Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
DIY Hibachi Grill | 4-Zone Cooking at 1050°F
We built our own hibachi grill—tuned it, flipped it, and pushed it to over 1050°F—all in pursuit of perfect skewers. By experimenting with vents, brick height, and zones, we dialed in a system that gives us total control over the cook.
Build guidance:
• Use fire bricks to form a rectangular grill body.
• Adjust brick height to control airflow and coal proximity.
• Cut vents into the side for oxygen control.
• Design zones: cold, serving, resting, and high heat.
• Add a grill grate on top—and yes, a built-in beer holder if you like.
Key tips:
- One side vent is all you need for powerful airflow.
- Higher brick walls = hotter, faster burns.
- Multiple zones give you precision: sear, rest, and serve without losing heat.
- Don’t be afraid to rebuild or flip your design—it’s part of the fun.
👉 Full hibachi build + skewer recipes here: chefsteps.com/activities/diy-hibachi-grill-konro
chefsteps.com/activities/ground-meat-skewers-parametric-analysis
DIY Hibachi Grill | 4-Zone Cooking at 1050°F
We built our own hibachi grill—tuned it, flipped it, and pushed it to over 1050°F—all in pursuit of perfect skewers. By experimenting with vents, brick height, and zones, we dialed in a system that gives us total control over the cook.
Build guidance:
• Use fire bricks to form a rectangular grill body.
• Adjust brick height to control airflow and coal proximity.
• Cut vents into the side for oxygen control.
• Design zones: cold, serving, resting, and high heat.
• Add a grill grate on top—and yes, a built-in beer holder if you like.
Key tips:
- One side vent is all you need for powerful airflow.
- Higher brick walls = hotter, faster burns.
- Multiple zones give you precision: sear, rest, and serve without losing heat.
- Don’t be afraid to rebuild or flip your design—it’s part of the fun.
👉 Full hibachi build + skewer recipes here: chefsteps.com/activities/diy-hibachi-grill-konro
chefsteps.com/activities/ground-meat-skewers-parametric-analysis


![How to Make Melt-in-Your-Mouth Poached Filet Mignon
A filet mignon is a trophy steak cut that’s prized for its tenderness. And yet, most conventional cooking techniques, like pan-searing, reverse-searing, and grilling, end up toughening the super tender meat.
We decided to lean into the cut’s unique tenderness, utilizing a method that’s rarely used for steaks: poaching!
A gentle poach in umami-rich, thyme-scented beef broth kept at a precise temperature cooks the steak exactly how you like it, all while keeping those delicate meat fibers super relaxed. The result is super tender tenderloin. And what the steak loses out on in terms of Maillard browning and all the roasty notes of a hard sear, we make up for it with a burnt-caramel sauce made with the poaching liquid.
Watch ChefSteps co-founder Grant Crilly demonstrate a novel technique for serving up the most tender and tasty filet mignon you’ve ever seen.
[Time code]
0:00 - How to make super-tender filet mignon
1:17 - How to make the poaching liquid
3:45 - Poach the filet mignon
8:10 - How to make the sauce
12:48 - Heat filet mignon and serve
Check out the Poached Filet Mignon recipe: https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/poached-filet-mignon
Equipment:
Buy a Control Freak Home: https://breville.oie8.net/9goeDy
Ingredient:
Buy filet mignons: https://snakeriverfarms.pxf.io/g1AGnB
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ChefSteps 101: Through science, entertainment, and industry experience, we strive to help every home cook reach their full potential. With more than 1,000 recipes developed in our kitchen, there’s something for everyone. To find out more, visit our website: https://www.chefsteps.com/ How to Make Melt-in-Your-Mouth Poached Filet Mignon](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ssX4RAZ054U/mqdefault.jpg)



![How to Make the Ultimate Sizzling Pork Sisig With Leah Cohen | ChefSteps
Sizzling Sisig has been the best-selling dish at Chef Leah Cohen’s Pig and Khao ever since it opened in 2012. Salty, acidic, crispy, chewy, fatty, and meaty, sisig is best served alongside an ice-cold mug of beer.
