Outdoor Cooking 101: The Guide to Grilling, Smoking, and Cooking Beef Over a Fire

05.05.2022

When good weather is in the forecast, there’s no finer way to enjoy the outdoors than cooking and eating outside. Natural scenery, fresh air, and good company have a way of adding ambiance to the eating experience.

Whether you are in your backyard, tailgating, or at a campsite, beef cooked over an open fire is delicious, juicy, and pleasantly smoky. In this blog, we’ll explain why beef cooked over an open fire is so popular, highlight three of our favorite methods for cooking beef outside, and share the best cuts for cooking outdoors.

What Makes Beef Cooked Over an Open Fire So Good?

If you love cooking beef over an open fire, you aren’t alone. The Michelin Guide reports that a revival of open-fire cooking is in full swing. Shoppers and diners in the United States and internationally love the traditional smoky flavors these methods provide. But why exactly does it taste so good?

• The Maillard Reaction: This refers to proteins and sugars in meat breaking down when they’re exposed to high heat. The Maillard Reaction is how beef achieves that dark, caramelized crust and complex, umami-like flavors.
• Smoke infusion: Cooking over wood and charcoal releases flavor-boosting compounds, infusing the meat with distinct smoky notes and deepening the overall flavor profile.
• Perfectly charred and crisped edges: Fire cooking sears the outside of the meat quickly, locking in juices. The char is also packed with flavor from the rendered fat and seasonings.

Now that we’re all in agreement that outdoor cooking is awesome, let’s talk about how to do it.

Method 1: Grilling Beef

Whether you grill with charcoal or propane, you’ll want to follow some essential guidelines.

Quick-Start Tips for Grilling

1. Take the extra time to clean your grill grates. Cleaning your grilling surface not only keeps it in pristine shape but also prevents cross-contamination of flavors between the various dishes prepared on your grill.
2. Preheat your grill. If you’re using propane, start out by setting the grill to medium and letting it warm up for at least 10 minutes. If you opt for charcoal, light your charcoal and let it burn until it ashes over (or turns to a white-ish gray).
3. Make sure you have a meat thermometer handy. Digital or analog, you’ll need to get a clear read on whether your meat is on track for your preferred degree of doneness.
4. Some outdoor chefs insist the secret to great grilling lies in whatever beverage a chef enjoys while the grill preheats.

The Best Beef Cuts for Grilling Outside

Steaks, with an ideal balance of fat, texture, and thickness, develop a nice crust on the grill without overcooking inside. They’re also easy to prep and cook relatively quickly. We recommend cuts like ribeye, New York strip, T-bone, porterhouse, flank steak, skirt steak, and the tomahawk.

Watch our 1855 Beef Ambassador @bentley.bbq fire up bone-in ribeyes on the grill.

1855 Ambassador @bkyardeats shows us how to use a charcoal grill to prepare well-marbled Black Angus flank steak. He does it at the Grand Canyon, proving you can really enjoy beef anywhere.

Burgers are another failsafe option for the grill. With ground beef that has decent fat content (90% fat or higher), the marbling is well distributed throughout the meat. That means that your burgers will brown on the outside while staying juicy throughout.

How to Grill a Steak

• To grill the perfect steak, start by marinating your favorite cut or simply seasoning it with salt and pepper.
• Cook for about 4-5 minutes per side or until the steak’s crust develops to your preference.
• Check the steak’s internal temperature. FoodSafety.gov recommends that steaks be cooked to an internal temperature of 145°F for safe consumption. This can be achieved by pulling the steak from the grill when its internal temperature reaches 135°F and allowing it to rest for ten minutes before enjoying. Letting the steak rest helps the juices recirculate and settle after being condensed to the center during grilling, making for a tender, juicy eating experience.
• Perfect your technique with our porterhouse recipe.

