cooking steak on the grill question....

[SeanGAR]

I think the others have covered things nicely. Steaks should be at room temperature. Grill should be hot. I salt both sides before I slap them on the grill. I personally find medium-well to be an offense, but my wife likes them like that. Take off before being done and let sit 10 minutes before cutting into them. Personally I think that gas grills suck (and I use one) but you can't beat the convenience. If you want good taste use charcoal or make sure to use some wood and smoke a bit.

[backwoods]

thanks for the replies gang...I knew I was gonna get beat up for my gas grill and med-well steaks. Seasoning will probably be just some salt and pepper. My wife likes her A1 sauce

Should be cooking these tonight, I'll report on damages

Wish me luck!

[TideRoll]

Originally Posted by qwerty1500

A grilling question ... just can't resist.

The best advice has already been given ... it takes practice. Every grill and cut of meat is different. I also agree with the advice about taking it off just shortly before you think it's ready ... steak does tend to cook a bit after it's off the grill.

The only advice I don't follow is to cook a steak slowly. That's fine with pork and chicken. I've found that steak does better over a hot fire. You just have to be careful not to over cook it ... that's where the practice comes in.

For medium-well 1 inch strips on a hot fire, I'd probably give them no more than 7 minutes a side. Since I know my grills, I only turn them once. If you are unsure of the situation and you turn them more frequently or use a lower heat, you might bump up the cooking time by a minute or two per side.

I probably cook supper 4-5 nights a week year-round on our Weber charcoal grill. We also have a gas grill on the deck of our condo at the Lake of the Ozarks. They both have their advantages but I prefer charcoal. Cooked and smoked everything you can imagine including the Thanksgiving turkey ... took all afternoon but was awsome.

One of the joys of my life is grilling supper with a martini and a good cigar.

I'm mostly with the "hot" crowd, but sometimes use somewhat lower heat later in the process. I think the hot proponents probably have to spend a bit more time at the grill, though, since the margin of error is smaller.

My process: I buy the best meat I can get. I buy fillets (cut on the pretty thick side) from a small but very discriminating butcher shop. When you find a great butcher, you gotta stick with him. My guy is obsessive about his beef, and I've never had a bad cut from him in more than a decade. Also, I've always tried to follow the advice of not using a fork (I use a spatula and/or some tongs).

I often use only a touch of salt, some ground pepper and some minced fresh garlic on my steaks, but there are plenty of rubs out there if that is your taste.

I like to put some hickory chips in some foil on the grill and crank that bad boy up to high. When the grill is VERY hot and the wood chips are starting to smoke well, I put the steaks on and close the lid. I keep the fire turned on high, and if I'm going for a fancy steakhouse look, I will make a quick quarter turn on each side a few minutes before I flip them. After both sides are seared and reddish, I will sometimes turn the heat down to medium on the steak side and move the steaks to the top rack. Since I usually cook mine to a rare or medium rare, I frequently do not turn the heat down at all and can usually be done before my wife has all the other goodies ready. No matter, it helps to let it sit, covered, for a few minutes before you eat it. I also like to finish my steaks off with a pat of butter and some garlic about thirty seconds before they come off the grill.

The finger to the meat of the thumb method is I used to get a feel for things, and as has been said, your grill will have its own personality, hot spots, etc. Happy grilling. Thanks to this thread, I am now resolved to go by my butcher shop sometime today. I somehow don't think I will be the only one. This stuff really makes me hungry just thinking about it.

[galaga]

Of course too many chefs ruin the soup, but here's my 2cents on top of the other great advice, non of which I can disagree with. Only things different I do with gas is to get the grill hot as it will get before I put the steaks on, then cook each side until they are browned over full heat and then turn the fire down to finish the off. I also will brush them with olive oil before putting them on the grill. Using your watch will help in consistancy.

[tadams17]

I like to get the grill as hot as I can get it, then cook with the one flip method 3 to 5 minutes...I like mine Medium Rare...I also like to put them in a mixture of Soy,Worcheter, And Mcallens Canadian Steak seasoning for about 30 minutes before hand..

[King James]

yah...for me a steak isn't a steak unless its got red still in it but to each his own. I'm not as bad as Stacey however, as he likes his steaks still mooing lol

[TU09]

As far as searing helping the meat to retain juices, Alton Brown did an interesting segment disproving this. He cooked two steaks to the same internal temperature after having seared one and not the other, let them both rest, and weighed each. The seared steak actually lost more weight and hence moisture relative to it's raw weight. Quite simply, if you heat food useing a dry cooking method such as grilling you loose moisture and there is no way to mittigate it. The bennefit to searing is the caramalization of sugars on the outside of the meat, just like caramalizing onions or anything else. I found this surprising as I had always been told that searing locked in juices but having gained more experience cooking, I know from my own experiences that this is not necessarily true.

The sugestion to reduce heat during cooking serves two purposes. 1) you can acheive the internal temperature you want without cooking the outside to death (more unifrom) and 2) it prevents charring which I am not fond of although some people prefer it.

