Grill Steaks At Room Temperature, Then Wait
Grilled on June 8th, 2006 in Grilling Tips
You should always let your steaks come to room temperature, sitting them out about half an hour prior to cooking is long enough, but always marinate them in the refrigerator. If you have a tender cut of meet, you can get away with marinating them for as little as fifteen minutes but never more than an hour or so. If it’s a little tougher, you’ll have to marinate for a little while longer to let the flavor get into the meat. Since you’ll be leaving it in a bag (or plate or whatever) for an extended period of time, you’ll need to keep it refrigerated. Prior to grilling, pull them out and let them warm up a little.
Why? The key to grilling a nice juicy steak is to limit the amount of time it spends on the grill - by letting the steak come to room temperature, you aren’t wasting some of that time on the grill just warming up the cut of meat.
Also, after you’re done grilling, let the steak sit for a few minutes before you cut into it. If you’ve ever grilled a steak and then cut it open to check doneness (a rookie mistake I make frequently, hopefully less frequently now), you’ll probably notice the pool of juices that come out if you’ve left it on the plate. These juices will flow back towards the center of the steak if you let it, so after you’re done grilling, just let the steak relax for five minutes. Then chow down!
Photo by Vaughn H.
Actually, I marinate at room temp, killing two birds with one stone. It takes a large steak, like the 16oz USDA Prime ribeyes I’m cooking tonight, about three hours to come from refrigerator temp to “room temperature”, which for a good steak, is more than enough marinating time. The idea is to subtly flavor the meat with the marinade, not beat it into submission.
Another tip for newbies when cooking a truly great steak…if you think the fire is hot enough, you’re wrong. Make it hotter. Flame is your friend when it comes to Prime beef. A perfectly-grilled “medium” steak will be nearly black on the outside, and a hot, juicy pink on the inside and a dark, almost crispy crust outside. Charring seals in the the juices and releases the flavors. Don’t “brown” that steak, GRILL it!