The Best Burgers on the Grill

• Generously season both sides of each patty with salt and pepper.
• Make a small, indented “dimple” in the middle of each patty. This helps keep it from shrinking during cooking.
• Depending on patty thickness, grill for 4-5 minutes per side or until an internal temperature of 160°F is reached.
• If adding cheese, add it to your patties for the last two minutes of grilling and close the grill cover to broil the cheese—you’ll get the perfect cheese melt!
• Try 1855’s maple bacon beer burger recipe!

Bonus tip: If you’re grilling something with a substantial fat cap (like picanha), score the cap with a knife to create a diamond pattern. That will help the fat render and create a browned outer crust.

Method 2: Smoking Beef

Pitmasters have different, passionate opinions on their go-to smoking essentials. Whether you choose charcoal, electric, pellets, or hardwood, there’s no wrong answer. It’s just a matter of preference. While there is more than one way to prepare smoked Black Angus beef, when it’s done right, there’s only one result: outstanding, savory beef that’s well worth the wait.

Smoked Beef for Beginners and Seasoned Vets

Whichever cut of beef you’ve selected to smoke, you will need some added seasoning to ensure that it is as tender, flavorful, and juicy as possible. If you’re feeling adventurous, experiment with dry rubs, wet rubs, and marinades. In this recipe, for instance, we use a garlic, rosemary, and horseradish marinade, resulting in restaurant-worthy prime rib.

The Best Wood to Use for Smoking Meat

Determining which wood works best for smoking beef partially comes down to personal preference.

• Hickory: strong, smoky, sweet
• Mesquite: intense, earthy, robust
• Oak: versatile, mild, nutty
• Olive: mild, nutty, fruity
• Pecan: nutty, rich, sweet

Preheating is Key

To ensure that you’re creating the perfect environment for your next smoking adventure, you’ll want to make sure your smoker is preheated when you start to smoke your beef. Electric smokers typically require 45 minutes to preheat. For charcoal or hardwood smokers, account for the extra time to get your smoker up to the recommended temperature for your recipe.

The Best Beef Cuts to Smoke Outside

Brisket is often hailed as the king of the smoker, but chuck roast, beef ribs, tenderloin, tri-tip, and other showstopping cuts like Thor’s Hammer perform spectacularly on the smoker.

Smoked Beef Brisket

• For an unforgettable outdoor meal experience, check out our Texas-style smoked Black Angus brisket recipe from chef Sarah Faherty.
• Watch our one-minute video on smoking a next-level beef brisket:

Smoked Chuck Roast

• Optional: Dry brine the meat with salt to promote moisture retention. Refrigerate the salted roast for several hours before cooking.
• Remove the meat from the refrigerator and sprinkle on seasoning or a rub of choice; massage it in. Many cooks coat the meat with yellow mustard first, as the mustard acts as a perfect binder for the seasoning to adhere to the beef.
• Preheat the smoker to 225-250°F. When smoking beef chuck roast, we recommend hickory or pecan wood.
• Add the roast to the smoker and close the lid.
• After about 45 minutes, start to spritz the chuck with beef stock every hour or so. This adds flavor, helps keep the meat from drying out, and draws more of the savory smoke to the roast.
• After about two hours, gently flip the meat.
• Depending on the size of the roast, it could take between five and seven hours to smoke. Keep your eye on the internal temperature (via a thermometer) instead of the clock to guide your cooking time.
• Once the chuck has an internal temperature of about 200°F, remove it from the smoker and close it in an empty cooler or cold oven for 45 minutes to an hour to let it rest.
• Try our recipe for smoked pulled beef sliders made with Black Angus chuck roast.

Smoked Beef Ribs

• Generously sprinkle the ribs with the seasoning or rub of your choice. Massage it in. Again, some cooks coat the beef with yellow mustard first to bind the seasoning to the meat.
• Preheat your smoker to about 300°F.
• After smoking your beef ribs for about two hours, spritz them with a three-to-one water/vinegar mix, repeating it every hour or so.
• Once the internal temperatures reach 205-210°F, remove the ribs from heat and allow them to rest for an hour.

