When it comes to cooking meat on a gas grill most folks just can't seem to get it right. For most of us, gas grill cooking is nothing but guesswork. I am sure you have often wondered just how your favorite steak house manages to serve up such mouth-watering, tender steaks that always seem to be cooked to perfection. We will attempt here to provide you with the tips and tricks to cooking steak on a gas grill that will have your friends and family begging for more.
Before you begin, you want to determine how the people in your family or party like their steaks cooked. Some like their steak cooked medium-rare to rare and some are going to opt for a steak that is medium to well-done. Now, I am going to tell you something that may seem completely counter intuitive to what you may be thinking but stay with me.
Question. If cooking a rare or medium-rare steak do you think the gas grill heat should be high or medium. Is that your final answer?
If you said medium heat, you would be incorrect. When cooking a rare to medium-rare steak you want your temperature high in order to sear your steak and cook it quickly on the outside. This process traps the juices inside and results in a steak that is super juicy. The medium to well-done steak on the other hand should be cooked over a medium heat to give the inside a chance to cook without burning the outside.
Preparing the cooking grate is important as well. I use a Weber gas grill that incorporates heavy cast iron grates as opposed to the thinner wire grates. These grates heat up evenly and hold the heat much better. You want to brush a bit of cooking oil on the grates before you fire the gas grill up. This keeps the steak from sticking to the grates and tearing the outside sear when flipping or removing.
The steaks themselves should have been removed from the refrigerator about an hour ago and allowed to come to room temperature. While the grill is heating up and before placing on the grill, you want to brush your steaks with a light coat of cooking oil as you did with the grates. This keeps the steaks tender and moist. Now rub in a little salt and pepper or a seasoning of your choice such as perhaps a bit of garlic powder or maybe a bit of cayenne pepper if you can stand the heat.
Most folks are not sure about when to flip a steak over. Here a bit of trial and error is in order but as a general rule of thumb, look for moisture beginning to seep out of the side that is facing you. Now cook the steak for about 1/2 the time you cooked it on the first side.
You can flip your steak multiple times if you are looking for those criss-cross grill marks that you see at the restaurant. Just angle the steak at a 45 degree angle to the original grill marks if you want to get all fancy.
Although it is not necessary to cook a steak all the way through as is necessary with poultry and pork, some guidelines are helpful to determine when your steak is done to perfection. You do want to avoid cutting your steak to check its doneness, especially if you plan on putting it back on the grill. This will cause the juices to run out and may result in a dried out piece of shoe leather.
1" Thick Steaks - Rare 8-10 minutes, Medium 12-14 minutes, Well 16-20 minutes
1 1/2" Thick Steaks - Rare 10-16 minutes, Medium 16-20 minutes, Well 22-26 minutes
2" Thick Steaks - Rare 12-16 minutes, Medium 18-22 minutes, Well 24-28 minutes
What you may want to invest in is a good meat thermometer or meat fork. The meat thermometer is longer and will enable you to get deep inside a roaster chicken to check temperature but the meat fork having shorter tongs, is ideal for cuts such as steak and pork chops.
Now don't think that your steak is ready to eat as soon a you remove it from the grill. The steak continues to cook for about 5 minutes after you remove it from the grill. Do let the steaks rest for 5 minutes before eating.
Don't let the challenge of cooking the perfect steak scare you. With just these few tips and a bit of preparation, you will have soon earned that "Kiss Me I'm the Cook" chef apron!
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