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.
An Introduction To Flank Steak
Flank steak comes from the lower abdominal area or the flank of the cow. This is a less expensive version of the pricier cuts of beef. Our beef flank steak recipes will show you how to cook this type of meat to be flavorful and tender. You will need to use a dry rub or marinade. You will be cooking your steaks on your grill. If you do not have one, the best way to cook flank steak indoors is with a cast-iron skillet.
To achieve the best results, your marinade needs to include salt, acidity, seasonings, oil and sugar. This is what will affect the general flavor of your meat. If you overcook flank steak or do not use a marinade or a rub, your meat may be tough.
You Cant Put Moisture Back Inside A Steak
As steaks grill over high heat, they lose moisture. Fat and juices are literally pushed out of the meat. Thats the price we pay for making the steaks easier to digest.
Perhaps the most important part of grilling a steak is taking it off the heat before it has lost too much moisture. There is a short window of time, usually just a minute or two, when steaks go from medium rare to medium, or from medium to medium well.
Catching that window requires vigilance. Dont walk away from a steak on the grill. And remember, its always better to take it off when its underdone and then return it to the grill than it is to let a steak overcook.
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Tips For Grilling The Perfect Ny Strip Steak
Know your steaks temperature: Grilling the perfect steak with consistency is impossible without using a reliable meat thermometer. Trust me, this is the one tool I talk about most, and its a must-have for anyone who cooks.
Be Careful: We are cooking at extremely high temperatures on this one so use a long set of tongs to flip your steak.
Be Patient: Because of the extremely high temperatures used for grilling this steak, the meat will be very tight coming off the grill. The rest period is a must youll lose all the meats juices if you slice it too early.
Make use of the hot grill: Dont forget the sides when planning this steak. Plan for some that benefit from high direct heat like this grilled broccolini or grilled baby bok choy.
Season Your Steak And Refrigerate
You’ll want to season the steak with salt a few hours before grilling. Follow this simple rule of thumb from grilling expert Meathead Goldwyn: Season the steak with 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt per pound of meat and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours. “You do not need to rinse off excess salt. It will all be sucked into the meat.” The salt acts as a dry brine, helping the meat stay juicy throughout the cooking process.
For thinner, tougher cuts like skirt, hanger, or flank steak that come from muscular parts of the cow, you can also use a instead. Consider adding sugar into the mixit’s a secret trick for tenderizing tougher cuts.
Make sure to remove steaks from the refrigerator about 20 minutes prior to grilling so they don’t have a chill on them before you throw them on the grill.
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Defrosting Your Choice Of Steak
Next up, like every other meat that you have to cook, defrosting enters the picture!
For this steak, itd be in your best interest to let the steaks sit outside your refrigerator, covered, and at room temperature.
Dont forget that when you defrost for too long, youre giving bacteria and all kinds of junk a BETTER ENVIRONMENT to multiply.
And well, if were aiming for the best or even just something completely edible, you dont want any of that.
So start defrosting your steaks around 20 minutes before you start grilling them!
Th Step: Peripheral Preparations
Be sure to wipe over olive oil on the grilling grates before putting the meat. It will help the meat adjust to the temperature of the grills once placed over the grill.
It will also inhibit the meat from sticking to the grates as the oil will inhibit the direct contact of the meat and the grills.
Around 10 minutes before the chilling period is over, start preheating your gas to high settings.
At the 30-minute mark, remove the meat from the freezer and sprinkle over some black pepper powder on both sides before cooking.
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Myth #: Intensely High Heat Is Needed To Sear Steak
The searing process begins at temperatures as low as 300°F, and the effective searing range is about 300°F to 500°F. Searing at temperatures beyond 500°F can dry out food excessively fast, and usually result in disappointing, burnt food.
Searing can happen while your grill is at any temperature, as long as youve followed the number one rule of grilling Always preheat your grill! No mater what youre grilling, the first step is always to preheat your grill on high with the lid closed for 10 to 15 minutes. There are two major reasons this step is important for searing.
First, this will burn off old food so you can brush the cooking grates clean. Dirty cooking grates dont sear new food they just continue to burn the old food.
Second, while the temperature inside your grill can be anywhere from 300°F to 500°F while youre searing your steak, the cooking grates themselves must be at least 500°F to 550°F to create sear marks. Preheat your grill to get the cooking grates to the correct temperature and then adjust your grill to the appropriate temperature before you put your food on.
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.
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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.
How To Grill The Perfect New York Strip Steak
This post is sponsored by Omaha Steaks. Sponsored posts, along with affiliate links, are what enable bloggers like me to maintain and operate sites that are free to the public. That said, I only work with products and brands that I personally use and would feel proud to give as a gift.
The New York strip steak is probably the easiest of the more popular cuts to grill. Why? For a few reasons. First, its pretty uniform in shape, unlike a skirt steak for example. Its nearly impossible to cook a skirt steak to a uniform doneness because of the shape and inconsistent thickness of the cut.
