• Get to Know Your Grill
• Keep the Lid Down
• If I Can Grill These, So Can You!
• Hamburger Patties
• Hot Dogs
• Steak
• Chicken
• Other Foods
• Potatoes
• Corn in the Husk

How to Grill:

I usually start with a formerly frozen steak. The cuts of meat we use are fairly thin: an inch thick at most, usually less. This makes it easier to heat the meat evenly all the way through.

Preparing a frozen steak for the grill is a little more complex than chipping off hamburger patties.

After removal from the freezer, the steak is kept in its vapor-proof wrapper and placed in a temperature-controlled, high-airflow environment. In other words, we put the steak, still in the plastic it was frozen in, on a plate in front of an air register. In winter, the meat is bathed in warm air several times an hour, and since we keep the furnace fan running in summer, then there is a constant flow of warm air.

A few hours of this thaws the steak. Take it out of whatever it is wrapped in, put it on a plate, and take it out to the grill.

(The grilling times here are from one summer's grilling experience. Your grill's design, and outside temperature, affects grilling time. It may take longer to grill things when the tank is nearly empty, too.)

I like to pre-heat the grill, running it on the high setting for at least two minutes, before putting the steak on. That's to ensure that the side facing the flames gets seared quickly, sealing that side of the meat.

I leave the steak on high flame for at least a minute, sealing that side of the meat to retain flavor. Then, turn the flame to medium.

Steaks are thicker than the hamburger patties I grill, and they take longer to heat all the way through. I usually don't check a steak until it has been on the grill for 5 minutes.

After 5 minutes, I carefully work the spatula under the steak. The steak has usually gotten stuck to the grill. It's very likely that more juice will be squeezed out of the steak at this point. If the juice gets on the spatula, I heat the spatula until the juice sizzles. Food safety, you know.

Close the lid when you have freed the steak from the grill, and check again in about 2 minutes.

If the bottom of the steak is a light tan, with dark brown lines where it touched the grill, it is ready to flip. If not, try again at 2-minute intervals until it is.

I suppose this is obvious, but you have to turn the steak most of the way over to see the bottom. I really wouldn't suggest trying to get your face close to the edge of a cooking-hot grill in an effort to peek under the edge of a sizzling steak.

I flip the steak so that the lines from the grill, which are now on top, are parallel to the bars of the grill. This isn't necessary, but I like the steak to have a crisscross pattern when I'm done.

After the steak is flipped, I leave the flame on high for about 2 minutes, to seal in flavor. Then, after 5 minutes on medium heat, I check the steak. In addition to seeing if the underside has turned tan, I press the top of the steak with the spatula. It often has the same ‘feel. as raw meat, and red juice comes out. If the bottom of the steak isn't tan, and the juice isn't clear it isn't quite ready to be flipped.

I usually press the entire top surface of the steak, from one side to the other, with the spatula at right angles to the bars on the grill. I start at about a half inch from one side of the meat, pressing a line across the steak. Then I press another line, about a half inch from the first, until I reach the other side. The idea is to tenderize the meat a little, and to let you know how done the steak is.

When the steak is tan on the bottom, and the juice that comes out s clear, flip it again. At this point, I have the grill lines running across the grill's bars, to get that crisscross pattern I like. You don't have to, but it does say, "the one who grilled this made sure that this steak was thoroughly done on both sides" to whoever receives it.

I often put the flame on high for a minute at this point, but it isn't necessary. With the flame on medium, leave the steak on the grill for 5 minutes before checking.

I often press the entire top surface of the steak again at this point. The steak should have lost almost all of its raw meat feel by this time.

If the underside of the steak is brown, it is ready to flip. I make this a ‘straight flip,. to have the grill lines running across the grill bars again.

After about 5 minutes, the steak should be ready. Don't trust the clock, though. Press the steak with the spatula. If it feels squishy, it isn't done. At least, not by my standards. If it isn't done, check the steak at 1 or 2 minute intervals until it is.

Remember: Each time you open the lid, heat escapes and the length of time it will take to finish the steak increases. If there doesn't seem to be much change from one check to another, wait longer.

Eventually, the steak will be done. At that point, take it off the grill, put it on a clean plate, and take it inside. There's nothing left to do but cut into it, and eat it.

Speaking of cutting into it: On occasion, the steak won't be done all the way through. This is particularly likely if the steak is thick. If that happens, put the steak back on the grill over a medium flame, and try again in about 5 minutes. Repeat if necessary.

Next: You've Grilled It, Now Serve It

Copyright © 2005-2010 Brian H. Gill