13 tips for grilling steak

A lot of people love to grill. The first protein most people want when they decide to grill is a nice beef steak. If you’re one of those folks read on for 16 tips for grilling steak. If you love Ribeye’s, fillet mignon, or strip steaks follow these tips for a juicy flavorful result that will impress yourself and whomever you’re grilling for.

Tip #1 – Quality of the Beef. Whichever cut you decide to grill try to buy a quality cut of beef. Nothing wrong with buying your beef from the local supermarket. However, if you can get your beef from a butcher or better yet a farm you’ll notice the flavor to be that much better.

Tip #2 – Before grilling your steak make sure you have clean grill grates. Putting food on a dirty grill grate is a huge mistake. It can lead to too a lot of bad things. First, is food poisoning from bacteria. Second, is dirty charred meat. Remember, sear marks are good but burnt char is not tasty.

Dirty grill grates flare up

Tip #3 – Make sure the entire inside of the grill is cleaned. A good steak requires grilling at high temperatures. Depending on the steak you choose, it may be a fattier cut such as a Ribeye Steak. Grease dripping into a dirty grill leads will lead to flare ups. Nothing worse than splurging for an expensive piece of meat only to burn it up.

Tip #4 –  Seasoning. A good cut of beef doesn’t need a lot of seasoning except salt and pepper. Depending the thickness of a steak you choose, a liberal amount of salt will help compliment the beefy flavor. Stay away from table salt or iodized fine grind salt. When seasoning a beef steak choose a Kosher salt that is a very course grind because it will hold to the beef better compared to table salt.

Strip Steak on the grill with salt and pepper

Tip #5 – Don’t put the steak on the grill immediately after you take it out of the refrigerator. A room temperature steak has a much better chance of grilling evenly. Wait a 1/2 hour after you take the steak out of the fridge before you gut it on the grill grates.

Tip #6 –  Don’t season the steak with salt and then put it back in the refrigerator. Nothing wrong with salt on a steak. In fact I encourage it. However, it’s best to season the steak with salt right before you slap it on the grill.

Ribeye Steak on the Grill

Tip #7 –  Don’t put the steak on the grill until the grill is at a high temperature. One of the biggest mistakes made when you just start off as a griller is not waiting long enough for the grill to properly get hot. Whether you prefer a charcoal, wood, or a gas grill, putting a steak on a cold grill is a no no if you want nice grill marks.

Tip #8 – Pat your steak dry on each side. Why pat your steak dry before grilling? Patting the steak with a paper towel removes moisture which will encourage grill marks. Less moisture equals not steaming the steak on the grill grates.

Ribeye Steak on Grill Grates

Tip #9- If you choose to marinade a steak, pat the steak dry before putting it on the grill. Throwing a piece of wet beef on the grill will not lead to nice Sear Marks. The liquid will heat up and actually steam the beef. Not ideal for a nice piece of beef!

Marinated Grilled Top Sirloin

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Tip #10 – Put down the fork. Get yourself a good pair of tongs for grilling. Nothing worse than poking and shoving a fork into a piece of meat to flip it. Ever time the meat is punctured, delicious juices are coming out of the steak. Only time it should be punctured is for a meat thermometer to check internal temps.

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Tip #11 – If you’re just starting out grilling, grill your steak with a gas grill. As much as the smoke from charcoal or wood enhances the flavor of beef, a good gas grill will help you evenly grill the meat to the same internal temperature.

Sliced Sirloin Coulotte

Tip # 12- Don’t over flip your steak. New grillers often make the steak of moving the steak around too much. One 15 degree rotation on each side and flip only once. Thats all you need for some awesome sear marks.

T Bone Steak with Sear Marks

Tip #13 – How long should you let your beef rest after grilling? Don’t slice open that piece of beef immediately after grilling. All the juices need to settle back down. Let your steak sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Sliced Ribeye grilled medium rare on cutting board

So now that you’ve got these 13 tips for grilling steak, you’re all set to pick up that juicy Ribeye or tender NY Strip Steak and grill up a great beef steak. Keep on reading Sear Marks for more grilling dinner suggestions!