Chef Mike Morgan from Hereford House shares some tips and tricks to help you through the grilling season.
1. One of the most important steps is to know what you are planning on grilling. A giant, juicy steak then requires you to have the right grill or the right flame to control the heat.
2. The grill will be one of the most important decisions you make in life for a great day of grilling in your back yard. The right one can give you the best products as the wrong one will haunt you and your food until you buy a new grill. There is charcoal, gas, wood, pellet, induction, etc…. Purchase what you will be most comfortable with.
Here’s a list of the different cuts of steak:
Kansas City Strip: Well marbled, from the larger end of the short loin. Flavorful and worthy of its reputation.
Bone In Rib-Eye Steak: Is prepared bone-in, cut from the 6th rib through the 12th. Visual fat and sometimes contains gristle. Packed full of flavor. One reason for the extra flavor is the "kernel," it's the ribbon of marbling that runs through the meat, most of which melts during cooking.
Rib-Eye Steak: A rib-eye is a rib steak served without the bone. Rib-eyes are the most heavily and evenly marbled, so very flavorful.
Sirloin Steak: Tougher than the short loin but still very tender, and loved for its affordability. Between the short loin and rump steak.
The Porterhouse and T-Bone (Porterhouse Jr.): are from the short loin and have a T-shaped bone. On one side of the "T" is the strip steak and the other is a smaller tenderloin. A Porterhouse has a larger tenderloin portion than a T-Bone.
Filet: The tender end of the short loin. It is extremely tender; some steak lovers consider it too tender. If you’re looking for a steak to sink your teeth into, try the strip or rib-eye.
4. Try to select cuts of meat that have thin strands or specks of fat in them. When you grill, those specks will melt and make the meat juicier.
5. The leaner the cut the less well-done it should be cooked. If possible try not to cook past medium. If you do, it may cause that steak to become tough.
6. To avoid having “domed” or “puffy” burgers, make an indentation with your thumb on the top of each raw patty before grilling. Once it cooks, it should be about level.
7. Don’t over-marinate! A good rule of thumb is to marinade between 30 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the size and quantity of your steak.
8. To get a great sear, pat your steaks dry on both sides before placing on the grill.
9. Pre-Heat your grill 15-25 minutes, before you start grilling to get the desired temperature.
10. Let your steaks rest, uncovered, a little after you’ve grilled. This allows the juices to redistribute themselves, and by letting them rest uncovered the crust won’t get soggy.
11. Charcoal grills are one of the best grills out there if you know how to use them properly. Charcoal burns hotter than gas, adds flavor, adds a sear to your product faster to allow internal juices to stay in allowing for a full-flavored steak.
12. The trick is to let the charcoal get red then start to turn to ash on the briquettes then put your hand about 10-12 inches over the grill. If you can hold your hand there for 10 seconds and then have to pull it away you are good to go. If you pull it away before 10 seconds wait a few more minutes. If you can keep your hand there all day, then you may need to add more charcoal.
13. Wood is very similar to charcoal except that it adds more smoke flavor than charcoal does. Most barbeque grillmasters use a wood of some sort to impart that flavor into the meat as it is slow cooked over hours. The heat is just as hot as charcoal, adds great flavor, cooks your product just as fast as charcoal and sears your steak just as well.
14. Gas grills are the easiest because you can control the temperature and flame to how you want it. Gas grills get hot and stay hot until you run out of propane. But the flame is ever constant giving you the chance to cook everything you need at one time with different temperature settings to cook separate items. They are great for the new griller in the family. They just don’t add any flavor to what you are cooking. When cooking with gas, the best thing you can do is to marinate and season everything you put on it. Otherwise, it will be just plain tasting. Gas grills do get hot but must have a cover over the flame to direct the flame away from what your grilling so getting that great sear to keep the internal juices in is a little harder to get.
15. Pellet electric grills use pellets to feed the fire as you cook. The electric motor fills in the grill with pellets and it allows for the grill to get hot and also add a smoke flavor. The grill gets just as hot as a gas grill but again keeps the flame away from directly reaching your steak. A great idea so there is not the mess of charcoal to clean up, it gets just as hot as gas, adds flavor from the smoke (not a lot) but again it is something that you would still want to marinade or season your steaks pretty heavily before cooking them.
16. If you are going to try and cook a monster of a steak that is as thick as your fist then get your grill hot (not too hot) but sear both sides in the hottest part of the grill and then move the steak to a lower temperature area of the grill to let it cook over less heat. This keeps it from burning the outside and tasting like show leather.
17. One common problem is people continually turning their steaks. You don’t have to do this unless your flame is too hot. If your heat is just right leave your steak on there and let it cook a few minutes per side then turn over to the other side. It will cook the inside just the way you like it.
18. Clean your grill after each use!
19. Approximate Total Grilling Time for steaks is based on their thickness:
¾ Inch Thick: 10-14 minutes on high heat, 1 inch thick: 14-16 minutes on high heat, 2 inches thick 18-20 minutes on high heat.
20. A general rule of thumb to tell how cooked your meat is:
Rare – Cool Red Center
Medium Rare – Warm Red Center
Medium – Hot Pink Center
Medium Well – Slight Pink Center
Well Done - Cooked Throughout