How To Make The Perfect Steak On The Grill

Temps And Times For Sous Vide Strip Ribeye Porterhouse/t

How to Grill the Perfect Steak | Weber Genesis II Gas Grill | BBQGuys Recipe

Highly marbled cuts, like a grain-finished, prime-grade ribeye or strip, should be cooked a few degrees Fahrenheit higher than leaner steaks like tenderloin, since their copious intramuscular fat helps keep them moist while delivering plenty of flavor. I prefer ribeyes and strip steaks cooked medium-rare to medium, around 129°F to 135°F . Fattier steaks also have natural insulation, which means theyll take slightly longer to reach the correct internal temperature.

Porterhouse and T-bone steaks contain a large section of strip and a smaller section of tenderloin. Since both sides must be cooked together, its better to select a temperature and time based on the side you like to eat better. Personally, I like to optimize cooking time and temperature for the strip. It means my tenderloin comes out slightly more cooked than I generally prefer, but the insulating bone helps it stay plenty moist and juicy.

Timings are all given for steaks one and a half to two inches thick. For steaks one inch thick or less, initial cooking time can be shortened to 40 minutes. Steaks cooked under 130°F should not be cooked longer than two and a half hours at a time, for food-safety reasons.

Is Medium Rare Steak Safe To Eat

When you see the pink part in the steak you get concerned about your health. You take it as if it is not properly cooked. The next thing you think after seeing pink meat in steak is that if it is still having bacteria. Medium rare steak is sometimes mistaken with rare steak. It is having an easily identifiable red color. You should know that medium-rare steak is not the same as rare steak or raw meat.

A medium-rare rib rack wont hurt you if it is stored safely before cooking and well cooked. The average medium rare steak is cooked at a safe temperature. It is not further cooked when the temperature reaches 135- and 140-degrees Fahrenheit. Then it is let to sit for few minutes so that juiciness and flavor are distributed properly.

During this time, the temperature of the steak rises slightly because the heat continues to cook the steak. Hence, the average medium-rare steak should be at 145 degrees Fahrenheit. It is then safe to eat.

Searing A Steak With A Pellet Or Charcoal Grill

If you are lucky enough to own a gas, charcoal and pellet grill, I strongly recommend doing your steak on the gas grill. Gas grills can create the heat needed for a proper sear. I personally have a Traeger Ironwood 650 which can be cranked up to 500F but it just doesnt provide the high heat needed for a good sear. My Broil King Regal S590 can get really hot, fast and sear steak amazingly. It is my go to.

Charcoal grills can create the searing heat needed for steaks if you have the right tools. I use a charcoal Vortex to get searing temps on my Weber Kettle. You simply put the charcoal into the Vortex and the heat will be focused at the center of the grill grates. This creates high searing heat and works perfect for steak.

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How To Buy A Good Steak

Q: Prime, Choice, or Select. What do they mean?

Cattle are graded after slaughter according to the degree of marbling, as well as the cow’s age.

All beef that’s sold in the U.S. is graded by the United States Department of Agriculture on a scale according to its tenderness and degree of marbling. At the top of the heap is Prime, which denotes an abundant degree of marbling in a cow under 42 months of age. Only about 2% of the beef sold in this country is designated Prime, and most of it goes to restaurants, specialty butchers, and high end supermarkets. Below that is Choice, followed by Select, which are the two grades you’ll find in most supermarkets.

The grades continue to go down all the way to Canner, which generally comes from very old cows with little fat in their tough meat. Luckily for us, you won’t find that grade in stores .

While checking the grade is a quick and easy indicator of the quality of the meat, what you should really be checking for is the degree of marblingthat’s the interstitial fat that shows up in white spiderwebs throughout the meat.

Why, you might ask, is marbling important? Two reasons: moisture and flavor. As well-marbled meat cooks, the fat will slowly melt, adding juiciness built right into the meat. Non-marbled meat might have plenty of fat on the exterior, but it doesn’t enhance the steak in the same way. Sort of like the difference between drinking a glass of chocolate milk or drinking the milk then shooting the chocolate syrup.

Direct Grilling Steak On A Gas Grill

How To Cook Perfect Steak on the Stovetop in 3 Steps

Direct grilling is the most traditional way to grill steak on a gas grill. Follow these steps:

  • Heat your grill to high, then clean and grease the cooking grates. Reduce the heat on one side of the grill to create two cooking zones.
  • For thin steak , grill steak over direct heat till it reaches your desired level of doneness, then remove and let the steaks rest for at least 5
  • minutes before slicing or serving.
  • For thicker cuts of steak, start by searing the seasoned steaks over direct heat. Place steaks over direct heat for about 3 minutes, rotating part way through to create cross-hatched grill marks. Flip the steaks when you see juices rise to the surface. Sear for another 3 minutes, rotating part way through again.
  • Once you have a good crust, slide the steaks over to the indirect heat zone. Close the lid and cook until they reach the desired level of doneness. Use the thumb test or a meat thermometer to judge doneness.
  • Remove the steaks from the grill and let them rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing or serving.
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    How To Grill The Perfect Steak On A Gas Grill

    In the world of backyard grilling, nothing tastes better than a grilled steak. There is a lot of controversy over the best way to grill, i.e., using charcoal, wood pellets, or gas. All three will deliver heat, the pellet and gas maintain a constant temperature, and the charcoal and pellet add smoke. You can also add smoke with a gas grill by making a smoking packet and placing it above the burners or by using a smoke tube. But there are some things that you can do with a gas grill that you cannot do with the pellet grill, and you can do it with a charcoal grill with some tools to move the charcoal.

