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Posted: 12/15/2005 7:51:37 AM EDT
Ok guys, here's the deal. I feel like grilling a steak tonight. Usually my steaks end up kinda dry and tough. Today however, I've got a nice piece of meat, and I want it to be great, so I need some grilling advice.
I have no thermometer on my grill, so telling me to cook it at whatever degrees for this long won't help. I don' t really want to use any marinades. Does anyone have any suggestions for a dry rub? Anything else I can do to make it tender? BTW, I like my steak med. rare. What do you like? |
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Take your time
cut off excess fat sear each side (high hear) Low indirect/direct heat Drink several beers while cooking. enjoy ETA: I like mine medium. |
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I leave the fat on but my grocer tends to trim nicely anyway.
I use high heat and short time--max 3 minutes per side for a thick steak, maybe as little as 1:30 per side for a thinner one. I like it warm and red. |
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Piece of meat, but I digress. Turn your grill up as hot as you can get it, close the lid. Leave steak out so that it gets to room temp. Rub salt, pepper, garlic powder etc...whatever you like. Brush with melted butter. Put a good amount on both sides and the edges. Toss onto the grill. Sear both side (about 2 min per side). Close grill and turn it off. Let cook for additional 4 to 6 minutes. Remove, place on a plate and put a pat of butter on top of it, let melt. Let rest for 3 minutes, then eat. |
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do NOT cut off the fat
higher the heat the better, try not to flip the steak more than once for that perfect medium rare, which is how i like my steak as well personally i marinate everything i cook overnight when possible, usually goes something like: italian dressing worsterchire (lea and perrins) beer season all garlic powder tonys seasoning pepper |
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Sear it in a pan inside on high heat on your burner for about a minute or until brown on each side. That kinda shocks the outside layer of the meat and seals in the juices. Also make sure the steaks have been allowed to warm up a bit, meaning leave them sit out for half hour or so before you sear. I don't like to grab them straight from the 35 degree fridge and toss them in. I also sear mine with a dab of olive oil.
Then I toss mine in a big ziplock bag with the following ingredients. Salt, cracked pepper, a little garlic salt, touch of red wine vinegar, and a bit more olive oil, which coats the steak and keeps the dry ingredients on. I like to grill mine on the highest heat setting possible for maybe 2-3 minutes per side depending on the thickness and how long I've seared. I also like mine medium rare. Juat make sure your grill's clean and keep an eye out for flare up from the steak's fat so the steak doesn't catch fire and become crispy. I've tried lots of different dry rubs and my advice would be get a big cheap strip and quarter it in about 4oz pieces and then get 4 different rubs that sound good and try each one on each piece and compare at the same time. |
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That sounds awesome! ETA: Cripes. I can't believe I misspelled "piece". Must be beer o'clock already. |
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The consistent advice is to turn the grill up hot, sear both sides of the stake for 2 or 3 minutes, then turn the heat down a little and cover it for about 8 minutes.
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Salt and pepper + bullion cube as a dry rub.
Then what they ALL said. HIGH heat. Sear meat on both sides. Serve. The searing of the meat seals the moisture inside. Slow cooking will dry your meat out. |
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My grill gets pretty hot; I usually use medium heat.
I do like to sear both sides first to keep the juice in. Then it depends on the thickness as to how long it takes to cook. You can slice it and take a look you know. |
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Poke some holes in the steak and soak it with worchestor or some sauce. It will run into the holes and keep the steak moist.
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searing meat doesn't "seal in" the juices. It cooks the meat fast enough that it doesn't all just evaporate.
It DOES, however create a flavorful crust via the Maillard Reaction. The same thing creates the pan drippings that gravy relies on for its flavour. |
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Montreal Steak Seasoning is awesome. It's basically salt, pepper, and garlic, but there's something about the consistency of it that is right.
