Learned to keep a squeeze bottle of cold water by the flat top, and it saved my sear on 40 steaks last Friday

Olivia Smith · 2026-09-16T04:10:02.987092+00:00

Last Friday we got slammed with a 40 cover private party and all the steaks were coming out gray instead of browned. My flat top was running way too hot in spots and the butter was burning before the meat even got color. A line cook from the morning shift showed me to keep a squeeze bottle of ice water and hit the hot spots right before dropping the meat to knock the surface temp down about 50 degrees. Did that for the whole batch and every single steak came out with a proper crust, no bitter burnt taste. Took me 3 years to figure this out and nobody ever mentioned it in culinary school. Anybody else got tricks for taming an uneven flat top, or is it just me fighting this thing?

🐿️Pinecone Attack

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Learned to keep a squeeze bottle of cold water by the flat top, and it saved my sear on 40 steaks last Friday | Chefs - Pinecone Attack