    Reverse Searing Steak On A Gas Grill

    For thicker cuts of steak, many grillers are now opting for the popular reverse sear method. Heres how to reverse sear steak on a gas grill:

  • Heat your grill to high, then clean and grease the cooking grates. Reduce the heat on one side of the grill to create two cooking zones. Aim for a temperature of 225 degrees on the indirect side. Make sure you have a functioning grill thermometer to ensure youve hit the right temperature, or for even more precision, use a smart thermometer with an ambient temperature probe.
  • Place the steaks over indirect heat and close the lid. After about 15 minutes, start checking the temperature of the meat, flipping the steaks halfway through cooking. You want it to be about 10-15 degrees below your desired temperature to leave room for the extra cooking that will occur when searing and resting. Most experts recommend removing steaks when they reach 110 degrees.
  • When the steaks hit your target temperature, remove them from the grill and crank up the heat. Close the lid and turn all burners to high for a few minutes.
  • Place the steaks back on the grill. Sear on one side for 1-2 minutes, rotating part way through for cross-hatched grill marks. Flip the steaks and sear for 1-2 more minutes, rotating part way through again.
  • Take the steaks off the grill and let them rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
  • GRILL SPOT TIP:

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    How To Grill A Perfect Steak

    THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE SALES LINKS. PLEASE SEE MY AFFILIATE NOTICE FOR DETAILS.

    How to Grill a Perfect Steak is your go-to grilled steak guide! Every step is broken down to make the process of grilling steak easy and approachable!

    THIS POST IS SPONSORED BY:This post is sponsored by Country Natural Beef, the opinions are my own.

    How Do You Tell If A Steak Is Medium Rare Without Cutting Into It

    How To Grill The PERFECT Steak Every time! | Cooking Is Easy

    How to Check Your Steaks Temperature Without a Thermometer

  • Raw. Feel the palm of your hand, just below your thumb.
  • Rare. Now bring your thumb to your pointer finger, and touch that same part of your palm again.
  • Medium-Rare. Touch your thumb to your middle finger.
  • Medium. Move your thumb to your ring finger.
  • Well-Done. Now touch your thumb to your pinky.
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    How To Grill The Perfect Steak According To A Professional Chef

    Summer is quickly approaching, which makes it the perfect time to brush up on your grilling skills. Grilled steak is a summer cookout classic, and a delectable one at that, but the process can be a little intimidating. Which cut should you get? How do you know when the steak done? Here, we’ll answer those questions with the help of chef Chris Frothingham of Great Road Kitchena New American restaurant in Littleton, Mass.so that you’re a grill master just in time for barbecue season.

    How To Get Perfect Grill Marks

    The next time you grill a steak , impress your family or friends with perfectly executed crosshatch grill marks. Not only will your food look great, but those brown, crusty sear marks will add even more flavor.

    Grill marks are created by whats known as a Maillard Reaction. This is what creates that great grilled flavorand that perfectly grillled look.

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    Dont Use The Wrong Kind Of Salt And When In Doubt Oversalt

    True sea salt is always the way to go when seasoning a steak, Prentiss says. We use Jacobsen’s Kosher Salt from Portland, Oregon. The grains are medium sized and have a pleasant minerality that lends itself perfectly to grilled beef. Any true fleur de sel or sel gris type sea salt will work well for good beef. Avoid table salt, iodized salt or small fine-grain sea salts as they have more weight to volume than larger grain salts and you can easily over season with them. Just think medium grain, true sea salt.

    Cervantez is a fan of kosher salt, which is, according to experts, virtually identical to sea salt. Cervantez is a fan of pepper, as well, and recommends combining both in equal quantities.

    And when you do, Always overseason your steaks a bit, adds chef Christian Ragano. Hes the executive chef at Cindys, the rooftop restaurant at the Chicago Athletic Association. When you think it’s enough, always add a little more. A lot of salt and pepper always falls off during the cooking process and doesn’t always penetrate the meat.

    Jayawardena of FireLake Grill House & Cocktail Bar in Bloomington, Minnesota, agrees. Now is not the time to be shy about seasoning, he says, adding that salt is the most important ingredient you could ever add to a steak. Do this before you let the steaks rest so the seasoning has time to work its way deep into the meat.

    How To Grill Sirloin Steak

    California Grilling: How to Make the Perfect Tri

    Sirloin doesn’t have as much marbling as a rib-eye or strip steak, but it’s still a great option for the grilla hearty, versatile cut. Chef Frothingham notes that there are at least 10 cuts that can be considered a sirloin the main difference between a N.Y. strip steak and a sirloin is the location on the cow and the fat content. He likes sirloin for steak sandwiches, or grilled and sliced over a big, fresh salad. You could marinate sirloin, or stick to salt and pepper.

