5 Tips to Grilling a Perfect Steak

Who doesn’t like a good steak? Besides vegans and vegetarians, there’s virtually no one that I know who doesn’t like a perfectly cooked or grilled steak. Unless you go to a highly rated steakhouse, it’s nearly impossible to recreate a sinfully delicious steak they serve in an established steakhouse. Well, this article hopes to break that myth because it’s totally possible to recreate a perfect steak to serve at home or amongst friends. Here are some tips.

1. Salt it early

There are a lot of cooking blogs that say you shouldn’t salt meat in advance as it will draw out the moisture leaving your steak a little too dry. For this reason, many are opting to not salt the meat at all, instead just salting the pan before placing the meat on top.

While it might be true that salt will draw out the moisture from the meat but that can be a good thing. Salting the meat 20 to 30 minutes before cooking them is actually recommended since the salt will start to dissolve within that time period.

Once your steak hits the scorching hot cooking grate, the proteins, and sugar together with the salt and the other seasoning you’ve incorporated into the meat with creating a wonderfully delicious crust. You might lose some moisture, but it’s worth it in return for a flavorful crust.

2. Sear to create the perfect crust 

It has become common knowledge that searing absolutely does not seal in the juice. Its main purpose is to add color, increase flavor, and enhance texture. And that’s it. The best and most recommended way to sear your steak is to flip it frequently so it cooks evenly on both sides. Flipping also cooks the meat faster and prevents it from getting too gray.

Some of you might ask the ideal medium to sear the meat in. Is it butter or oil? Many are a fan of using both believing that butter alone has a low smoke point and will begin to burn and turn black. But that’s not entirely true. What actually burns are the meat protein contained in butter. Either way, the best medium to sear the steak in is good old-fashioned oil, at least in the beginning. Then add butter on the last minute or two of cooking.

So, first get the oil hot, smoking hot, in a pan. Add your seasoned steak, flipping it every 15 to 30 seconds until you get the perfect internal temperature. Add the butter and continue to cook until the meat is done.

3. The right temperature to sear

Now that you’re well-versed when it comes to searing your steak, next would be to get the right temperature for searing. Yes, the temperature matters just like baking. Searing begins as low as 300 degrees to about 500 degrees Fahrenheit. Searing steak at temperatures beyond 500 degrees Fahrenheit can potentially dry the meat too fast and could even burn the steak.

Before cooking your meat, it’s important that you preheat your grill (searing really does resemble baking). Preheating your grill for 10 to 15 minutes results in one; making it easier to remove food residue from the previous grilling; and two, to get the cooking great to a high enough temperature to sear the meat.

Put the meat on the grill, close the lid, and set the timer for 2 minutes. When flipping the meat, place it in a new area of the grate to ensure that the cooking grate is hot enough to create sear marks on the steak.

4. Marble the meat

Some of the best steaks for grilling are marbled. Marbling can enhance the meat’s flavor and keep it juicy. The best kind of steak to marble is Black Angus ribeye. Grass-fed steak has a tendency to cook a lot more quickly than grain-fed steak.

Marbling is the unsaturated fat that accumulates in the muscle as well as between muscle fibers. Marbling is basically soft intramuscular fat that’s made up of polyunsaturated and saturated fats.

Marbling on a steak is a good thing. It means the meat is tender, juicier, and a lot more flavorful. As the old adage goes, “no fat, no flavor.” So a steak with a high marble score is a lot juicier compared to meats with a lower marble score.

In order to marble your steak, first, make sure you remove it from the fridge 30 minutes prior to cooking. Salt it 40 minutes before cooking to dissolve the salt into the meat. You should also use a frying pan in cooking the meat so seal in the flavor. Once cooked, remove it from the pan and let it rest for half the time that it was cooked.

5. Use a food thermometer

Some people might use touch or sight to determine if their steak is done but there’s a far more accurate way to do that, and you won’t have to risk burning your fingers in the process – use a meat thermometer.

There are a lot of benefits to using one and the number one reason is to prevent illness related to eating the undercooked meat. In order to kill germs in beef, you must get the meat to a minimum internal temperature of about 145 degrees.

A meat temperature also prevents steak from becoming overcooked. And it will eliminate guesswork from the cooking process. No longer will you or your guests have to suffer from a too-dry steak.

Final Words

Now that you know the tips in creating the perfect steak, you have to keep in mind that no matter how much effort you try in cooking the perfect steak, you will never achieve anything similar to what an established steakhouse serves if you don’t use fresh meat. It’s always recommended that you get meat fresh from the grocery. Or, get one and refrigerate it as soon as possible, just make sure you thaw it enough before cooking it. Having said that, enjoy the journey. It may take a while to get everything just right but you’ll get there with practice.

Author Bio:

Sarah Brooks is an avid blogger and an informative content writer who loves to write about travel, health, food, culture and more. She is currently working with Jakers, the leading steakhouse in Idaho.