Why Can't I Grill A Decent Steak?

[vailpass]

Grilled steaks last night, they came out ok but not great. Good cuts of meat but they weren't juicy like a restaurant. I only turned them once, used high heat. I like them medium rate.
I have 2 grills, gas and infra red, just can't seem to get the perfect streak.
Anyone have any tips?

[vailpass]

Originally Posted by Bwana

One other thing I was told was never put salt on them while they are cooking, or at least wait until the end of the cooking process. I had some old boy gravel my ass years ago when he caught me doing that. He told me it dries out the meat and from my experience, he was right.

As far as thickness, I cook up to 2" ribeyes and they turn out great. It's a lot easier to over cook a thin steak, than a think one.

I have been told the same thing about salt. I go with thick too, trying to find that balance to get them exactly to medium rare.
At least I've mastered grilled shrimp.
Get big prawns, grab a lime off the tree, 5 minutes with one turn and they are perfect.

[vailpass]

Originally Posted by Zeke

Montreal Steak Seasoning.

You're welcome

Thank you. Seems like some like seasoning, some don't.

[jspchief]

Originally Posted by Loneiguana

No. Do not do this.

All restaurant steaks go from cold storage directly to the grill. Why? Because any amount of time where meat is kept at a unsafe temp. is bad. Any time uncooked meat is not kept within in a safe temp. only increases the odds of getting sick. I prefer to not take any chances.

And it doesn't do a thing for the meat. It is better for the meat to go directly from cold storage to the heat.

I'm not going to get into a big debate about this. Most of what you say is technically true, excluding the bolded part. Setting the meat out before cooking allows it to have a more even temperature, which in turn allows it to cook more evenly.

As for the health risk, while technically true, a lot of people have been doing it this way for a long time. It hasn't killed me or my family yet.

[jspchief]

Originally Posted by Zeke

Montreal Steak Seasoning.

You're welcome

jesus. **** no. Don't ruin a good steak with that shit

[vailpass]

Originally Posted by jspchief

I'm not going to get into a big debate about this. Most of what you say is technically true, excluding the bolded part. Setting the meat out before cooking allows it to have a more even temperature, which in turn allows it to cook more evenly.

As for the health risk, while technically true, a lot of people have been doing it this way for a long time. It hasn't killed me or my family yet.

I have no problem with letting red meat sit out for a bit.
Pork and poultry? No.

[vailpass]

Originally Posted by jspchief

jesus. **** no. Don't ruin a good steak with that shit

A $20 piece of meat should stand on it's own, I just need to cook it right.

[laughsatyou907]

salt helps to break down the fats and sinews.

[Bwana]

Originally Posted by J Diddy

exact same grill i got for my bday sat. Used it for the first time yesterday and it was great.

The one thing you NEVER want to do with it is let the lid drop. Wind can take the lid off off easily if a decent storm rolls in. If the lid hits the cement, it's still useable, but it will never seal the same way. You will end up getting unwanted drafts in the thing, which can easily start fires inside and mess with what you're cooking. You can compensate to some degree for a bent lid by closing off the top vent, but it's a pain in the ass. I end up replacing them at least every two years because of a bent lid issue.

[Chazno]

Originally Posted by Loneiguana

No. Do not do this.

All restaurant steaks go from cold storage directly to the grill. Why? Because any amount of time where meat is kept at a unsafe temp. is bad. Any time uncooked meat is not kept within in a safe temp. only increases the odds of getting sick. I prefer to not take any chances.

And it doesn't do a thing for the meat. It is better for the meat to go directly from cold storage to the heat.

Letting it sit after cooking is okay and does let juices recollect.

As other people have said, 6 or 7 minutes per inch or so. Don't be afraid to flip twice if you don't think it is done.

If you have the time, try searing both sides, then cooking it slower with indirect heat. Usually produces a juicy steak.

And I'll suggest my favorite steak rub: Jerk. Jerk seasoning on a steak is delicious.

Of course restaurants do this. They don't know 20 minutes before hand if someone is going to order a steak and they can't make the customer wait an extra 20 mins. If they set it out anyway they would either have waste when a customer didn't order it or questionable food storage practices when they returned the sitting steak back to cold storage.

In addition we don't all have grills that go above 1000 degrees like many of the big steak houses do that can make up for letting the meat warm up.

[vailpass]

Originally Posted by Chazno

Of course restaurants do this. They don't know 20 minutes before hand if someone is going to order a steak and they can't make the customer wait an extra 20 mins. If they set it out anyway they would either have waste when a customer didn't order it or questionable food storage practices when they returned the sitting steak back to cold storage.

In addition we don't all have grills that go above 1000 degrees like many of the big steak houses do that can make up for letting the meat warm up.

Good points all...

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by Loneiguana

No. Do not do this.

All restaurant steaks go from cold storage directly to the grill. Why? Because any amount of time where meat is kept at a unsafe temp. is bad. Any time uncooked meat is not kept within in a safe temp. only increases the odds of getting sick. I prefer to not take any chances.

And it doesn't do a thing for the meat. It is better for the meat to go directly from cold storage to the heat.

Letting it sit after cooking is okay and does let juices recollect.

As other people have said, 6 or 7 minutes per inch or so. Don't be afraid to flip twice if you don't think it is done.

If you have the time, try searing both sides, then cooking it slower with indirect heat. Usually produces a juicy steak.

And I'll suggest my favorite steak rub: Jerk. Jerk seasoning on a steak is delicious.

Ditto on the quick sear part. I find that especially for thicker cuts, I often like to sear on high heat, then cook on low or indirect heat. I feel like that keeps me from accidentally overcooking the outside while the inside needs cooking.

[Chief Roundup]

Never have had a problem with cooking steaks on my grill. I use a charcoal grill. They always come out good. I didn't think you could screw them up other than burning or over cooking them.

[vailpass]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

Ditto on the quick sear part. I find that especially for thicker cuts, I often like to sear on high heat, then cook on low or indirect heat. I feel like that keeps me from accidentally overcooking the outside while the inside needs cooking.

Indirect heat? As in I shut off half my grill?

[ThatRaceCardGuy]

Because **** Denver..tthats why.

[Ace Gunner]

try a charcoal loaded habachi and tell me if that's what you wanted your steaks to turn out like. I say this because I used to spend the big money on outdoor grills and was never quite satisfied with red meat coming off them. It never occurred to me there would be such a difference compared with charcoal. Last year, I kind of moved home base to this project I have going in KC and I picked up a cheapo habachi for temp purposes. What a diff in how a steak comes out.