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?

[Fire Me Boy!]

OK, vail... here's the skinny. I'm not going back through 270 posts to point out which posters clearly don't know WTF they're talking about, but there are some.

You must season the meat. Salt makes things taste more like themselves. It also stimulates your salivary glands, which tricks your mind into thinking it has more moisture.

Do not salt right before you put it on the grill. Salt will draw out moisture. Over time, that moisture will draw back into the protein, but if you do it right before you grill, that moisture is going right into the fire. If possible, salt your steaks a day in advance. At a minimum, salt it an hour in advance.

Do let it sit out for 30-60 minutes before you grill. This is not harmful because any bacteria that might contaminate the food isn't going to have time to get on the inside of the protein... and anything on the outside will die over the fire.

Sear over a high heat for 2-3 minutes per side, then move it to a cooler zone on your grill. Despite what many on here say, searing does NOT "seal in the juices." As a matter of face, you lose more juice by searing than you do over a low heat. However, what searing does do is create the Maillard reaction (creates the brown crust, and brown food = good food), which creates hundreds of flavor compounds you wouldn't otherwise get. And the moisture loss is fairly minimal.

SOP is flip it once, but there's a lot of recent literature indicating you get a more even cook and juicier steak by flipping regularly - as often as once a minute. I've had no problems doing the one flip.

Marinades... if it's a cheap steak, by all means, marinade. If it's a ribeye or strip, keep that shit away from it. Salt, pepper, and a little granulated garlic are all you need.

I'm sure there's more, but I'm in a hurry. Will try to post more later.

[Fire Me Boy!]

Originally Posted by manchambo

You don't understand sous vide at all. You can set it at 125 and leave it there all day and it will come out rare.

Originally Posted by vailpass

Sounds good. Does sound like a roast though.

Originally Posted by R8ers

Thats prime rib then

I have a thread on here about sous vide, and it's awesome (sous vide, not the thread). It's nothing like a roast or a prime rib.

Manchambo - since you're new, feel free to peruse, add to it, ask me anything, and please share your own tips and experiences! http://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?p=7823233

[Tombstone RJ]

Originally Posted by Fire Me Boy!

OK, vail... here's the skinny. I'm not going back through 270 posts to point out which posters clearly don't know WTF they're talking about, but there are some.

You must season the meat. Salt makes things taste more like themselves. It also stimulates your salivary glands, which tricks your mind into thinking it has more moisture.

Do not salt right before you put it on the grill. Salt will draw out moisture. Over time, that moisture will draw back into the protein, but if you do it right before you grill, that moisture is going right into the fire. If possible, salt your steaks a day in advance. At a minimum, salt it an hour in advance.

Do let it sit out for 30-60 minutes before you grill. This is not harmful because any bacteria that might contaminate the food isn't going to have time to get on the inside of the protein... and anything on the outside will die over the fire.

Sear over a high heat for 2-3 minutes per side, then move it to a cooler zone on your grill. Despite what many on here say, searing does NOT "seal in the juices." As a matter of face, you lose more juice by searing than you do over a low heat. However, what searing does do is create the Maillard reaction (creates the brown crust, and brown food = good food), which creates hundreds of flavor compounds you wouldn't otherwise get. And the moisture loss is fairly minimal.

SOP is flip it once, but there's a lot of recent literature indicating you get a more even cook and juicier steak by flipping regularly - as often as once a minute. I've had no problems doing the one flip.

Marinades... if it's a cheap steak, by all means, marinade. If it's a ribeye or strip, keep that shit away from it. Salt, pepper, and a little granulated garlic are all you need.

I'm sure there's more, but I'm in a hurry. Will try to post more later.

quality post is quality. would read again.

[Braincase]

Originally Posted by Fire Me Boy!

OK, vail... here's the skinny. I'm not going back through 270 posts to point out which posters clearly don't know WTF they're talking about, but there are some.

You must season the meat. Salt makes things taste more like themselves. It also stimulates your salivary glands, which tricks your mind into thinking it has more moisture.

Do not salt right before you put it on the grill. Salt will draw out moisture. Over time, that moisture will draw back into the protein, but if you do it right before you grill, that moisture is going right into the fire. If possible, salt your steaks a day in advance. At a minimum, salt it an hour in advance.