  • Preheat the grill.
  • If you didn’t marinate the steak, season it generously with salt and pepper before grilling.
  • Cook the sirloin steak for about four to seven minutes on each side, or until it reaches your desired doneness. Chef Frothingham prefers an internal temperature of 128 degrees.
  • Let the steak rest before slicing and serving.
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    Best Steak For Grilling:

    While the type of steak you should use is dependent on your personal taste, I find fattier cuts like bone-in ribeye or New York Strip to be the best steak for grilling. The steaks you see in this post are bone-in ribeye.

    Aim for steaks that are thick. This makes it easier to achieve an adequate crust on the steak without over cooking the center.

    The risk we take with grilling thinner steak is we dont get a nice sear on the outside while the inside is just right, OR we get the sear but the inside is overcooked. Or both.

    If you have a favorite cut of steak, go for it! Remember, dry brining really brings out all the wonderful attributes of steak so even leaner cuts will work if youre okay with not getting those crispy melt-in-your-mouth bites of fat.

    How Long Do You Preheat An Electric Grill

    You are probably going to need about twenty minutes to get your electric grill up to four seventy-five, but this definitely depends on the model. Newer models have a light that shows you when the grill hits its ideal temperature, but you can use a drop of water on the surface of the grill to see when youve reached your cooking temperature on an older grill.

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    Grilling Steak Why You Need To Do It

    Steaks on the grill really is the bees knees. Theyre juicy, tender, and that charred flavor on the outside you just cant beat it! Our sous vide steak is one of my favorite things to grill, but I realize that not everyone has a sous vide, so we thought wed come up with a much simpler, marinated grilled steak recipe.

    Choose Your Perfect Cut Of Meat

    How to Grill the Perfect Steak – Easy Tips for a Juicy Tender Steak

    If youre like me, you might need to start with the basics: what are the different cuts of steak? Hy-Vees Summer Grilling Guide has a helpful infographic

    I realize everyone has different tastes. However, my husbands favorite of all these is probably the New York Strip, or as we like to call it in these parts, the Kansas City Strip. And mine would have to be the Tenderloin .

    Then, at the meat counter, you may also see various grades of meat. Heres what they mean

    David Walzog, executive chef at Michael Jordans Steak House in NYC, says to look for meat with the most marbling, i.e., visible grains of fat running through the steak. As the steak is cooking, the fat melts, naturally tenderizing the meat and building in flavor.

    Dont be afraid to ask the expert at the meat counter for recommendations if youre unsure of what to get. These guys at Hy-Vee are very knowledgeable and love to offer suggestions.

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    Instructions For The Perfect Steak On The Grill

  • Allow steaks to sit at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes. In the meantime, fire up your charcoal or gas grill . Make sure the heat is high before beginning to grill.
  • When youre ready to start grilling, brush both sides of the steaks with oil and sprinkle generously with your choice of seasoning or rub your steak rub into the meat.
  • Place steaks on the grill over the area with the most heat. Allow steaks to sear on that side for 3-5 minutes, or until a brown, crisp crust forms. Flip the steaks over with tongs and do the same to the other side.
  • How long to grill steak depends on the type of cut you chose and their thickness. Remove from the grill when a digital meat thermometer reads 135 degrees for medium-rare or 140 degrees for medium. If your steak is still rare after searing both sides, you may need to move each piece to a low-heat area of the grill, close the lid, and wait a couple of minutes for the heat to continue cooking the inside.
  • Place the steaks on a cutting board and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes, giving the juices time to work back through the meat to create the perfect steak.
  • Doneness Levels With Steak Chart

    RARE : basically a quick sear on the exterior of the meat. The center of a rare steak is red AND cool. Internal temperature = 120oF 130oF. Cooking time ~2.5 3 min. per side.

    MEDIUM-RARE: a medium-rare steak is how top chefs and meat virtuosos prefer to eat their steak. This doneness really allows you to taste the natural flavors of the meat. A good sear on both sides leaving the center pink and room temperature. Internal temperature = 130oF -135oF. Cooking time ~3.5 min. per side.

    MEDIUM: a common request. It seems to please most as it isnt seeping with blood, nor is it super dry. The center remains slightly pink and is slightly warm. Internal temperature = 135oF 145oF. Cooking time ~4.5 min. per side.

    MEDIUM-WELL: this steak is almost cooked right throughleaving just a sliver of pink in the middle. The center is just barely pink and definitely warm. Internal temperature = 145oF 155oF. Cooking time ~5.5-6 min. per side.

    WELL: you will get the oddball that requests this but we certainly dont recommend it. This steak is definitely cooked right through. It is most likely tough with minimal flavor. The center is brown. Internal temperature = 155oF 165oF +. Cooking time ~7 min. + per side. For those of you that choose your steak well done, you might want to read Anthony Bourdains Kitchen Confidential to understand what happens to your steak in the kitchen. Youll never order well done again.

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