Smoked Thor’s Hammer

Named for the Norse god’s hammer of lightning, this mythical cut falls right off the bone after a smoke session of about 7 ½ hours. Get the full how-to here:

Smoked Beef Tenderloin

This smoked tenderloin recipe is the secret to perfect, wall-to-wall pink beef. Start on the smoker, and after about two hours, give it a quick sear over hot charcoal. We recommend a coffee-ancho-garlic rub, but any of your favorite spice blends will work.

Method 3: Campfire Cooking Beef

You’ve got your firepit lit, but now what? Admittedly, it can be a bit intimidating thinking about cooking over open flames, but if you’re up to the challenge, it can be an incredible experience with delectable results. Whether you enjoy cooking over a backyard firepit or prefer roughing it in the woods, cooking a Black Angus beef meal over open flames will quickly become one of your favorite cooking methods.

When cooking on an open fire, oak, hickory, and ash are some of the ideal firewood options. Whichever wood you’re burning, you’ll want to leave time for the flames to die down and provide you with some hot coals to cook over. Heat-resistant gloves are a must-have for this cooking method. And, as with all the recipes above, you’ll want a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of your meat.

The Best Beef Cuts for Cooking Over a Fire

We recommend beef kebabs (made from New York strip) if you’re cooking over an open fire, as they’re easy to prep and pack in a cooler. They cook quickly, and with a high surface area, they brown up just as fast.

If you’re looking for something more comforting, cowboy beef stew is one of those perfect “set it and forget it” campfire recipes. You can prep other dishes or just enjoy nature while your beef stew cooks.

Last, steak sandwiches are easy to make as you can first sear the beef on the grate over the fire, then assemble and wrap the sandwiches in foil before returning them to the heat.

Beef Kebabs on an Open Fire

• Cut all your beef and vegetables into skewer-ready pieces and marinate for 10-12 hours. There’s no limit to what you can use for your marinade, but a tried-and-true option is olive oil, soy sauce, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
• Assemble your kabobs using metal or water-soaked bamboo skewers.
• Once your fire is ready, lay the kabobs on a metal grate over the coals.
• Using tongs, flip the kabobs after three to five minutes. Allow them to cook another three to five minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 145°F (medium rare) to 160°F (medium).

Beef Stew Over an Open Fire

• Cook delicious Black Angus beef stew, like 1855’s Brisket Cowboy Stew, in a Dutch oven over an open fire for a savory, timeless outdoor meal.
• Cut or cube beef stew meat and cook it in the Dutch oven until brown.
• Add chopped onion and cook for a few minutes.
• Add butter and flour, stirring until the mixture thickens up.
• Mix in the rest of your chopped vegetables and cook until everything’s tender—typically about an hour.
• Biscuits, rolls, or even sliced bread (convenient for camping) make a great companion. We know you’ll turn that bread into pudgy pies later.

Philly Cheesesteaks Over an Open Fire

• Outdoor cooking pros at Campfire Foodie sauté onions and green peppers in a cast iron pan over the fire, then add the steak and heat it until the meat is cooked through. They use thinly sliced steak.
• We recommend removing the beef and veggie mixture from the fire, layering it into sliced crusty rolls, topping it with provolone, wrapping it in foil, and returning to the heat over grill grates to let everything melt and meld together.

Bonus: Backyard Tandoori Beef

If you’re a fan of tandoori beef skewers, you can create a tandoor oven right in your backyard with items you can find at the hardware store. Score!

When Walls Can’t Contain Your Love of Black Angus Beef

There’s no denying it: some meals just taste better outside. When you light up your grill, smoker, firepit, or tandoor to cook 1855 Black Angus beef, the resulting quality and flavor will be too big for any dining room.

Find an 1855 retailer near you, follow us on Facebook or Instagram for beef cooking inspiration, and browse our recipes for ideas that fit every season.

This blog was initially published in May of 2022 but was refreshed in March of 2025.