Salting Early Pays Off
You might have heard the warning that you shouldnt salt meat too far in advance of cooking because it can draw out moisture. Its true that salt draws moisture towards itself, but over the course of 20 to 30 minutes thats a good thing, because the salt begins to dissolve into that little bit of moisture.
When the steak hits the hot cooking grate, the sugars and proteins in the moisture combine with the salt and other seasonings to create a delicious crust. Any moisture you might lose is well worth the flavor of that crust.
How To Prepare Steaks For The Grill
To prepare steaks for the grill you will need to:
How To Tenderize Rib Eye Steak
A bunch of what I have read about tenderizing steak makes at least some mention of using salt to tenderize it. Many suggest using a coarse ground salt such as sea salt or kosher salt and rubbing about a tablespoon to a tablespoon and a half on each side. Then let the steak rest at room temperature for about an hour. After an hour, rinse the steak with cold water and pat dry with a paper towel. At this time you can add the seasoning. Of course, rib eye steak is already a pretty tender cut. Just buy high-quality meat, to begin with, and you shouldnt have too much trouble with keeping your rib eye tender. My parents use to tenderize meat by pounding on it with a mallet. I have tried this method, but I must be too brutal because I usually end up pulverizing it. So, for this recipe, I decided to try the salt method. I think it did make the steak a little more tender, and at the same time, it seasoned it a bit. If you use this method, watch how much salt you use when you are seasoning the steak.
Tendering
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Thicker Steaks Should Slide Over
Most steaks grill beautifully over direct high heat alone. The only time you might need to move them is if/when they cause flare-ups. However, some steaks are so thick that if you left them over direct heat alone, they would burn on the outside before they reached the internal doneness you like.
If your steaks are much thicker than an inch, consider the sear and slide approach. After you have seared both sides nicely over direct high heat, slide the steaks to a part of the grill that is not so hot, perhaps over indirect heat, and finish cooking them safely there.
Don’t Season Your Steak Too Soon Yes That’s A Thing
“With larger steaks it’s always a good idea to finish with some large flake or finishing salt once it’s sliced,” says Prentiss. “If you don’t have an hour to temper and season ahead of time, season immediately before grilling anything shorter than 40 minutes will only pull moisture out of the steak and not let the outside get those beautiful grill marks and crust.”
Juan Carlos Gonzalez, former executive chef of SoBou in New Orleans, likes to add a bit of olive oil as well, which he says helps achieve a better sear or griddle marks. If you do decide to add some fat, stick with olive oil, not butter, says Angelo Auriana, executive chef at Factory Place Hospitality. “There is no real need for butter when cooking a steak because it already has plenty of fat and flavor in the meat itself,” he says.
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Make The Steak Seasoning
Start by making the homemade steak seasoning. Trust me this homemade version is light years better than anything you have pre-mixed in your cupboard. Add rock salt, whole black peppercorns, minced dried garlic, minced dried onion, fennel seeds, and red chili pepper flakes to a mortar then grind it up with the pestle.
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If you dont have a mortar and pestle, add the ingredients to a heavy duty Ziplock bag, squeeze all the air out then crush with a meat mallet, rolling pin, or heavy bottomed skillet.
Prepare Your Steak For The Grill
Part of this step is the infamous allow your steak to come up to room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes. While thats great when you have the time , its not strictly necessary. For example: in most restaurants, your steak is kept under refrigeration until the moment you order it. So, while this step is helpful when grilling steak, its not required
A better way to prepare your steak for the grill is to make sure the surface is very dry. If you salted it the night before, youre set. The steak sat uncovered in the refrigerator and the surface dried out really nicely. If you didnt have time for that, pat it dry with paper towels before hitting the grill.
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Tips For Grilling The Perfect Steak
- Season, then chill: I apply the same technique I use for getting crispy chicken and turkey skin to grilling this steak: season, then let it chill in the fridge uncovered for up to 48 hours. This essentially dry brines the steak while also letting it air-dry. This approach allows the surface moisture to evaporate while the seasoning has time to penetrate the meat resulting in deeply flavored steak that sears beautifully and develops a nice crust on the grill.
- Start with clean grates: Just like you use a clean skillet with a little oil to cook dinner on the stovetop, you want to start with clean and oiled grill grates.
- To flip or not to flip? Flip your steak to your hearts content. Harold McGee, food science writer and author of On Food and Cooking, discovered that frequent flipping creates a steak that cooks more evenly and quickly than those flipped only once.
- Grilling directly on coals: Raichlen seemingly knows an infinite number of ways to grill meat, and theres one in his new book, Project Fire , that I particularly like: he cooks steak directly on hot coalsno grill grates necessary. I love the idea, and its on my list of things to try in the near future.
