The Best Steaks For Grilling
There is no one “best” cut for grilled steak — it’s all about personal preference. Good cuts for grilling range from leaner, more tender cuts, to cuts that pack fat and flavor.
Filet mignon or tenderloin: The most tender cut of steak, it’s ideal for those who prefer their meat rare. A smaller cut so it cooks fast.
Flank steak: A thin, inexpensive cut. Flank steak doesn’t have as much fat or natural flavor as some of the other cuts, so it should be marinated before cooking to add flavor and tenderize the meat. Because it is thin, it cooks fast over high heat. Learn more in our Flank Steak Cooking Guide.
Hanger steak: A flat steak, similar to flank steak, but usually with more fat content throughout. Hanger can be marinated before cooking but will also be tasty with a simple salt and pepper seasoning. Cooks fast over direct heat and should not be overcooked.
New York strip: A leaner cut that is relatively thick and firm like ribeye, but with less fat. Does not need to be marinated. A good candidate for reverse searing.
Porterhouse: A massive cut that’s actually two steaks in one. A filet mignon and a New York strip. The Porterhouse tends to contain more of the tenderloin than its cousin cut, the T-bone. Porterhouse is usually cut quite thick, so reverse-searing can help you avoid an overcooked exterior and raw middle. There’s no need to marinate before cooking. Salt and pepper is all you need.
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.
How To Grill Steak In 10 Easy Steps
Getting ready for summer means buying too many beach towels, trying to find a friend with a pool, and learning how to grill steak properly. A perfectly-cooked steak is the pinnacle of achievement in the grilling world, but it’s an easy thing to mess up if you don’t know what you’re doing. Commit these 10 rules to heart, and you won’t need to rely on your watch or even a recipe. The skill to grill will forever be in your bones.
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Which Cut Of Steak Is Best For Grilling
When I first started working on this recipe, my top contenders for the steak were the ribeye , the rib steak , the porterhouse, and the T-bone.
Any of those cuts will taste great grilled due to the significant marbling of fat, which leaves the meat tender, and flavorful. Let’s take a closer look at each:
- Ribeyes vs. Rib steaks: A ribeye has the bone taken out a rib steak, also known as a bone-in ribeye, is a ribeye with the bone in. Due to its extensive marbling, this cut cooks beautifully on the grill, bone in or out. Trim the thick fat from the outside edgeleaving it on will cause flame flare-ups that can give your steak an unpleasant burnt flavor. Don’t worry, trimming it off won’t result in lost flavor!
- T-Bones vs. Porterhouses: People often confuse these two cuts, which is understandable because both cuts come from the loin and both have a T-shaped bone with meat on both sides. But porterhouses are larger and actually have more of the tenderloin than the T-bone. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Institutional Meat Purchase Specifications say the tenderloin of a porterhouse must be at least 1 1/4 inches thick at its widest, while that of a T-bone must be at least 1/2-inch.
Ultimately, I chose to use ribeye steak for its flavor, size, and the lack of bone — I wanted to slice and serve this steak family-style, and the fact that it doesn’t have a bone makes that easier.
What Is Top Round Steak
Reserved from the rear leg of the cow, the round is an original cut that is, solitary of the primary pieces of meat thats detached from the animal through butchering. As like, the top round is what is recognized as a sub-primal cut.
Top round steak is equitably tender, but further flavorful than about lean cuts. Its also relaxed on the wallet, which kinds it an appealing selection for the grill. Once its cut into dense slabs, its frequently labeled as London brawl, but solvent slices are flaunted as Swiss steak. You may also see it promoted as an inside round.
As you may have predicted from the name, the top round is the utmost tender slice of the round. Though its often cut and retailed into large roasts, the meat marks an excellent steak when its steeped and grilled properly.
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How To Grill Top Round Steak Tips And Tricks
Are you watching for skilled tips on how to grill top round steak? You have reached the correct place for that. When we learned the finest way to handle this delicious cut, we originate ourselves returning to the similar recipe again and again. In this direction, well share whatever we learned alongside the way.
Helpful Tips For Grilling To Keep In Mind
Once you have a good grill sear over high heat, you can move your steaks to a lower temperature to make sure they dont dry out quickly. This is known as indirect grilling. To do this, sear both sides over high heat for a couple of minutes on each side, and then move to low heat. Only turn your steaks once the full time for one side has been reached. Flipping too often on the grill can ruin the cooking process and dry out your steaks faster.