Second, the strip steak isnt typically cut too thick, like a filet mignon for example. The thickness of the filet mignon makes it difficult to cook evenly throughout unless youre using some of the more advanced cooking techniques.
Finally, the strip steak doesnt consist of more than one muscle like for instance, the ribeye. The ribeye cap cooks much faster than the eye of the ribeye, so its challenging to get a consistent doneness on that cut as well.
The multi-flip technique is as simple as it sounds. We are simply flipping the steak often and continually placing it on a different spot on the grill grate. This technique, which is great for cuts less than 1.5 thick, will result in even doneness from edge to edge of the steak. Its also great when youre applying a marinade or sauce to a steak like this bourbon molasses steak.
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How To Grill Steak
It’s time to end the steak intimidation. Grilling steak is a great method for getting that perfectly seared crust and tender, juicy interior. But for the amateur venturing out to the grill for the first time, it can seem like quite an undertaking.
But here’s the good news: Using this method will make even the novice a master of the grill. Keep reading for step-by-step instructions on how to grill steak, plus find steak cooking times and temperatures for your reference.
How Long To Grill Ribeye For Medium Rare And Medium Doneness
Rib eye steaks are usually between 1 ¼ and 1 ½-inch thick, so theyll typically need more time on the grill than a New York Strip, for example.
Rib eye steaks should be cooked to 130 degrees for medium-rare doneness, which typically takes about 5 minutes on each side. For medium doneness, cook a grilled ribeye steak to 140 degrees for about 7 to 10 minutes on each side.
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Preparing For The Grill
One thing that most steaks have in common is that they need a bit of preparation before you get started. Your grill will, too, to ensure that its at the proper temperature and ready to cook up the perfect steak.
First, make sure your steak cuts are at room temperature before you place them on the grill. Doing so will help you get a more even cook so that the inside can cook to your preferred doneness without charring the outside.
Then, get your grill oiled and fired up! Make sure your grates are greased so your steaks can turn easily without getting stuck. Turn the grill on high heat and allow it to warm up before adding your steaks to give it the incredible sear youre after.
How Long To Grill Filet Mignon For Medium Rare And Medium Doneness
Filet mignon is one of the thickest cuts of steak you can have, usually ranging from two to three inches thick.
For a medium rare cook, you should plan on a grill time between 5-6 minutes on each side. A medium cooked filet mignon will likely take closer to 6-8 minutes on each side. You may also need to move your filets to indirect heat and close the grill lid for a few more minutes to make sure the inside cooks to your desired temperature.
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Whats The Best Steak For Grilling
Honestly, when it comes to cooking a steak on the grill, you cant really go wrong with any cut you choose. However, getting a perfectly cooked steak from a grill can be tricky if youre new to steak cooking or using a grill. Each cut of steak is a different size, thickness, and texture, so itll be a different process to grill ribeye steak than it would be to grill a much thicker steak, like a filet mignon.
Another issue you might have with the grill lies in the fat content of steak. Although steaks with more fat tend to be more flavorful and tender , they also can be more dangerous to cook on the grill. As fat drips off cut steaks, grill flare-ups can happen. This is especially common with cuts like the rib eye, which are known for their marbling.
That doesnt mean you cant grill them, but youll definitely need to take extra precautions when doing so. Whether you want to cook a rib steak, a T-bone, or flat iron on the grill, you can learn to do it by following our helpful grilling tips for steak.
Rd Step: Freeze The Steak First
After coating the steak, place it over a wire rack, then put it in the freezer to chill for 30 minutes.
Using a flat sheet to freeze the steaks on is counter-intuitive.
Since the meats are coated with salt and cornstarch mixture, laying them flat on a bare non-wired rack might remove the mixture from the meat surface.
Chilling the steak will also allow for the meat to harden its surface in preparation for the grilling. The next steps will discuss how to cook thin steak on the grill.
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Mistakes To Avoid When Grilling Steak According To Chefs
It’s never too early to start prepping for barbecue seasonso go ahead and bookmark this.
Purists assert that a good-quality cut of steak is done ill justice at the hands of an overzealous grill. Contrast that to cheaper cuts like chuck roast, for example, which come to their prime slowly and forgivingly when slowly cooked. Cooking steak, therefore, is a paradoxically delicate matter for a powerfully primal affair. So its understandable that many diners and home cooks err on the side of overcooking it, especially if the quality of the meat might not be top shelf.
Regardless of what your preferences areand were not knocking any of emhere are eleven mistakes to avoid on your next steak night.
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.
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Preparing Your Flank Steak
You will need one pound of flank steak for every three people. Score your steak by making shallow cuts into your meat. This will allow better penetration of your marinade and seasonings. Put your steaks onto a cutting board. Use a sharp knife tip to make cuts on both sides in a diamond pattern. Each cut should be one-quarter of an inch thick and against the grain. You will be using either a marinade or dry rub. Pro Tip: For a stronger flavor, let your flank steaks marinate overnight.