Salt Salt And Salt Again
A few hours before you grill, lightly sprinkle both sides of the steak with salt put it on a wire rack set on a rimmed baking sheet. The salt helps the cells retain water, guaranteeing juicy meat. Before placing it on the grill, pat dry with paper towels, and generously salt the meat again. Finally, pass some fleur de sel at the table to sprinkle over the sliced steak for more flavor.
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Top Tips For Barbecued Steak:
- Preheat the barbecue to the correct temperature before adding the steak. As a general guide, you should be able to hear a sizzle as the steak hits the hot surface. The heat seals the surface, trapping the juices inside.
- Bring steak to room temperature just before cooking. The meat can become tough if it goes straight from the fridge to the barbecue.
- Drain any marinade from the steak before placing it on the barbecue to cook. Excess liquid can ignite on the barbecue and cause a flare-up. Plus, if youre cooking steak on a flatplate, the liquid can boil around the meat and make it tough.
- Limit the number of steaks cooking on the barbecue at any one time. Overcrowding reduces the heat, which can prevent the steaks from cooking evenly and cause them to release juices, making the meat tough.
- Use tongs to turn your steak. Sharp forks can pierce the surface, which allows the juices to escape.
- Cover the steak loosely with foil before resting to keep it warm. If you cover it tightly, the meat will sweat and lose its moisture.
- Clean your barbecue grill or flatplate with a stiff wire brush or scraper while its still warm. This leaves it ready for your next barbie.
How To Tell When The Steak Is Done
To tell if a steak is done, many chefs use the age-old trick of touching themselves . Understanding how different parts of your hand feels is an easy way to gauge the relative doneness of your steak. To do the hand trick, make an OK sign.
- Rare: Touch the pad at the base of your thumb. It should feel spongy with very little resistance.
- Medium Rare: Press your middle finger to your thumb and again touch the pad below your thumb. Search for the same sponginess.
- Medium Well: Press your ring finger to your thumb, then feel the area below your thumb.
- Well-Done: Press your pinky to your thumb. It should feel firm with no give.
The skin youve just been pressing gets progressively firmer with each finger tap. A medium steak would be between medium rare and medium well. If this step is too hard, feel free to use a thermometer
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What To Serve With Ribeye Steak
You HAVE to try this Ribeye Steak with a dollop of mashed potatoes. Or a mountain of mashed potatoes, if youre like me. Eric is always trying to make steak night into this healthy thing. Lets have it with salad and corn on the cob! And I crush his low carb dreams with 5 pounds of Aunt Shirleys Mashed Potatoes. Because steak + potatoes = life.
You dont even need any gravy, if your potatoes are creamy enough.
The butter sauce for the Ribeye is cooked so hot and so fast that it browns almost immediately, giving it this delectably deep and nutty flavor, totally distinct from regular butter. Its SO good on top of whatever else is on your plate. I mean, have you ever just drizzled brown butter over your mashed potatoes? HEAVEN.
Other side dish ideas to go with your steak: Roasted Potatoes, Potato Salad, Macaroni Salad, Coleslaw, Greek Salad, Macaroni and Cheese, Baked Beans, Orange Olive Salad, corn on the cob, grilled veggies, or throw your steak in this Apple Gorgonzola Salad and make a meal of it if you want to be healthy like Eric. Im #TeamPotatoes forever.
I hope you get to try out a good ribeye steak soon! Make it for dad this weekend! He will love you!
How Long To Grill A Steak
According to the USDA, beef should have a minimum internal temperature of 145 degrees F. However, steak is commonly cooked anywhere from 125 degrees F to 160 degrees F, depending on personal preference.
Of course, how well done you want your steak to be is going to affect your cooking time, so we recommend using an instant-read meat thermometer to check for doneness. Here are some general steak cooking times, based on an internal temperature of 145 degrees F:
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How To Grill The Perfect Steak
Making the perfect steak on the grill is easier than you think, but it requires a little practice and good timing.
Given the differences between grills, cooking surfaces, and cuts of steak, there aren’t specific cook times for grilling steak. Meat changes in texture and density as it cooks, so it helps to know how each steak feels before it hits the grill. A meat thermometer is also helpful when checking doneness.
Take note of the thickness of the steak since it will affect the cooking time.
You’ll need:
- Salt and pepper
- Very hot grill
- Timer that shows seconds
The Food Lab’s Definitive Guide To Grilled Steak
- Pin
Summer’s here and I’ve got a brand-new backyard to grill in, so now seems like as good a time as any to reexamine some of the things we know about grilling beef.
