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Kamado Joe NY Strip Steak
A classic New York strip steak is easy to cook on a Kamado Joe grill over direct heat or reverse seared on a soapstone. The total cook time will depend on your preferred degree of doneness.
Most people prefer to grill a 1.5-inch thick New York strip steak to a perfect medium-rare doneness of 135-degrees. With an ambient internal temperature of around 400-degrees, the steak should be done in 4 to 5 minutes per side. This will give you a nicely seared exterior, while still being vibrantly pink and juicy in the middle.
How Do You Cook a New York Strip Steak on a Kamado Joe?
The easiest way to cook a New York strip steak on a Kamado Joe is to grill it over a medium-hot direct flame for roughly 4 to 5 minutes per side.
This will give you a medium-rare steak that is pink and juicy in the middle, with a flavorful seared exterior crust.
If you prefer your New York strip steak rare, you can shorten the cooking time to 3 or 4 minutes per side.
If you prefer a medium or medium-well New York strip steak, then you should extend the cooking time to 6 or 7 minutes per side.
How To Reverse Sear a New York Strip Steak on a Kamado Joe
Reverse searing a steak on a Kamado Joe requires a soapstone from the Divide & Conquer lineup of accessories, and one of your heat deflectors.
You also need a New York strip steak that is at least 1.5-inches thick. Seasoning with salt and pepper an hour or two in advance will also help draw out the water-soluble proteins in the meat, which will help develop a more flavorful crust when you sear.
Bench resting your steak by setting it on the counter, wrapped and seasoned, for 20 minutes before grilling will also improve your Reverse searing results.
This allows the internal temperature of the steak to warm a little, which will allow it to reach the desired degree of doneness when you bring it to the Kamado Joe.
Just make sure to use a clean paper towel to lightly pat the moisture off the surface of the steak, and season it how you like before grilling.
You can then reverse sear your New York strip steak using the following steps.
Step One: Start a medium-high fire in the Kamado Joe, then install one heat deflector on the lower left side of the grill and install your half-moon soapstone on the upper right side of your Kamado Joe. Install a standard grill grate on the upper left side.
Step Two: Let it burn on high with the lower damper wide open for a solid 20 to 30 minutes. This lets the soapstone absorb the heat energy it will need later.
Step Three: Once the soapstone is ripping hot, dial down the lower damper so it’s only open about half an inch. This will reduce the incoming airflow and bring the flames down. Yet the soapstone will remain hot for a long time. You’re looking for a temperature on the lid around 250 to 275 degrees.
Step Four: Allow 5 to 10 minutes for the heat to come down inside the Kamado Joe’s fire chamber before placing the steak on the grill grate above the heat diffuser. If you want to punch up the smoke you can add a chunk of mesquite, hickory, or applewood. Don’t use wood chips, as they can flare up, which will make heat control even more challenging.
Step Five: Check the steak after 5 to 7 minutes by inserting an instant-read probe thermometer into the thickest part of the meat. When the internal temperature of the steak is at 75 to 80 degrees, flip it. Then check again in another 5 minutes.
Step Six: When the internal temperature of the New York strip steak reaches 90 to 95 degrees, move it over to the soapstone and open the lower damper all the way. The soapstone should still be very hot and you can sear each side for 2 to 3 minutes until you reach a perfect internal temperature of 135 degrees or your preferred degree of doneness.
Step Seven: When the steak reaches the target temperature, remove it from the Kamado Joe’s soapstone and tent it under aluminum foil for 5 minutes before cutting into it.
Internal Temperature for NY Strip on a Kamado Joe
The internal temperature or degree of doneness for a steak grilled on a Kamado Joe will vary depending on your preference.
You typically want to pull the steak off the grill when its internal temperature is five degrees under the target temp.
Tented under some heavy-duty aluminum foil, with a tea towel, draped over top, the internal temperature of the NY strip will carry over the last five degrees.
Doneness based on the internal temperature of a steak
Rare – 120 to 125-degrees
Medium Rare – 130 to 135-degrees
Medium – 140 to 145-degrees
Medium Well – 150 to 155-degrees
Well Done – 160+ degrees
Ambient Temperature for NY Strip on a Kamado Joe
When grilling a steak over direct flame on a Kamado Joe, you want the ambient temperature on the lid thermometer to be at least 375 to 450 degrees.
Though you can go as high as 500 degrees for an even better sear. If you drive the ambient temperature of the Kamado Joe above 550 degrees the time to cook the steak per side is dramatically short.
How Long to Cook Steak on Kamado Joe
A medium-rare New York strip steak that is roughly 1.5-inches thick will take 4 to 5 minutes per side on a Kamado Joe that has been heated to 450 degrees.
If you want a rare, you would only grill it for 3 or 4 minutes per side. For a medium or medium-well steak, then you should extend the cooking time to 6 or 7 minutes per side.
Final Thoughts
A Kamado Joe is one of the best grills for making a New York strip steak.
The impressive heat control makes it easy to grill a steak to a perfect 135-degree medium rare in just 4 to 5 minutes per side with an ambient temperature of around 400-degrees.
If you have the divide & conquer system with a half-moon soapstone, you can use a reverse searing technique.
You simply preheat the soapstone with a high flame, before dialing the heat down and grilling the steak on indirect heat. Then finish it off by searing it on the hot soapstone.
Robert is a certified Pitmaster, with over a decade of experience in smoking the best meats you’ll ever feast upon. He also has a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Texas at San Antonio. When he’s not researching technical topics, he’s most likely barbecuing in his backyard.