[cigar no baka]

Originally Posted by whodat1

I'll go along with HOT crowd. One of the best steak houses in the country, Ruth's Chris, uses an 1800 deg oven.

I like to sear a steak to keep the juices in. I get my grill as hot as I can and go 4-5 minutes on the first side, turn it over (you only turn a steak once!) and cook it anywhere from 7-12 minutes depending how you want it done.

Jim you da man!! I also cook on HOT, I get my grill really hot then slap the steaks down, just a few minutes per side, then put them over the part of the grill I didn't light (I have three burners) and do the poke test to see how soft they are. If they are still too soft (too rare) I turn down the heat then put them back over the heat until I hit somewhere near medium rare, but I like it a hair over medium rare.

Then you slather them up with rich creamery buttery garlicky sauce, wait about five minutes, and be the carnivore that you were born to be!! And savor every mouth-watering, bloody bite!!

[Aaron]

Originally Posted by Lumpold

There is a chefs cheat to see how well done your steak is.... hold you hand palm up in front of you. Count the fingers away from your thumb. place the tip of your thumb on the various fingers, and feel the the palm of your hand at the base of your thumb.
Finger 1 (index finger) = rare
Finger 2 = med-rare
Finger 3 = medium
Finger 4 (pinky finger) = well done

I'm feeling dense, here, with these "finger" methods of testing. Exactly where is the STEAK in this? I'm in my office at my computer and can hold my right hand up, palm in front of me and my grill isn't even on nor is there a steak in my frig and I don't quite see how touching my thumb translates into the done-ness level of the steak.

[Lopez]

Here's my routine: Leave steak out long enough for it to get pretty close to room temp. That's a good time to add any rub or (horrors) marinade you're planning on despoiling your steak with. I use a three burner Weber propane gas (makes a difference whether you're using propane or natural gas - propane will burn hotter than natural gas). I warm up the grill by turning all three burners on, leaving the lid down. When the temp gets > 500 degrees, I turn the middle burner off and put my 1 1/2" thick steaks in the middle (i.e., not over a direct flame). 7 minutes on each side, put a pat of butter on each steak 1 minute before the second side is done. This will get you a medium steak.

[TideRoll]

Originally Posted by Aaron

I'm feeling dense, here, with these "finger" methods of testing. Exactly where is the STEAK in this? I'm in my office at my computer and can hold my right hand up, palm in front of me and my grill isn't even on nor is there a steak in my frig and I don't quite see how touching my thumb translates into the done-ness level of the steak.

With your right hand, loosely touch the tip of your index finger to the tip of your thumb. With your left index finger, touch the meaty part of your thumb and observe the relative level of firmness. Work your way to your pinky to get progressively firmer (i.e. level of doneness). Now, take your left index finger and thumb and lightly pinch the bottock of your sweetie. If she slaps you, then you you can go back to cooking.

I'd like to know who the person was who actually figured this little finger thumb system out. It is one of those things which is out there in front of you but not so obvious...

[Aaron]

Originally Posted by Lopez

Here's my routine: Leave steak out long enough for it to get pretty close to room temp. That's a good time to add any rub or (horrors) marinade you're planning on despoiling your steak with. I use a three burner Weber propane gas (makes a difference whether you're using propane or natural gas - propane will burn hotter than natural gas). I warm up the grill by turning all three burners on, leaving the lid down. When the temp gets > 500 degrees, I turn the middle burner off and put my 1 1/2" thick steaks in the middle (i.e., not over a direct flame). 7 minutes on each side, put a pat of butter on each steak 1 minute before the second side is done. This will get you a medium steak.

Can't imagine steak with much more than big kosher salt, some black pepper, and a little onion and garlic powder. The sauces are for chicken IMO... or if I turned away and overdid the steak.

[Warhorse545]

Originally Posted by King James

yah...for me a steak isn't a steak unless its got red still in it but to each his own. I'm not as bad as Stacey however, as he likes his steaks still mooing lol

Knock the horns off, clean it's ass and run a bic lighter down both sides and I am ready to eat.




Stacey

[Aaron]

Originally Posted by TideRoll

With your right hand, loosely touch the tip of your index finger to the tip of your thumb. With your left index finger, touch the meaty part of your thumb and observe the relative level of firmness. Work your way to your pinky to get progressively firmer (i.e. level of doneness). Now, take your left index finger and thumb and lightly pinch the bottock of your sweetie. If she slaps you, then you you can go back to cooking.

I'd like to know who the person was who actually figured this little finger thumb system out. It is one of those things which is out there in front of you but not so obvious...

I had to relax my hand to get this to work. It was the "loosely" part that didn't work. Bad habit of a strong right hand grip.

[ky toker]

I do 2 flips. The more you flip the more juices fall off. Medium is all you need to cook and it is good and safe. I've had to teach the wife that. Can't exactly tell you how to make it there, I go mostly by feel.

I normally do flip 1 when it is getting light brown towards the top edges then do a flip and leave for just a few minutes and should be good to go. Make sure the grill is hot hot hot. don't throw in the too early when it is still heating up.