When grilling or searing, why does one side sear better?

Question

On the Food Network, when they put, say, a steak on the grill, they say: put it down presentation side up, since this side will look prettiest." And it's true: when searing a piece of meat on a grill or in a pan, the grill marks/sear always look better on the first side than the second.

The same is even true of things like pancakes! This is bizarre to me; the only thing I can think of is the temperature of the food is cooler when it hits the pan, resulting in a better sear...but that's merely conjecture on my part.

Anybody know why this would be?

Answer 1

The juices from the 1st searing definitely affects the second one.

Get your grill back to top temperature for the second searing, and maybe grill on a different spot.

Answer 2

that is true when grilling or searing you put the presentation side down first becasue the fat is the thickest in that area. Im not sure why that happens with pancakes for you. its not techniquely searing the pancake but you might have the temperature high for the pan. The best way i know is when the pancake bubbles its time to flip it and it gets a nice golden brown color.

Answer 3

The pan usually has a fresh clean layer of oil (or the grill is nice and clean) for the first side, so that will give it the most uniform sear.  When you turn it, the surface is contaminated with bits of other stuff.  

Answer 4

Good start.

Just continue with.....

and the grill is hotter.

Answer 5

Watch closely next time.

You will notice when you put it on the grill the down side is somewhat dry. MOist but not wet.

When you turn it, the current up side is covered with juices. Therefore the juices keep that side from drying out as fast as the first side. Not a difference in the heat of the grill. It's the amount of moisture exposed to the heat and how fast it burns off.

I'm a competition BBQer.

http://www.demonpigbbq.com/recipes.html