As the sun is beginning to shine a tad brighter than the chilly winter days and the clothes are being stripped off in a piecemeal manner, the craving for lighting up that grill is intensifying. We all want to get a taste of paradise by making a juicy, perfectly seared steak in your backyard. Whether it’s smoking brisket, grilling vegetables, or cooking ribs, we love it all. What we relish the most, though, is a perfectly grilled steak. If you are a seasoned grill master, you probably have your cleaning porcelain grill gratesand steak-cooking skills down pat. But, if you are a beginner and are looking for some red meat pointers, we are there to help you.
People have a different approach to grilling. While some of them will heat the grill, throw the steaks on, flip once, then pull them off, and serve, others tend to fret and worry. They keep cutting into the meat every two seconds, wringing their hands over whether the meat is done or not.
A perfectly cooked steak is the pinnacle of achievement in the grilling world. However, it is easy to mess up if you don’t know what you’re doing. Commit the following rules to heart, and you would no longer need to rely on your watch.
1. Choose the best quality grades of meat.
If you are looking for inexpensive steaks, you must look at cuts from the short loin like top sirloin or trip-trip. They have a relatively more beefy flavor. As these steaks have more muscle fibers, it is best to put them on a marinade for about 8 to 24 hours before hitting the grill. On the other hand, you can go for a dry aged steak as it is also one of the best steaks you can buy. The dry aging process makes the beef rich, tender, and flavorful, making the steak perfect for grilling.
2. Season the steak in advance
As the steak is naturally flavorful, you don’t have to use much of the spice. You can use salt and pepper, out of which salt is the mandatory ingredient. As salt tenderizes the meat and allows the other seasonings to penetrate deeper into the steak, you need to make sure you always have salt in the mix. You can use a steam grill brush to season the steak precisely and perfectly.
Then comes the step to combine the seasonings and sedason the steak. At Great American Griller, you will find the best online essential grilling Tools like cleaning brush, defroster tray, and grill mat. You need to coat all the sides and press the spices into the meat to help them adhere. The final step would be chilling the steaks on a defrosting tray for up to 24 hours.
3. Dry the surface and let the steaks come to room temperature
If you’ve to cook the steak in 30 minutes, you must not forget to take the steaks out of the fridge. Blot them dry with paper towels to mitigate excess moisture. This tends to leave as much seasoning on as possible. It would be best to let the meat sit at room temperature for up to an hour before cooking.
This step is a pretty crucial one. Taking the chill off the steak encourages even cooking. This will also enable the steaks to sear more effectively. You are sure to get a perfectly-cooked steak with a gorgeous crust.
4. Preheat the grill and get ready to roll
This is one of the most significant steps in cooking the grill to perfection. You must preheat a gas grill or a charcoal grill with a two-zone fire. Once you are done preheating the grill, delve into cleaning and greasing the rack. It is recommended you place the steaks over the indirect heat side and cover the grill. If you start on the low-heat side, you allow the steak to cook gradually, keeping the surface from burning. You are then supposed to flip the steak about halfway through the cooking process. This is the best thing you can do to allow the steak to cook evenly on both sides.
5. Move the steak to high heat.
Once the meat reaches 110o F, you need to move the steak to the direct heat side. You must continue cooking until the meat reaches the desired level of completion. And if you wish to have a golden-brown, crisp exterior, you need to frequently flip the steak.
6. Forget the Fork
You might think it’s easy to stab your meat with a fork to turn or flip it. However, you need to resist the urge unless you want an unevenly cooked steak. Fork punctures make the juices escape, thereby leading the steak to dry. Using a spatula or tings is much better than using forks. This might seem minor, but all these little things add up to cooking the best steak ever.
7. Avoid thawing or dragging.
Whatever you do, don’t drag the steak over the grill when turning. You can easily pick it up in one go and place it back with the same motion. Let the meat sear evenly after you have started the steak on the hot spot. Once the meat is charred, you must pick it up and flip it onto a relatively cooler spot. If you flip the steak too often, you are sure to sabotage the charring of the meat and jeopardize most of the seasoning on the steak.
8. Keeping tabs on the temperature is the task of a pro.
While you are grilling the steak to perfection, ensure to keep an instant-read meat thermometer handy. This step is sure to keep the guesswork out of determining its cooking status. While a rare steak should hit 120o F, a medium steak should top 140oF, and the perfectly done steak should hit at 160oF.
9. Add grill marks like a pro.
Grill marks are undeniably the modern and stylish garnish for your meal. They are pretty simple to achieve as well. If you wish to make diamond grill marks on the meat, you must sear it on an angle and then turn before flipping the steak to the other side.
10. Give your steak an encore.
After the steak is perfectly done and has rested for a while, you need to put it back on the grill for about 30 seconds on both sides just before serving. This can help you get a surface sizzle going. And if you are aiming for a gentle and focused re-seasoning of the steak, a little sprinkle of gray sea-salt on the steak can do the trick.
The takeaway
These tips will allow you to have a perfectly seared steak. Your friends are sure to love you for the steak treat you’ll give them. But, before you delve into grilling the steak like a pro, you need to have all the mandatory accessories.