Sure, we can all agree on what our goal is: A perfect steak should have a crusty, crunchy, well-browned exterior surrounding a core of perfectly pink, juicy, tender meat that spans from edge to edge. A perfect steak should have a nice contrast between the smoky, almost charred exterior and the deeply beefy interior. A perfect steak should be chin-drippingly juicy and melt-in-your-mouth tender.
We all know where we want to go. The real debate is, what’s the best way to get there? You’ve just dropped $50 on some prime aged beef, and you’re rightfully nervous about screwing it all up. After all, there’s a lot at… ahem, wait for it… steak.
Want to know how to grill a steak? Here’s my advice: Do not do it the way they do it at steakhouses. It seems counterintuitive: Surely a restaurant with years of experience cooking hundreds of steaks a day knows a thing or two about how it’s done, right? Well, yes. They know how to cook a steak in a steakhouse setting, where their goal is consistency, quality, and, more importantly, speed. Hungry customers don’t want to have to wait for their meat, and a steakhouse has equipment and techniques designed to meet those needs.
Ready to dive in? Let’s go!
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Internal Temp Of Steak
To check the internal temp of steak use an instant-read thermometer. Insert it into the thickest part of the steak. Here are the temperature ranges to look for :
- Rare : 120 130 degrees
- Medium-Rare : 130 140 degrees
- Medium : 140 145 degrees
- Medium-Well : 145 155 degrees
- Well-Done : 160 degrees
Prepare The Barbecue Grill
The cooking surface must be clean and oiled so your steaks will have good contact with the grill without sticking. Prepare the grill while it’s finishing heating up.
The easiest way to oil the cooking grate is with an oil-soaked paper towel and the metal brush used to clean the grill. Fold a paper towel in half until it is the size of your grill cleaning brush. Soak it with oil that has a high smoke point, like canola or grapeseed oil. Brush this over the cooking grates evenly. It will smoke some, but enough oil will remain on the grates as long as you don’t let the grill sit at its highest temperature for too long before grilling.
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Why The Bbq Is Great For Filet Steaks
The BBQ is a great way to grill filet steaks because you can get nice char marks on the outside while keeping it nice and tender on the inside.
The only downside is since its so lean, you need to be careful not to overcook it.
This will dry out the meat and make it tough and chewy.
But dont worry Ive got you covered.
Selecting The Right Cut
First, a definition. Steaks are basically any piece of meat that falls under the category of “fast-cooking” cutscuts that are low enough in connective tissue that they don’t require the long cooking times that “slow-cooking” cuts require. The difference between a steak and roast essentially comes down to size. Any good roast can be cut into individual steaks .
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How To Grill The Perfect Steak Every Time
The chefs and contestants on the hit show Fire Masters know it when it comes to cooking steak, nothing beats the grill. Its the combination of that slight char and simple seasoning that pushes us to cook outdoors even when it isnt summer grilling season.
If youre going to brave cold temperatures for winter grilling or the high heat of the hottest months, it is a good idea to know how to make the most of a steak. What cut of meat should you buy? What grill temperature is just right? Does that lid stay open or closed? These sorts of questions are all that stand between you and a delicious, flame-kissed meal. For your perfect barbecued steak dinner, weve got you covered with this guide to mastering the grill. Luckily, we also believe practice makes perfect that means steak should be on the menu all year round.
How To Check Steak Is Cooked
Use your fingers to prod the cooked steak when rare it will feel soft, medium-rare will be lightly bouncy, and well-done will be much firmer. Our picture guide to checking steak is cooked shows you how to use the finger test, or a meat thermometer inserted into the centre to ensure its done to your liking.
Blue: 54C
Well done: 75C
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Is It Necessary To Cook The Steaks More After Searing Them
The most important part of reaching the level of doneness you like is the internal temperature. Searing is largely for flavor. If your steak is thicker, it probably wont reach the desired doneness as fast as a thinner one. One thing that helps ensure you dont overcook your steak, is to leave it out at room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking. If raising the internal temperature needs to take longer because the steak was too cold, it will cause the steak to get overcooked.
Charcoal Or Gas Grill For Steak
Charcoal or wood-fired grills are always the best choice for grilling steaks because of the additional flavor and charring they provide. If you have a charcoal grill, you also can add different kinds of wood to the fire to contribute smokiness and enhance the overall flavor of the meat.
Dont worryyou can still cook a great steak on a gas grill. If using gas, open the lid, turn on the gas, and light the grill. Dont light the grill with the lid closed gas can build up inside the grill and create an explosion.
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