Also, always allow your steaks to rest. You should plan to rest your steak for 5 to 10 minutes to allow the juices to move back through the meat for ultimate flavor and tenderness.
If you do use a digital meat thermometer to better gauge your time for steaks on the grill, make sure you remove your steaks when its internal temperature reaches about five degrees below your desired temperature, since it will continue to cook a bit after you remove it from the grill. If you want your steak to cook to 135 degrees, then remove it when it hits about 130 degrees.
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Faqs For Making Coulotte Steak For Beginners
Is coulotte steak easy to prepare?
Super easy! My recipe walks you through all the fine details, but coulotte steak is easy to prepare and is delicious when cooked on cast iron or on a grill.
Is Picanha steak the same as coulotte?
Yes! Picanha is simply the Portuguese name for this steak. Coulotte steak is hugely popular in Portuguese-speaking Brazil, where they are referred to as Picanha.
Where do coulotte steaks come from?
The coulotte steak is a top cap boneless steak. Thats the triangular shaped cap cut from the top sirloin, on the hindquarter section of the cow.
What can I serve with coulotte steak?
Coulotte steak can go well with almost anythingserve it up with your favorite starch and a yummy vegetable side! Start the meal with a simple tomato cucumber salad or strawberry salad. Then pair the main steak dinner entree with an easy pasta side dish or potato side dish for steak, like my sous vide fingerling potatoes.
This medium rare coulotte steak was sliced thin for philly cheese steak pizza.
Grilling The Perfect Steak: A Simple Grilled Steak Recipe
Want a recipe for grilling the perfect steak that you can try out for dinner tonight? You can do this with rib eye, porterhouse steaks, boneless strip, or whatever other cut delights you the most. You can also use a steak marinade overnight and grill the steaks the next day. This recipe serves four.
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Clean And Oil Your Grill
No matter what you are grilling, you should always begin with clean grill grates. Not only does this make it easier to flip and remove the food from the grill but it also does not impart any flavors from previous grilled meals, such as barbecued chicken, into the steaks. Make sure to clean your cooking grate using a stiff wire brush. It is best to do this after you’ve finished grilling while the grates are still warm, but you can also clean the grill while it is preheating if you discover caked on residue. Taking the time to brush off old bits of cooked-on food will pay off handsomely when your steaks release from the cooking grate with ease.
You also want to coat the grates with vegetable or canola oil before heating the grill. Pour a little bit of oil on a paper towel and rub onto the clean, cold grill grates.
Do You Close The Grill When Cooking Steak
Yes, you close the grill when cooking steak. Closing the grill helps the temperature stay high, achieving the tasty sear you want on the surface of the steak.
But you should check the temperature of the steak frequently. If you have a Traeger that’s no problem, because you can use the temperature probe to keep track.
The higher the cooking temperature, the more often you should peek and test. Different cuts cook at different rates, and you never know exactly how long it’s going to take. Sometimes the steak’s internal temperature will putter along around 100 degrees Fahrenheit and suddenly shoot past the 135-degree target.
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How To Barbecue The Perfect Steak
You may think you already know how to cook steak, but this guide to barbecued beef has hints and tips to help you get the most from your meat.
As the days start getting warmer, the lure of cooking outdoors and dining alfresco becomes stronger. When this happens, you know its time to dust off the barbie and clean the grill. From casual family dinners to easy, relaxed entertaining with friends, think of classic Aussie barbecue fare and you cant beat a succulent beef steak cooked just the way you like it.
This easy guide has everything you need to know to guarantee success at the grill. By following our simple tricks and tips you can say goodbye to dry, tough steak. Learn which beef cuts to choose, how to check if your steak is rare, medium or well done and the different delicious marinades you can use to add extra zing to your meat. Then try our steak recipe, featuring a delicious flavoured butter made with fresh herbs.
How Do You Grill A Frozen Steak
Never grill a frozen steak. Frozen steak must be defrosted before cooking.
Grilling a steak while fully frozen is a health risk because bacteria can form while the steak lingers at low temperatures. Also, the surface of the steak is likely to burn while the inside is raw.
