Grilling the Perfect Steak in Four Easy Steps

It’s Labor Day, which probably means you’ll be throwing some steaks on the grill.

Patch visited Longhorn Steakhouse, 9530 S Pulaski Rd, Oak Lawn, for some grilling tips from managing partner Lillian Schrote.

“Some of the most common mistakes people make is grilling at too low of a temperature, and leaving the meat on the flame too long,” Schrote said. “You also don’t want to press down on the steak while it’s cooking and let all the juices out.”

If your steaks have a tendency to come out overcooked and dry, here are a few a simple rules to help turn you into a grill master.

Choosing the right cut:

Three simple rules to follow when selecting the right steak for your grill are cut, marbling and freshness.

• Marbling is the whiteness that runs throughout the steak that makes it juicy and gives it flavor.
• Filets, sirloins and rib-eye are the most common cuts of steak that you’ll find at the local grocer.

• Filets are lean and tender and have a buttery texture.
• Sirloins are lean cut and very juicy.
• Bone-in ribeye has the most marbling and is the juiciest and most flavorful steak.

• Fresh steak is always the best because it guarantees that it is the juiciest and tenderest. Try to grill the steak within a day of purchasing it.

“My personal preference is any steak that has a bone in it. There is tons of flavor in the bone that will permeate throughout the steak,” Schrote said. “I suggest a New York strip for someone who really likes the full flavor of marbling but not all the marbling inside the steak.”

Be bold in your seasoning:

• Be bold in seasoning. Seasoning the outside of the steak before you toss it on the grill will seal in the flavor and give it a nice char.
• Season both sides of the steak “coast to the coast” then flip it over and do the same. A simple seasoning you can make at home is 3 tablespoons of salt (sea and kosher salt are best being even plain old table salt works) and 1 tablespoon each of pepper, granulated onion powder and granulated garlic. Mix all of them together. Or, experiment with what is available in the cupboard.
• Make sure both sides of the meat are coated.

“You can never put too much seasoning on your steak for be bold,” Schrote advises. “Some of the seasoning will burn off in the grilling, so you want plenty of seasoning to build a nice char on the outside.”I

Preparing the grill:

• Scrape the grill grates clean with a cleaning brush or other tool. Whatever you do, don’t wash the grates with soap or water or a scouring pad.
• Season the grates with extra virgin olive or Canola oil. The oil will give your steaks those beautiful grill marks.
• Fire up the grill. Whether you use charcoal or gas, you want the grill to be between 500 and 600 degrees F.
• Most grills made today are equipped with a temperature gauge, or use an external grill gauge.

“The majority of grills made today have temperature gauge, or you can buy an external temperature gauge as a replacement from any store where grills are sold,” Schrote said.

Grilling Your Steak

• After the grill reaches 500 degrees, put the steak in the center of the grill for about two or three minutes until grill marks appear. Flip and repeat.
• When grill marks appear, turn the steak a quarter to get those nice diamond marks. Flip and repeat.
• Depending on how you like your steak cooked, use a meat thermometer to determine the degree of doneness:

• Rare, 120 to 130 degrees
• Medium, 130 to 140 degrees
• Well, 160 degrees

“From the moment you put the steak in the center of the grill it’s cooking. A nice medium rare steak will take between six to eight minutes and it happens pretty fast,” Schrote said. “What I have found is that people leave them on the flame too long. It’s easier to put the steak back on your flame but you can’t reverse a steak that is overcooked.”