Grill Steak Like a Pro

First of all I have to confess that I am NOT a pro.You can grill steak like a pro if you follow these easy tips. I haven’t had any culinary arts training nor do I obsess about cooking. What I do have is a few restaurant types that I know well who shared some of their tips on grilling. Around our house grilling has been my job for a very long time so I guess I’m kind of a semi-pro.

What better way to grill like pro than to buy meat where the pros do. I was in a restaurant supply store and was able to buy a very large hunk of beef at a great price. That’s the good news. The bad news is now you have to slice your own steaks. Make sure you have a good sharp knife or your steaks will look like a dog has been chewing on them.

I like to cut the steak into 1 inch thick slices. This is harder than it sounds but it is doable. I have found that if you slice your steak less than an inch thick it is easy to overcook and if you cut too thick a slice it gets tricky to cook the center to the desired amount without burning the outside.

Pretty much all my chef type friends agree that the first step to a great steak is to let the meat rise to room temperature before you grill. They also agree that the grill should be hot. A good steak shouldn’t need more than a simple seasoning. Many pros recommend rubbing the steak with sea salt and thats it. Some argue that peppers etc actually can become bitter on a hot grill.

The people I talked to were split on whether to oil the grill or not. The argument against oiling is that it can cause flame-ups on a hot grill. In my opinion a good marbled steak does not need the grill oiled.

After the meat has been cooking a while I like to rotate and move the steaks around the grill. All grills have hotter and cooler areas. I like to divide the grill time in four parts. This allows an opportunity to move the steaks around the grill so they are all cooked about the same and you can get fancy with the crossed grill marks on the steak.

Here’s a low tech trick to check your steak on the grill. It’s the finger test. If you have been handling the steak through the whole process you have an idea of the firmness of the raw steak. The firmer the steak on the grill the more well done it is.

Time the rest of your meal so that the steak can rest for 5 – 10 minutes before it is served. Enjoy!

Let me recommend a great knife for you to enjoy your steak. Hammer Stahl knives are the best you can get and we have arranged a an unbelievable price for a set of steak knives for our readers.