Grilling and Doneness of Steak

The secret to a juicy Steak is something people have been arguing about since the early days of backyard grills. Some people will tell you to sear the meat at high temperatures on both sides, then turn down the heat and let it finish cooking. Others will say that searing has no real effect. I've tried it both ways and don't necessarily think that high temperature fast searing does much. The real secret to a juicy Steak is to get it cooked fast and to get it off the grill the second it's done. Letting a Steak sit on a grill too long whether it's cooked through or not will dry out the meat.

Grilling: Here's what I recommend. Get your grill good and hot. The ideal temperature is one that will cook the Steak to the desired doneness in the shortest amount of time without burning the surface. Place the room temperature Steaks on the grill and close the lid. Watch closely to avoid flare-ups and turn when the sides start to turn gray and the bottom side has good grill marks on it. Flip and close the lid again. Continue to watch for flare-ups. When the sides are gray all the way through and the second side has good grill marks check for doneness.

Doneness: One of the biggest problems people have about Steaks is how to know when it's done. Some people will cook up a small piece of meat with the Steaks and use it for testing purposes. The only problem with this is that the smaller pieces will cook faster. I use what I call the stiffness test. Take the raw Steak and place it on a plate. With your spatula or fork press down on the Steak and move the spatula back and forth. Get a good feel for how the Steak moves between the top and bottom. A completely cooked (well done) Steak will have almost none of this motion.

A medium rare Steak will have a little motion but will feel stiffer. This is a skill that you have to practice with. Remember that you can always put a Steak back on the grill if it's too rare but you can't uncook a well done Steak. Err on the side of under cooked and throw it back on the grill if you need to. If you pay good attention to the way a Steak cooks you'll get better at telling when it's just perfect. (bbq.about)




See also :
Sour Sally
Sate