I know summer is right around the corner when the familiar scent of burning charcoal briquets perfumes the air and the chatter of backyard bbq’s becomes white noise around me. If you haven’t already, now is the time to wipe down your grill and get it ready for summer grilling.
Reading all the recent entries for the 2-N-1 grill giveaway happening right now, many people shared how they loved to grill steak. I love a good steak myself and my favorite way to prepare them is by grilling them seasoned with just salt and pepper. I won’t be offended if you want to call call me a minimalist.
Often times when I grill steak for friends and familiy they always ask how how I managed to have a juicy, succulent steak that is neither dried out or tasteless. My answer is quite simple. If you want a juicy steak, the key is not to over cook it. The picture above is taken from a post I did last year on how to grill London Broil. I thought it would be very helpful and useful to those of you who are new to grilling or simply haven’t achieve the results you’ve been looking for.
How I grill steak is like this -I generously season my steaks on both sides with just salt. The type of salt I use is medium coarse kosher or sea salt (DO NOT USE TABLE SALT). I wrap them up in plastic wrap and stick them in the refrigerator for 3 hours. You can allow them to rest for a shorter amount of time, but try to allow them to soak up the salt for a minimal of 1 hour. When I’m ready to grill, I remove the steaks from the refrigerator and rub them with olive oil on each side as well as seasoning it with freshly ground black pepper. The steaks have already soaked up much of the salt but if you like, you can also add a little bit more salt. Ideally, you want the steaks to come to room temperature before grilling. Allow them to rest on the counter while the grill is preheating. You want to have your grill as hot as possible before cooking meat on it. Once your grill is heated, rub olive oil on the grill grate so your steaks will not stick to it. Grill each side of the steak according to the cooking times below. Keep in mind the less time (more rare) you cook your steak, the more tender it will be.
- Thickness – 1 1/2″: Medium-Rare: 5-7 minutes each side Medium: 7-9 minutes each side Well: 9-13 minutes each side
- Thickness – 2″: Medium-Rare: 6-9 minutes each side Medium: 8-11 minutes each side Well: 11-15 minutes each side
Once your steaks are ready to come off the grill, be sure to allow them to rest on plate or cutting board for 5-7 minutes before cutting into and serving. While the steaks are resting, take a piece of aluminum foil and gently cover the top of your plate to keep them warm. Enjoy!
If you have anything you want to add as far as how to grill a steak, I would love to know. Just leave your suggestions in the comment section for everyone to also learn too. Looking forward to reading all your tips!
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{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
Perfect timing! We are just about to put some on the grill and we like a medium steak but always seem to leave them on too long. Thanks for the grilling times!
I read your post earlier today and grilled rib-eye steaks using your time table. The steaks came out fantastic. Thanks a bunch!
What is the best way to oil a hot grate? I tried using tongs and a dishcloth that I had poured some oil onto. The oil dripped onto the coals underneath, which sparked a large flame and caught my dishcloth on fire. I’ve been oiling my cold grates since then, but by the time I put the meat on they no longer seem to have that oily sheen.
We love to marinate our rib-eyes in chopped garlic and soy sauce for a few hours before grilling. It keeps them so moist and juicy, with a great flavor!
How many minutes per side would you suggest for us carnivorous types who like our steaks rare?
Hi Jena,
For rare steaks, I would say 1-2 minutes for a steak up to 1 1/2″ thick and 2-3 minutes for a 2″ steak. Hope that helps.
Your times are pretty much right on.
On technique I have tried is “hot tubbing” steaks before grilling. That is putting them in a sealed bag in 105f water for about 1 hour to get the internal temp up to about 100f. Then just a very hot sear on a 600f fired grill.
But normally, I do 450f to 500f over natural lump coal in a grill. I use a cast iron grill grate and make sure it’s had time to preheat. Then 2 minutes per side turning 90 degrees with 3 flips (that’s a total of 8 minutes and gives crosshatch marks on the steak).
Perfect grilling instructions! I like to sprinkle mine with Mrs. Dash. The olive oil makes all of the difference! Great post.
You do have perfect timing! My hubby usually mans the grill, and steak is his favorite, but I want to surprise him on Fathers Day when he comes home from work with a steak he doesn’t have to cook himself. Now I know how to grill steak too! Thank you!
You’re so right…the simpler the better. A fine cut of steak really doesn’t need much more than s&p and a tiny bit of oil. Though, I will occasionally rub the meat all over with the cut side of a garlic clove before adding the olive oil. Grilled steak and summer time – perfect partners!
I love my steak rare. Very rare. Like with the pulse still beating.
Great tips. I have to admit… I’m not very good at grilling steak. Thanks for the useful tips!
I have never grilled perfect steak! Your tips are helpful! Thanks for that. I hope the next time I will grill steak, it would be perfect!
Love the steak tutorial… I just picked up some grass fed filets today. Yum!
Sounds great!
One additional thing I do when grilling is rotate the steaks 90 degrees halfway through cooking on one side to give them a crosshatch mark.
This is a great post!
We grilled steaks for the 1st time today following your instructions and it was great! I made your garlic butter too. I forgot to rub olive oil on the steaks but it was still good, every bite was followed by a “mmm…”!