Do let it sit out for 30-60 minutes before you grill. This is not harmful because any bacteria that might contaminate the food isn't going to have time to get on the inside of the protein... and anything on the outside will die over the fire.

Sear over a high heat for 2-3 minutes per side, then move it to a cooler zone on your grill. Despite what many on here say, searing does NOT "seal in the juices." As a matter of face, you lose more juice by searing than you do over a low heat. However, what searing does do is create the Maillard reaction (creates the brown crust, and brown food = good food), which creates hundreds of flavor compounds you wouldn't otherwise get. And the moisture loss is fairly minimal.

SOP is flip it once, but there's a lot of recent literature indicating you get a more even cook and juicier steak by flipping regularly - as often as once a minute. I've had no problems doing the one flip.

Marinades... if it's a cheap steak, by all means, marinade. If it's a ribeye or strip, keep that shit away from it. Salt, pepper, and a little granulated garlic are all you need.

I'm sure there's more, but I'm in a hurry. Will try to post more later.

Word. Rep.

Marinade with something that has a little acid in it for cheap steaks, helps to tenderize it. I like using just a decent Italian salad Dressing or something else in that family for cheap cuts.

[Fire Me Boy!]

Originally Posted by lcarus

So who is the best cook here on CP? And who wants to volunteer to answer all my idiotic questions on my quest to learn how to cook?

There are a number of good cooks here, but I'd be happy to help if you'd like. Feel free to PM me.

[Valiant]

Listen to fire me boy. Once you do that, then you will look back and think how did I ever **** up a steak..

I do like low cooking and then searing on real high for a few seconds..

[TambaBerry]

http://imgur.com/gallery/cPTAVE8

Follow this instructional format

[Fire Me Boy!]

Originally Posted by Valiant

Listen to fire me boy. Once you do that, then you will look back and think how did I ever **** up a steak..

I do like low cooking and then searing on real high for a few seconds..

Thanks.

I've seen some articles and done it a few times myself starting over low and finishing over high. The theory is you bring the entire steak up to temp slowly and you'll get a better sear and more evenly cooked piece of meat by searing at the end. Makes sense: easier to sear the outside if the outside is 120 degrees than if it's 70. My few experiences with this rings true - you get less of that medium/medium well band on the outside.

[HonestChieffan]

I just did Ribeyes for the wife and I and they were excellent

Started with good meat...I cut my own from a ribeye section. 1 1/4-1 1/2 in thick

Thawed them in fridge all day then out and allowed to come to room temp. I never microwave thaw.

Salt and pepper on the meat the entire time it is out of fridge and coming to room temp.

Charcoal. I dont do gas. Im sure some folk do well with gas I just dont and dont intend to. I use Kingsfords for just us but if doing a lot of steaks or burgers I will use lump.

I like Rosemary. So once the coals are perfect...hotter than three shades of hell...I toss a nice sprig of fresh rosemary on the grill and put steak on top of that...3 min or so....then check for a good crusty sear. If done, flip it and go another 3-4 min.

We like Rare to medium rare.

Mr Fire Me Boy has basically the same approach. Dont over complicate stuff.


Indoors I use a OLD Cast Iron skillet...I have a bunch. What one depends on number of steaks. I get the pan hottttttt. Oven preheated to 450. Sear that bad boy adding a bit of Olive Oil Flip it, sear side two...toss in oven for 10 min, check for doneness...let stand 10 min before serving.

For the record tonight I had a great microbrew wheat beer with my steak from Amana Iowa. http://www.millstreambrewing.com

Very nice people. We stopped there yesterday on way home from Illinois. And if you like root beer? Yikes... good stuff.

[Fire Me Boy!]

Originally Posted by HonestChieffan

I just did Ribeyes for the wife and I and they were excellent

Started with good meat...I cut my own from a ribeye section. 1 1/4-1 1/2 in thick

Thawed them in fridge all day then out and allowed to come to room temp. I never microwave thaw.

Salt and pepper on the meat the entire time it is out of fridge and coming to room temp.

Charcoal. I dont do gas. Im sure some folk do well with gas I just dont and dont intend to. I use Kingsfords for just us but if doing a lot of steaks or burgers I will use lump.

I like Rosemary. So once the coals are perfect...hotter than three shades of hell...I toss a nice sprig of fresh rosemary on the grill and put steak on top of that...3 min or so....then check for a good crusty sear. If done, flip it and go another 3-4 min.