Some grills get hotter than others and some don't get hot enough at all. My old grill I had to close the lid or the thing wouldn't cook. My new one gets pretty hot and I do about 5 mins per side open. I will try this searing and then reducing the heat though. |
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OOH, Ouch. There is a reason that EVERY good steakhouse uses tongs instead of forks, high heat instead of low, and one flip rather than multiple. NO HOLES!!!! QUICK SEAR!!!! ONE FLIP!!!! |
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A decent cut of meat won't require anything more than a dash of salt/pepper and possibly garlic.
If not, then by all means add all the seasonings neccesary. Are you gas/electric or coals? |
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ouch |
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Thats it! High heat sear for sure at first. |
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This is correct. Except that instead of melted butter, I use kosher salt and a bit of pepper. And for the love of God, don't use any BBQ sauce, or drench it with A1 sauce. |
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As most have said, high heat and fast! Long cooking will dry it out. Keep the fat. Let it melt into the meat making it more tender and juicy.
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+1 the more time you flip it, the more you'll be chewing. My advice is to get a digital thermometer. |
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The Big_Bear method:
Preheat grill on high. Rub room temp steak with a little extra virgin olive oil, season with salt, pepper, and garlic. Sear side 1, appx. 3 minutes depending on thickness and how hot your grill gets. Turn steak with tongs (NO FORK!) and place on another portion of grill... ie, don't set it down on the same spot where you grilled side 1. That will ensure even cooking and nice grill marks on both sides. Sear side 2 same amount of time as side 1. Remove from grill to plate with tongs. Cover with aluminum foil and let sit about 5 minutes. Serve and enjoy! ETA: I like mine medium rare. |
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Sprinkle both sides with meat tenderizer and let it sit for an hour.
Then make a rub with blakc pepper, garlic powder, and brown sugar (go easy on the brown sugar). Rub it in to both sides of the steak. Sear each side of the steak on high heat for about a minute or minute and a half. Drop it to medium heat and cook for about 3 minutes on each side. poke it with your finger to determine doneness. Let stand after you take it out of the pan for about 5 minutes to let the juices settle back into the tissue. |
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Butter helps get that "Ruth's Chris" crust on the outside of the steak when seared correctly. ETA: 1Andy2, you almost have it right. You let a steak rest (any meat for that matter) so that the protiens that bind the muscle fibers (hereto called "meat") can cool down and relax, therefore making the meat more tender and less chewy. |
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+1 -- I like it. CR |
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School must be out. |
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Dry Rub: Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder
Heat grill to max temp. Place steak on grill with a little Lea&Perrins on top of the dry rub. Cook 4 minutes then flip. Cook 4 more minutes. Remove from grill and allow to rest for 10 minutes before cutting. This will allow the juices left in the meat to redistribute. Enjoy with your favorite red wine or beer. |
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+1, except I'll settle for a whimper. |
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rare is the only way to go.
white pepper rosemary onion powder garlic powder very light coat of sugar I add salt after it's done and no fat trimming. That is a sin |
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Sounds about right Tabro! Go for it and don't be shy son!!! This is serious man shit!!! |
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+2. Love the sentiment. The following quote is from a movie which was never one of my favorites, but it's got one of my all-time favorite food-related quotes:
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Easy don't cook it too much. Proper grilling means you can't watch TV and check on it every 30 mins. Cook it on one side until it browns a bit then flip it. Cut it along the top to see how far along it is. |
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Medium well to well. But not dried out.
Ah well, I still have to have steak sauce. Cant eat anything dry. |
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I used to be big on marinading steaks,however any more I think the simpler the better,especially with a good cut of steak.Some basic rules of thumb,let the steak come up to room temp before fixing.Very high heat and low cooking time.Also you mentioned your steaks come out dry.Let the steak rest for a few minutes,about 5,before cutting into it.That lets the juices distribute around in the meat.If you cut into it too soon,all the moisture runs out onto your plate.
