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?

[2112]

Now this is serious filet Mignon on the grill. you have to let it cool off before you cut it, n00b

[2112]

Carcass Before

[WhawhaWhat]

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.

Just a quick addition but use Sea Salt and not regular table salt. Fresh cracked black pepper is better than a ground black pepper.

[SDChiefs]

slow cook on low heat. comes out great.

[Loneiguana]

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.

It also only takes twenty minutes for the bacteria to double in population.

[mikeyis4dcats.]

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.

check your science here FMB, salting in advance will draw out the mositure and make them dry. you want to salt just before grilling.

the rest is spot on.

[mikeyis4dcats.]

Originally Posted by Loneiguana

It also only takes twenty minutes for the bacteria to double in population.

his point is that it is mostly surface bacteria - this is not ground meat where the bacteria are throughout. On the surface, heat will take care of it.

we understand commercial kitchens have restrictions homes do not. That doesn't mean it's better.

[Tytanium]

Originally Posted by mikeyis4dcats.

letting it rest on the front end and back end will go a long ways to this.

Here's a test - buy 3 ribeyes today of very similar size and shape. Cook them all for the same time on the grill (I do 5 minutes one side then flip for 4 minutes for a 1 1/2", 1# ribeye)

Take one out and put on grill, serve immediately.

Take one out, let it come to room temp (15 min or so), cook, serve immediately,

Take one out, let it come to temp, then rest 10 minutes after.

The first will likely be rare in the middle, with very little medium rare around.

The second will likely be more evenly cooked, but a little tough, and not very juicy in the mouth.

The third will be evenly cooked, more tender, and juicy in the mouth.

Leaving the meat out does nothing but make you wait longer for your food. Use oil and HIGH heat to sear, then lower the temp to cook to your preferred internal temperature.

Read this: http://www.seriouseats.com/2013/06/t...ing-steak.html

[Tytanium]

Originally Posted by WhawhaWhat

Just a quick addition but use Sea Salt and not regular table salt. Fresh cracked black pepper is better than a ground black pepper.

Kosher salt flakes tend to stick better in my experience, but I usually use Kirkland sea salt grinders. If you use table salt on steak, you ought to be shot.

[mikeyis4dcats.]

Originally Posted by Tytanium

Leaving the meat out does nothing but make you wait longer for your food. Use oil and HIGH heat to sear, then lower the temp to cook to your preferred internal temperature.

Read this: http://www.seriouseats.com/2013/06/t...ing-steak.html

be that as it may, on the occasions that I have forgotten and had to throw steaks on cold, they have not cooked as evenly. I don't think it's mental, as I can physically see the difference. But that's just me.

I would totally agree on thin cuts, but when cooking an 1 1/2" or 2" steak, I am convinced it makes a difference.

And I always preheat the Weber to 600 plus. Get those grates nice and hot.

[Fire Me Boy!]

Originally Posted by mikeyis4dcats.

check your science here FMB, salting in advance will draw out the mositure and make them dry. you want to salt just before grilling.

the rest is spot on.

Wrong. Given time, that moisture (and the liquified salt) will draw back into the steak and season inside the meat. http://mobile.seriouseats.com/2011/0...ct-steaks.html

[Valiant]

IMO the only reason why you would own table salt in a household is to waste on water when boiling eggs... **** that shit..

[salame]

let them rest for like 5-10 minutes with foil over them

[HonestChieffan]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

Interesting. Will need to give it a shot.

Another option is Hickory Cane Syrup. There is a guy who makes and sells it from Belton Mo. Interesting product. He also sells a great smoked sea salt.

http://hickorycanesyrups.com

[Silock]

I have a slight variation on most of the GOOD advice in the thread, but I always get compliments.

1) Set meat out to come to room temp. It's not strictly necessary, but I find it helps make an even cook. Salt at this time. And you want to use either sea salt or kosher salt. Both are fine. And you want to cover the meat in salt as much as possible. It doesn't dry out the meat and anyone that tells you it does has no idea what they're talking about. I've been known to leave it out as long as 4 hours at this point. The salt keeps bacteria from growing on the meat, and even if it did, the heat would kill it off. There is zero reason that this small amount of time outside of the refrigerator would grow bacteria that would be harmful. If you get sick from the meat, it was already contaminated.

Also, if you're not going to be able to salt ahead of time, don't grill the steaks. You need at least an hour of them salted for it to do what it's supposed to, which is to begin to break down the fibers of the meat and season it.

2) Preheat the grill. As hot as possible.

I also don't sear on the grill grates. I use a seasoned cast iron grill pan/plate. It's completely flat to maximize contact with the meat and get the best crust possible. I usually wait until the plate is about 900 degrees or so. Pretty easy to do with a standard grill and a nice, thick cast iron plate.

3) Right before they go on the grill, I rinse off the salt and dry the steaks with paper towels. It doesn't need the salt on there at this point. It's already in the meat. But you don't want the steaks to be wet, either. That only interferes with the meat getting a nice crust.

Then, I rub them with olive oil. A teaspoon or so per side, but that's not a strict rule. Just make sure it's covered.

4) Grill. Usually 3 minutes per side, and then off. That goes for about 1" thick steaks.

5) Rest the meat for at least 5 minutes. As soon as the steaks come off the grill, put a small pat of butter on top to melt off and become to sauce for the steak.

It always tastes amazing and only gets compliments. I get people asking if they can pay for my steaks because they taste so good.