Christopher Prall

Prall,
You guys seem to be missing the point a little bit here. I realize this is coming from a vegan and you can dismiss me if you like, but...

Different cuts require different cooking techniques. For a thinner cut, you can probably cook it all the way through at a single, high temperature. For a thick cut, however, the sear and then grill method will allow you to get a nice amount of charring on the outside and still have the meat cooked to the proper doneness all the way through. This advice comes from spending many summer after noons on my father in laws deck as he grilled. I think j$ and chuckie have both had his steaks before and will testify to his skills.

gnubbs

Searing the outside of the steak allows the juices to be seared in, but because of the density of the meat, high temperatures will dry it out. The thinker the meat, the lower the temp and the longer the cooking time. Just think of it like a roast.

Different cuts require different cooking techniques. For a thinner cut, you can probably cook it all the way through at a single, high temperature. For a thick cut, however, the sear and then grill method will allow you to get a nice amount of charring on the outside and still have the meat cooked to the proper doneness all the way through.

I understand the reason of why you may have to sear first. I have grilled many a steak and cooked many a roast to understand the concept. I argue, though, that for steaks (unless you have a 1 1/2+ inch thick steak) that you do not need to sear first because the heat which you would cook for a constant temperature will be hot enough to seal in the juices and cook to the correct level of medium-rare to medium.

Is the searing method the best method? Probably so. However, my point is that for most grilled steaks, I think you can achieve the same result. But we shall soon find.

And of course, to add in another variable, there is the quality of the steak as well as its thickness. A steak with a lot of marbling (think Kobe beef, or a genuine Angus steak) will retain a lot of its "juices" (intramuscular fat/marbling) almost however you cook it. It is the leaner steaks, I imagine, that would be in greater need of a fast sear to seal in the (mostly water-type) juices. I can see that this upcoming series of BBQs is going to be a lot of fun. Two or three qualities of steak, each of two or three different thicknesses, each cooked under two methods for different lengths of time, with multiple replicates to acheive statistical significance. Sounds like a great summer-long project!

Speaking as THE chef, I would say always cook steaks at the highest temp (that yr grill allows you to ) possible - thinner steaks need shoerter cooking time ie 3/4in steak only 5mins on each side and thicker steaks 8---5-8 mins - do not lower the temp at all - you will have the perfect steak, nicely grilled outside cooked trough for 1/4 to 1/3 in and the inside superbly pink and juicy - note, juicy , not bloody....and yet, all will exclaim "what a bloody perfect steak this is !!!" - assuming all concerned are wanting a medium rare steak. My favorite cut is a rib-eye cut 1 to 1/14 in thick - fat is good......
Mr Vegan, you can grill yr "seasoned tempeh steak" this a way and I believe you will be duly pleased with the results.