Grilling 101: Grilling The Perfect Steak
Summer is right around the corner, which means it’s time to set up the grills and start cooking outside. If you’re a a bit of a novice on the basics of grilling, here is a guide to grilling your first steak, and grilling it right.
First, you’ll have to decide if you want to go charcoal or gas when it comes to your grill. You probably already made this decision, and gas is pretty straightforward. When you’re ready to start cooking, all you need to do is open up the lid to your grill, then open up the valve to your propane tank all the way to the left, and then you can begin turning on the dials to light your individual burners.
If you go with charcoal, light the charcoal and let the flames burn out until the coals become ash-like and all the flames are out. Now, with fat drippings from whatever you’re cooking, the flames will flare up a bit when you put your meat on the grill, but you should start without any flames at all. Wherever the stack of charcoal is directly under the grill is your direct heat section, and any area of the grill that doesn’t have charcoal directly underneath it has indirect heat.
Backing up a bit, one of the most overlooked aspects of grilling a great steak takes place before you heat up that grill. While some recommend simply brushing your steaks with olive oil and some seasoning, there are also those who like to go whole hog and do a marinade of olive oil and seasoning as you let your refrigerated steaks come up to room temperature. And there’s another group still who swears that adding some balsamic vinegar to that olive oil and seasoning mix will make your steaks taste like heaven.
Trust me, a little balsamic vinegar in that marinade soaking into the fat of the steak will make you throw out your A1 sauce forever, and you’ll be glad you did.
Steak cooking times will vary depending on the thickness of the steak, obviously, and some recommend the 3–3–7–7 rule. That would be three minutes on each side on direct heat to sear the outside and seal in the juices, then an additional seven minutes on each side on indirect heat to finish cooking your steak. Personally, I’ve found that unless you have a really super thick steak and you like it really well done, that’s too long.
Start with three minutes on each side with direct heat, and then you can check for doneness through one of the methods in this outstanding video from Weber Grills. Steak connoisseurs recommend going for medium rare, and if that’s how you like your steak, those three minutes on each side are probably going to be enough to get the correct doneness you’re looking for with a browned exterior and a warm pink center.
However, for those who like it a little more well done and a little less bloody, a couple of minutes on indirect heat on each side can take it to medium for most steaks and grill settings. For gas grills, you set up indirect heat by turning off the middle burner and placing steaks in the center area so that the heat comes from the sides as opposed to directly under the steak.
Obviously, this is where gas grills have a greater advantage due to being more precise in setting temperature, so you can replicate the same results each time.
Once you have determined the steak is where you want it by your chosen method for checking how well done it is, it’s also important to let that ribeye or New York strip “rest” before cutting it, so that you don’t let all those succulent juices escape by cutting it too soon. Let it sit for at least three to five minutes before cutting into your steak for the best results.
Nothing screams summer like firing up that grill, and nothing beats the taste of a grilled steak when it’s done right. But of course, with these tips, that shouldn’t be a problem, and try one of these fabulous side dishes to go along with your grilled steaks, or some grilled asparagus.
