How To Grill A Steak

Learning how to grill a steak is easier than most make it out to be. For some, the smell of a piece of steak grilling is the best aroma around. However, it can also be one of the most difficult piece of meat to learn to grill since cooking too quickly or on too high of heat can cause the meat to be dry and tough, or not cooking it long enough can result in cold raw meat under a layer of cooked meat. Once the technique has been figured out, however, you can always be known as the master griller and tackle any piece of meat for that perfectly tender steak everyone craves.

To grill a steak, you will need:

• Top quality piece of steak, between 1 and 1/2 inch thick for perfect grilling
• Kosher salt
• Cracked black pepper
• Fresh garlic
• Grill utensils
• Meat thermometer

1. Trim the fat. The first thing to do is take the quality piece of steak you picked out, and trim the excess fat from the edges. Some fat around the edges will be ok and help keep the meat moist, but you do not want too much excess fat. When picking your piece of meat, try and choose one with good marbling through the meat, which is the white fat that is mixed within the piece of meat. This will help keep the meat tender and add to its moistness since the marbling of fat will cook down and add juices to the meat while cooking. Also, try and not have a piece of meat thicker than 1 1/2 inch thick since any thicker and it will have to be cooked too long to cook through, causing dry tough meat. Also, don't get a piece of meat too thin as that will cause it to be tough as well.
2. Next, prepare the meat. Lay the piece of steak on a wooden chopping block, and beat each side of the steak with the bumpy side of a meat tenderizer. This will break down the muscle in the steak to ensure its tender when cooked.
3. Take fresh garlic, and using a garlic press, create a garlic paste. Then, take part of the garlic paste and smear it over both sides of the steak, then sprinkle with the fresh kosher salt and black pepper, then set aside while you get the grill heated up.
4. Make sure the grill is heated up to high, or if using charcoal grill, make sure the charcoals are covered with an even layer of ash. Brush the grill to remove any left over food from the last time it was used, and make sure its clean before you place the steaks on it. When the grill is heated up, place the steaks on the center of the grill, and make sure you hear a sizzle when the steak makes contact with the grill. This tells you that the grill has been heated up long enough.
5. You are going to want to cook each piece of meat three to five minutes per side. You can turn the meat a 1/4 turn halfway through the cooking to give those impressive grill lines on them. However, other than that, try and not move the meat around the grill too much while it is cooking.
6. While you are getting used to knowing when the steak is done, you can use an instant read thermometer to check how done it is. Stick the thermometer in the thickest piece of meat and read the thermometer. If it reads 125, it is medium rare, for medium it will be 135 to 140, and for well done it will be 150. Before you take the steaks temperature, try and let it rest off the grill for a few minutes so the heat and the juices can redistribute through out the meat before you mess with it. This will help it stay juicy and tender when you cut into it.