Kent wrote:

I'm guessing when you do this you always have the interior of the steak
heated at least to the ambient temp, rather than frig. temp, as you do with
the Little Chief. What happens to the fat side? Does it flame up? I
routinely now coat the searing sides of steaks with a very thin film of oil.
It gives it a slightly quicker char, and seals in the moisture, though
probably not as much as your "naked into the coals". It does give a whopping
flare up for a few seconds though. Cooks Illustrated recently had an article
about bringing the steak up to about 90F before searing, to give a more
uniform rare from edge to edge.

Kent

Well, I've done it both ways. i.e. cold and warm to temp
before tossing 'em in. I think the warmed to ambient temp
method works best. Toughest part of it is the timing. It
takes some practice to determine the length for med-rare,
rare, med, etc.

It tries to flare, but you have to be ready to cover 'em
quickly, thereby putting out the flames. Object isn't flame
but to surround with the hot coals w/o flames.

It's certainly not for everyone but worth a shot if you
enjoy a little change up every now and then. I wouldn't plan
on the first attempt coming out exactly to your liking. It's
kind of a trial and error process, but when you hit it
right, man it's tasty.

--
Steve