Sisig is a traditional Filipino dish that transforms a braised pig’s head into a plate of pork hash with all kinds of different textures, from gooey and rich (the jowls, the cheeks) and deliciously chewy (the ears) to crispy and satisfyingly crunchy, with little hits of char and smoke in the mix, all dressed in a bright, savory-sour dressing. Getting that mix of textures and flavors requires some work—you have to braise, grill, and sear the pork, and deep-fry the pig ear—but the effort is way worth the reward. Can’t get your hands on a pig’s head? Check out our recipe at ChefSteps.com for substitutes: https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/sisig
[0:23] Intro
[1:18] Butcher The Pig
[4:30] Technique 1: Braising
[6:22] Technique 2: Grilling
[7:53] Technique 3: Frying
[9:02] Technique 4: Sautéing
[10:48] Technique 5: Sizzling
Sign up for ChefSteps Studio Pass: https://www.chefsteps.com/studiopass
Buy the Breville Joule® Oven Air Fryer Pro: https://breville.oie8.net/21W1WG
Buy the Control °Freak®: http://breville.oie8.net/x9YJLk
Ingredients:
Pig’s Head: https://www.strykerfarm.com/store/p55/Pig-Head.html
Or substitute with:
Pork shoulder: https://snakeriverfarms.pxf.io/QyNbQA
Pork belly: https://snakeriverfarms.pxf.io/DKb3Nn
Pig ears: https://tillmansmeats.com/products/pig-ears
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https://www.instagram.com/chefsteps
https://www.facebook.com/Chefsteps
ChefSteps 101: Through science, entertainment, and industry experience, we strive to help every home cook reach their full potential. We are testing dozens of different iterations of each dish to make sure we can give you the ultimate version of each recipe. With more than 1,000 recipes developed in our kitchen, there’s something for everyone. To find out more, visit our website: https://www.chefsteps.com/ How to Make the Ultimate Sizzling Pork Sisig With Leah Cohen | ChefSteps](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/u2-5wNER8FU/mqdefault.jpg)
![How a Master Butcher Cooks a Porterhouse Steak
The porterhouse is “the king of steaks,” according to master butcher Kevin Smith of Seattle’s Beast & Cleaver.
With what’s basically two steaks (tenderloin and New York strip) separated by a big bone, the porterhouse gives you a world of beefy flavors and textures, provided you cook it right. There’s the silky and tender filet, the firmer strip, and a gob of suet that east like bone marrow when properly rendered and crisped. Cook it right, and you’ve got a gradient of doneness, from the beautifully burnished crust to the rare interior, and everything in between.
Watch Kevin butcher a short loin and explain the differences between a porterhouse, a T-bone, and a bone-in New York steak. Then check out his technique for cooking a massive porterhouse.
And if you love steaks and steakhouses, check out our curated steakhouse menus with loads of recipes and tips: https://www.chefsteps.com/steakhouse
For the full recipe and more, sign up for Studio Pass:
Ultimate Porterhouse Steak: https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/porterhouse-steak
Buy a porterhouse steak: https://snakeriverfarms.pxf.io/y205y2
Buy a Control Freak Home: https://breville.oie8.net/9goeDy
Buy a butchers knife: https://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-Cutlery-10-Inch-Granton-Butcher/dp/B0019WUMIS?tag=chefsteps02-20
[Time Codes]
0:00 - How to cook a porterhouse steak
0:27 - How to butcher a short loin to get a porterhouse
6:59 - Sear the porterhouse
15:31 - Add butter, garlic, and herbs
16:44 - Add porterhouse to oven
18:14 - Slice and serve the porterhouse
Follow us:
https://www.instagram.com/chefsteps
https://www.facebook.com/Chefsteps
ChefSteps 101: Through science, entertainment, and industry experience, we strive to help every home cook reach their full potential. With more than 1,000 recipes developed in our kitchen, there’s something for everyone. To find out more, visit our website: https://www.chefsteps.com/ How a Master Butcher Cooks a Porterhouse Steak](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/uRqRg81hgYQ/mqdefault.jpg)


