by Greg Walker

Created on: January 12, 2009   Last Updated: May 03, 2011

There are many techniques for grilling steaks. I learned this one from a great cook in Sacramento, California, and it never fails. It takes practice, but once you get it you will be the steak god or goddess of your tribe.

Meat

Do not skimp on the quality of your meat. U.S.D.A. Choice is best for most applications. Prime is more expensive and fattening. Many stores sell non-U.S.D.A. graded beef nowadays, and the quality is variable at best, steer clear of it and stick with U.S.D.A. rated meat.

Fire

Grilling steaks requires hot and direct fire. Don't mess with low or indirect heat or you will just end up boiling your steaks until they are the texture of old shoes. And not tender and juicy old shoes either, but dry, tough ones. Just go with a hot fire.

Start your coals in a chimney starter, avoiding chemical starters that may leave unpleasant residual flavors in the meat. Drizzle three sheets of newspaper with a very little bit of cooking oil, wad them up and shove them in the bottom of your starter. Fill your chimney with charcoal. Chunk charcoal burns hotter than briquettes and not as long, but steaks cook quickly.

Put the Two Together

Pile your hot coals in the bottom of your barbecue and put your thoroughly cleaned grill on top of it. Let the metal get good and hot at least ten minutes.

Fold a retired cotton tea-towel into a long four inch strip and roll it into a very tight roll, securing each end with butchers' string to make a grill oiler. Holding your grill oiler in a pair of tongs, squeeze a generous amount of vegetable oil on it and quickly oil your hot grill. The reason for tightness of the roll and speed is that you do not want this thing to catch fire.

Immediately before you put the steaks down, season both sides with generous pinches of good quality salt. Avoid iodized table salt. Other seasoning, like pepper, can wait until you pull the steaks it will just burn on the fire.

Put your steaks down on the hot, oiled grill and do not touch them for about ninety seconds. Then, rotate them ninety degrees with a stiff metal spatula and let them cook, same side, for another ninety seconds. This will give you those grill marks that make people say, "Oooh! Grilled food!"

After the second ninety second interval, flip the steaks. Here is where experience comes in, and you may make some mistakes at first. This is where your doneness is determined. Here's how:

Look at the palms of one of your hands, and notice the meaty/fleshy part where the thumb connects. There is a soft piece of flesh there that varies a bit from really soft to not so soft. The median in there is how you want a medium-rare steak to feel. The firmer the steak, the more well done it is. If you like your steaks really rare, go for really soft, and if you like it closer to medium go for a little firmer.

Let your steaks sizzle while you stare at your palm. Do not start testing for doneness until a minute has passed because right after you turn the steaks they will be really firm with the water trying to get away from the fire. After a minute the juices have redistributed and you can start testing for doneness. Pull them just before you think they are done. Place them on a platter, add any additional seasoning, cover with aluminum foil and let them sit for five minutes. This will finish the cooking process and allow the juices to completely reabsorb throughout the meat.

If you like, you can finish these beauties with compound butter or a good home-made sauce or, for a Tuscan flair, some lemon wedges. However, you absolutely do not need to: these have all the steaky flavor that you could possibly desire. Bon Apptit!

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