Now how I like to do it. I use kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper,sometimes a little garlic salt,or cyanne pepper as well.I either use a cast iron skillet with a little veg oil,heated untill the oil just starts to smoke or a propane gas grill outside with the thing preheated on high untill the thermometer pegged out.If I stick it on the grill,I will rub a little veg or olive oil on the steak before putting on the salt and pepper.Good luck |
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1. Season with salt & pepper (all that is needed for quality beef) 1a. Pop a beer. 2. Let meat come to room temp before grilling. 3. Sear on high heat 3-4 minutes per side (depending on thickness) TURNING ONLY ONCE! 3a. Pop a beer. 4. Remove from heat and let rest for several minutes. 5. Pop a beer and enjoy. Oh and TexRdnec, you're slipping, you only said beer once! |
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fwiw, i marinade venison and steaks with good rum or tequila. anyone else use something like that?
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coat lightly w/ olive oil and fresh ground pepper.
sear each side for about 1.75 mins at the highest temp your grill will reach (mine is about 625) then flip again and cook each side at med heat for 2 mins. remove Sprinkle some kosher salt on, let rest for 5+ mins this produces perfect med rare on my grill. YMMV |
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How to make a bad steak:
1) start with a cheap cut of meat. Tell yourself that the expensive stuff isn't any better and that you can just take a roast, cut off a slab or two, and call them steaks. 2) Poke lots of holes in it. Soak it in something salty, like soy sauce or worchestershire. While this *might* add some flavor or moisture to a cheap cut of meat, we'll make up for that when cooking. 3) Cook a loooong time. Use low to moderate heat, aiming for a uniform grey all the way through. Make sure that the fire is plenty hot enough to cook out moisture, though. To remove as much moisture / water / juciness from the steak, add salt, poke many times with a fork, and flip it again and again. Have a spatula handy, not to flip the steak, but to press down on it to push out any moisture that hasn't gotten away yet. 4) only "snobs" use a quality thermometer or the "press test" to check for doneness. 15-20 minutes ought to do, but when in doubt, cook longer. To make sure you've ruined your steak, wait until you don't get any sizzling, especially while smashing down with the spatula. That's a sign that you've gotten out about as much moisture as possible. |
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Oh, God I've come to love this forum....... |
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I need to print this off for my mom, God love her. Oh wait, I think she already has this recipe. |
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+1 for the Montreal Steak Seasoning... I add that and some s&p to it, turn the grill up to max heat for ten minutes, drop to med-low, and sear on each side for a time appropriate to the thickness of the cut, never flipping more than once.
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OK....here's how you tell how 'well done' a steak is while grilling. Grill them HOT and FAST!
Take your right hand and loosely spread your fingers. Now take your left index finger and poke the webbing between your right thumb and index finger. That is what rare meat feels like. Same method, but with a loose fist. That is what medium feels like. Clenched fist, well done. Until you get the hang of it, just poke the steak with your left index finger then poke your right hand. Compare. If the steak is 'harder', try the next position with the right hand.(loose fist). You'll soon get the hang of it and will be able to assess all of the steaks on the grill just by poking it. Old Chef's trick. ETA: NEVER stick a thermometer into a steak. All the juices will run out. Use tongs to turn a steak, dont stick it with a fork ect. |
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Okay, here's some advice: Don't grill it. Broil it in the oven. Use a cast iron skillet instead of the oven's broiling pan; it's easier to clean. It will make the kitchen smoky and hot, but it's worth it. Your steaks are dry and tough because you put them on the grill and turn them half a dozen times. The broiler prevents this because after burning your hand on the oven's upper element, you won't stick it in there to turn them again. |
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get a good piece of meat, you can often get them on the cheap after the butcher shop closes and they wrap the meat and put it out on the display case
use a simple rub as stated by many above, I also use some olive oil, and bacon wrap with a toothpick I have a cast iron skillet on my grill I sear mine on on each side for a minute or two per side, then throw it on the grill to finish it. roast a large clove of garlic too while your at it and then squeeze it out on the steaks with some butter or maybe some blue cheese mushroom butter sauce |
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holy crap I know what I'm having for dinner |
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i'll get the propane and the lighter, who's bringing the stake? |
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I like it cold and purple in the middle. I use two lines, depending on the crowd: "As rare as the law will allow." or "Just bring the cow out here. I'll carve off what I want and ride the rest home." |
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