serving it right away, drizzling the oil anytime before that is pointless. 

Recipes : T-Bone Fiorentina with Sauteed Spinach and da Vero Oil : Food Network


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## dyscjocki (Jul 12, 2008)

If you want to grill like a restaurant you can buy a $1000.00 gas fired broiler with steel grates and cooks at 600+ degrees, but if you are on a tighter budget then try what was posted previously. Just thought I would toss that in.


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## VaporTrail (Aug 11, 2008)

An alternative to Olive Oil is butter. Not quite your average stick of butter though. Some prepared with garlic, parsley and possibly other things... Let that melt over your steak during the last couple minutes of rest...

I'm of the opinion that everything is better with butter.


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## Lynd (Aug 15, 2008)

Gotta say BBQ burgers are lovely, just as much as the ones I got at restaurants. They cook on that type of grill, and use a lot of seasoning.


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