The Best Secrets To Cooking Perfect Steak

Cooking perfect steak for me means using that summertime favorite - the bbq grill. Achieving predictable results here can be challenging, which is why learning this basic cooking method is critical for outdoor cooking success! From choosing the correct cut of meat to deciding "how you like your steak", grilling is simple as long as you avoid some of the key pitfalls along the way. Should you keep the lid open or closed? How do you know when to flip the steak? How long do you cook the steak? Answering these questions is the key to cooking perfect steak and knowing how to do it each and every time.

It All Starts BEFORE Cooking Tenderloin!

In cooking tenderloin, there is an important first step before the actual cooking and that is prepping! I recommend you start with a whole tenderloin (chain and all). This will save you some significant money, justifying the choice of tenderloin over a lesser cut of meat. And there it is - Step One: choose a nice steak to begin with. To get that nice steak from a whole tenderloin, you will need to do just a little bit of work. Trust me - it's worth it.

First, you will need to remove the chain, which is the long muscle along the side. Next, remove the thick "head" from the top of the tenderloin. What you're looking at now is a long (tenderloin) cut of beef from which to cut your steaks. Steaks should generally be portioned somewhere between 3 and 5 oz, the recommended portion size for an average adult. The size you choose is not important, but keeping all of the steaks approximately the same size IS important. You'll want to use a scale and try to get the steaks as consistently sized (by weight) as possible to ensure the most consistent and reliable cooking results.

Do you Really Know How to Grill Beef?

Knowing how to grill beef is a simple process, but most people still go into it blindly. By following the steps, you will always be working towards cooking the perfect steak, rather than just cooking a steak until it has reached a safe to eat temperature and texture.

Start by getting the grill as hot as possible. Part of expert cooking is understanding how to maximize the process you are using - in this case grilling. Grilling is fast, intense, direct source conductive cooking so don't treat it like an oven. Keep the lid open when you grill.

Next, take your steak and determine which side you'd like facing up on the plate. This is the side you want to have those pretty grill marks on. This side (known as the "show side") goes down on the grill to cook first. That's how you get those grill marks.

As you watch the steak, you will continue to cook on the first side until it is 50-75% done. Most people flip too early, but those who really know how to grill beef are patient. When you finally flip it, those perfectly branded grill marks - that will surely impress the neighbors - are your reward.

How Long Should the Meat Cook? Until It's Done!

If you want to know how long to cook anything, the answer is always the same. We cook our food until it's done. So how do we determine how long to let the meat cook so that it's "done"? Now that is a better question! When we cook anything, there are some consistent and reliable things that happen.

The first cooking sign we look for is coagulation of proteins, which happens at 165 degrees. The sides of your steak will turn grayish brown, as it stiffens and shrinks a bit. This is how you observe this coagulation of proteins in your steak.

Next, at 320 degrees, sugars caramelize forming grill marks and imparting a nice steak smell. To get those cool cross-hatch grill marks, pick the steak up, rotate it a bit and drop it back down on the grill while it is still cooking on the first side. At 50-75% done, (what the French term as "a point"), you flip the steak to the other side to complete cooking.

The only way to determine if your steak is cooked the way you like it is with a thermometer. You will insert a thermometer - and ONLY a thermometer - into your steak and cook until the steak has reached your desired final temperature: 125-135 degrees is rare; 145-150 is medium and 160-165 is well done. If you gash the steak to examine the middle, you've released some of the moistness, which is almost always NOT what you are tryng to do.

Remember to let the steak rest for 5-10 minutes before serving so that the juices have redistributed in advance and will not run off on the serving plate.

Presenting: The Perfect Steak. YOUR perfect steak. Whatever that might be. And it could be different tomorrow. You choose.

Chef Todd Mohr is a classically trained chef, entrepreneur, educator and host of the "Cooking Coarse" video series. For more details on Cooking by Method and how you can cook better everyday at home, visit Chef Todd’s website I Hate Cooking Recipes where you can view over 160 free cooking videos and get the Free monthly e-zine "Burn Your Recipes."

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