To defrost frozen steak, put it in a dish in the refrigerator. Most cuts will fully defrost overnight.
If you need to defrost frozen steak in a hurry, put it under cold running water.
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From The Right Temperature To Resting Time
It seems that people approach grilling steak one of two ways: either in a casual manner or paying perhaps too much attention. Some will heat the grill with abandon, throw the steaks on, flip once, then pull them off, and serve others will fret and worry, cutting into the meat every two seconds wringing their hands over whether the meat is done or not. Both techniques do have some merits but a method somewhere in the middle is ideal.
Grilling a delicious steak is easy, as long as you follow a few simple steps. As with anything, a bit of practice always helps, too. Follow some advice, grill a few steaks, and you’ll be serving up perfectly cooked juicy steaks in no time.
How To Grill Steak Perfectly:
First you are going to want to pick your cut of meat. Now, everyone loves a good filet mignon, I am not exception. The other go-to is a New York Strip classic. But, my absolute favorite is a ribeye. There is just enough fat marbled through it that it marinates itself as it cooks and stays incredibly moist and tender. The flavor is amazing. It is my go-to. Go grab a 1 inch ribeye for you and whoever else you are having over..
But Filet Mignon is hard to beat!
Next, after you go out and grab your cut of meat, you are going to want to let it come to room temp before you season your meat. Just salt and pepper people. You dont need to reinvent the wheel. But first, take a fork and pierce the meat all over fat and everything. Then sprinkle with salt and ground black pepper on both sides enough that it will be nicely seasoned, but not over-powered with either.
You can also if you want always fun to mix things up!
After you have cleaned your grill thoroughly with your brush, spray it with a grill-worthy non-stick spray and then turn it up to 450-500.
Place steak over direct heat to sear let it stay over direct heat for 3-4 minutes. Flip and sear an additional 3-4 minutes on the other side. If you are cooking a fattier meat, like a ribeye, you will probably want to move the steak over to indirect heat at this time. Leaner meats, like a New York Strip or Filet should be left over direct heat the entire time.
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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
What Do You Eat With Grilled Steak
You can serve sauces to pour over the grilled steak, such as pan sauce, compound butters, chimichurri, or bottled barbecue.
As far as side dishes, it’s nice to have two elements.
A starchy side that can soak up some of the tasty steak juices — mashed potatoes, rice, soft bread, and polenta are all good candidates.
A salad with an acidic dressing to provide a contrast of color and flavor. Consider a green salad or corn salad. The bright colors will make the plate look a little more festive since steak and starches don’t exactly pop. And an acidic dressing will play off the fattiness of the steak, cutting through and even improving the flavor. For leaner cuts that have less fat, choose a less acidic dressing.
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Myth #: Searing Steak Locks In Juices
Myth #1: Searing locks in juices. There is some sort of misconception that somehow the entire surface of a piece of food can be melted into an impenetrable layer that juices cannot escape from, which is completely impossible. Searing actually removes more moisture from food, but this does not detract from the great flavor and texture contrast that searing provides to food.
Sear marks are a delicious hallmark of grilled good. Not only does searing food caramelize the outside of the food and whatever seasonings you used, creating a one-of-a-kind flavor, but it also gives grilled food those recognizable markings that make your mouth water. Sear marks look and taste great, but, alas, they do not lock in juices.
Its true that the heat from the grill will actually push juices out by causing the muscle fibers to contract. Those juices can be saved, however, as long as you grill food for the correct amount of time, and of course, let your food rest for 30% to 40% of the total cooking time before you cut into it.
If youre a Weber enthusiast, I know youve seen this rule before. Letting your food rest allows those muscle fibers to relax again and the juices to run back into the meat, keeping it moist and delicious.
How Do You Cook A Filet Mignon On An Electric Grill
Cooking a filet mignon on an electric grill is definitely possible, even if it might be a challenge because of the thickness of the cut. Youll want to start by seasoning and marinating your steak. After two to four hours, youll take the steak out of the refrigerator and pre-heat your grill to about four seventy-five. From here, youll want to cook the steak for at least six minutes, flipping it once about halfway through. Check the temperature with a digital meat thermometer to determine when it is done.
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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.
- Looking to upgrade? Check out our list of The Best Grills.