We like Rare to medium rare.

Mr Fire Me Boy has basically the same approach. Dont over complicate stuff.

Yep, fairly simple stuff. I like the rosemary idea, and I have an assload of it in my back yard. Gonna give that a try next time I grill.

Originally Posted by HonestChieffan

Indoors I use a OLD Cast Iron skillet...I have a bunch. What one depends on number of steaks. I get the pan hottttttt. Oven preheated to 450. Sear that bad boy adding a bit of Olive Oil Flip it, sear side two...toss in oven for 10 min, check for doneness...let stand 10 min before serving.

I use my trusty 12-inch cast iron for steaks inside (and hamburgers - it's very tough to beat cast iron for a hamburger). Though if I'm doing them inside, I'm doing them sous vide, so all I'm doing is searing in the cast iron. Crank that sucker up on my big burner on high, wait till it gets about 700 degrees, and sear for 1 minute per side... omnomnom.

[HonestChieffan]

Originally Posted by Fire Me Boy!

Yep, fairly simple stuff. I like the rosemary idea, and I have an assload of it in my back yard. Gonna give that a try next time I grill.




I use my trusty 12-inch cast iron for steaks inside (and hamburgers - it's very tough to beat cast iron for a hamburger). Though if I'm doing them inside, I'm doing them sous vide, so all I'm doing is searing in the cast iron. Crank that sucker up on my big burner on high, wait till it gets about 700 degrees, and sear for 1 minute per side... omnomnom.

Report back on the Rosemary success. We were just in Italy and has steak one night in Florence. Other than a bit tougher than our beef it was salt, pepper, cook over HOT oak coals with rosemary under, olive oil to get better sear, bias cut and serve....Very nice.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by tomahawk kid

There's a butcher here in KC called the Local Pig - they're in the east bottoms, past Columbus Park.

Their steaks and pork cuts are fantastic. It's pricey - but you get what you pay for.

Oh and in terms of seasoning - Montreal Steak FTW.

Yup. I really like their rub.

I may be weird this way, but I like a little sweetness in my rub too. I love using either brown sugar or a coffee/cocoa mix.

[Fire Me Boy!]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

Yup. I really like their rub.

I may be weird this way, but I like a little sweetness in my rub too. I love using either brown sugar or a coffee/cocoa mix.

Coffee is great in a rub with some chile. If you like some sweetness, find some granulated honey or maple sugar for a nice change of pace.

[vailpass]

Originally Posted by Fire Me Boy!

OK, vail... here's the skinny. I'm not going back through 270 posts to point out which posters clearly don't know WTF they're talking about, but there are some.

You must season the meat. Salt makes things taste more like themselves. It also stimulates your salivary glands, which tricks your mind into thinking it has more moisture.

Do not salt right before you put it on the grill. Salt will draw out moisture. Over time, that moisture will draw back into the protein, but if you do it right before you grill, that moisture is going right into the fire. If possible, salt your steaks a day in advance. At a minimum, salt it an hour in advance.

Do let it sit out for 30-60 minutes before you grill. This is not harmful because any bacteria that might contaminate the food isn't going to have time to get on the inside of the protein... and anything on the outside will die over the fire.

Sear over a high heat for 2-3 minutes per side, then move it to a cooler zone on your grill. Despite what many on here say, searing does NOT "seal in the juices." As a matter of face, you lose more juice by searing than you do over a low heat. However, what searing does do is create the Maillard reaction (creates the brown crust, and brown food = good food), which creates hundreds of flavor compounds you wouldn't otherwise get. And the moisture loss is fairly minimal.

SOP is flip it once, but there's a lot of recent literature indicating you get a more even cook and juicier steak by flipping regularly - as often as once a minute. I've had no problems doing the one flip.

Marinades... if it's a cheap steak, by all means, marinade. If it's a ribeye or strip, keep that shit away from it. Salt, pepper, and a little granulated garlic are all you need.

I'm sure there's more, but I'm in a hurry. Will try to post more later.

Excellent as always. Thanks man!

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by Fire Me Boy!

Coffee is great in a rub with some chile. If you like some sweetness, find some granulated honey or maple sugar for a nice change of pace.

Interesting. Will need to give it a shot.