VWB Blog Did you know steak “chophouses” opened in London in the 1690s? For centuries, this sought-after, savory cut of beef has been a staple for many!
Since it is a higher-quality cut of meat, steak is often more expensive than other beef varieties. Due to its higher price, you’ll want to cook a steak to perfection. Anything less could be a waste of the tender and buttery meal.
If you don’t know how to grill a steak the right way, you’ll want to keep reading. You’ll find some of the best tips to help you master your grill.
1. Start With a Clean Grill
Before you start cooking a steak, you’ll need to prepare your workspace. Cleaning off your grill is an essential step, as it ensures the best flavor and texture of your cut.
When your grill is covered in grease and debris from other sessions, it can wreak havoc on your steak. The grates can become sticky, causing your steak to adhere to the buildup on the grill.
To clean your grill, you’ll want to make sure that the grates are warm, making it less intensive to remove buildup. Using a stiff, heavy-duty brush, you can cut through the grime on the grates.
Finish by oiling your grill. Take a thick square of paper towel, and dip it in oil before running it over the cold bars on the grill. This creates a non-stick surface to work with.
You can also read this Blackstone flat top grill review to help you avoid cooking on a grimy grill.
2. Prepare to Perfection
One of the most essential rules when grilling a steak is to let it come to room temperature first. Though you may be in a rush to get dinner on the table, grilling a cold steak will be more trouble than it’s worth.
A steak right out of the fridge will cook unevenly, meaning the outside of the steak will be a beautiful brown color, but the inside will still be raw and cold.
To avoid this, you’ll need to let your steaks sit for about thirty minutes before you want to throw them on the grill. After you set it out for a half hour, you’ll want to pat the steak dry with a paper towel. This helps lock flavor into your cut.
Finally, you’ll want to salt your steak before grilling it, which helps create a nice crust on the steak while adding flavor. If you want to use steak seasoning, adding your spices before cooking is crucial. However, you don’t need a lot, as the steak will have a natural flavor.
3. Don’t Mess With It
Once the steak is on the grill, you don’t want to play with the cut too much.
In general, steaks only need to be flipped one time unless you want to have the picture-perfect hatch marks seared into your meat. Flipping the steak too much can prevent the nice crust from forming around your steak.
Many amateur grillers will move the steak around to try to ensure that it cooks perfectly. However, this can cook your steak unevenly, as the heat source will be inconsistent.
Also, when you test your steak, avoid poking it with a grill fork. Instead, use your finger to test the resistance of the cut to provide insight into how cooked it is. Piercing the steak will release the juices from the meat, causing it to dry out.
4. Track the Temperature
In order to ensure your steak is cooked perfectly, you can use a thermometer.
Though you can always feel your steak to tell you how cooked your steak is, first-timers may not know the difference between a medium-rare and medium-well feel to a steak.
Instead, you can use a thermometer to let you know how your steak is cooked. Whether you use charcoal or a gas grill, steaks over an inch and a half thick can benefit from a thermometer.
When you’re steak is around 120 degrees Fahrenheit, you can expect your steak to be rare. From there, when you add ten degrees, the doneness of your steak will increase.
If your steak is thinner, you won’t get an accurate reading of the temperature of the steak. Instead, timing how long you cook the steak is a better way to grill the meat to your preferred temperature.
5. Let It Rest
Finally, after you grill your steak, you’ll need to let it sit before you cut and serve it. Cutting into your steak immediately after cooking will release the juice and moisture from the meat.
Instead, letting the steak sit on a cutting board or plate for at least ten minutes allows the moisture to soak throughout the meat.
You may also want to take your meat off the grill before it reaches the temperature you want. As the steak cooks, it will still cook internally, causing your steak to achieve the perfect temperature as it sits.
Whether you cook a charcoal steak, filet mignon, or ribeye, don’t let impatience ruin your meal!
Impress Your Family and Grill a Steak Like a Pro
Say goodbye to overcooked stakes and flavorless dinners! Though there are different ways to grill steak, keeping these tips in mind will impress all your friends and family with your master grilling technique.
If you’re ready to grill a steak perfectly thanks to this guide, you’ll want to check out the rest of our mouthwatering food tips. You can find them on the rest of our website!