Be Sure to Let Your Steak Reach Room Temperature First
Letting your steak reach room temperature before cooking is a must-do step! It’s important because we want the meat to cook as evenly as possible. If your steak is colder in the center than the outside of the steak when you start to cook it, it will result in burning the outside while trying to get the inside to catch up and finish cooking!
Use a Meat Thermometer
To make the best steaks, don’t play around with guessing if they’re done! To be as precise as possible, use an instant-read thermometer to stay on top checking the internal temperature of the meat.
When probing the steak, stay away from fat, bone, and gristle, and stick the thermometer in the thickest part of the steak.
Keep in mind, the meat continues cooking after being removed from the heat, by about 5 degrees. Therefore, be prepared to remove it from the heat before it reaches the temperature for doneness.
Rare Steak Checklist
For this, you want your steak not mooing, but still bleeding.
- It has a warm center.
- It is somewhat charred on the outside.
- It has browned sides with a bright red middle.
Touch it! It should feel soft, like the almost-raw meat that it is.
To Achieve this for a 1 inch Steak:
- Put your steak on your hot grill for 5 minutes.
- Flip it, and grill for 3 more minutes.
- It needs to cook to the internal temperature of 120-130°F.
- Remove from the grill when or before it reaches 125°F.
Medium-Rare Steak Checklist
For this, you want your steak not bleeding, but to still have pink with a touch of red.
- It is warm throughout the middle.
- It has browned sides, a pink center, with a tad of red.
- It has a caramelized top and bottom, with significant grill marks.
Touch it! It should be firm, but the middle should quickly spring back.
To Achieve this for a 1 inch Steak:
- Put your steak on your hot grill for 5 minutes.
- Flip it, and grill for 4 more minutes.
- It needs to cook to an internal temperature of 130-135°F.
- Remove from the grill when or before it reaches 130°F.
Medium Steak Checklist
For this, you want your steak to have pink, but more brown than pink.
- It has more rich brown meat than pink meat, but has a thick band of pink through its middle.
- It has a darkly charred bottom, but it is not black or burnt.
Touch it! It should feel firm, but have some play.
To Achieve this for a 1 inch Steak:
- Put your steak on your hot grill for 6 minutes.
- Flip it, and grill for 4 more minutes.
- It needs to cook to an internal temperature of 140-150°F.
- Remove from the grill when or before it reaches 145°F.
Medium-Well Steak Checklist
For this, you want your steak to have barely any pink.
- It is dark brown, and it has just a tiny bit of pink in the center.
- It is charred on the top and bottom, but not black or burnt.
Touch it! It should be very stiff, with a little squish in its center.
To Achieve this for a 1 inch Steak:
- Put your steak on your hot grill for 7 minutes.
- Flip it, and grill for 7 more minutes.
- It needs to cook to an internal temperature of 155-165°F.
- Remove it from the grill when or before it reaches 160°F.
Well-Done Steak Checklist
For this, you want your steak to not have any pink, but also to not turn out as a dried out brick.
- It is not burnt, with only brown meat.
Touch it! It should feel solid. No squishiness here.
To Achieve this for a 1 inch Steak:
- Turn down the heat to medium! We want no burning the meat here!
- Put your steak on your hot grill for 10-12 minutes.
- Flip it, and do the same- 10-12 minutes.
- It needs to cook to an internal temperature of at least 170°F.
- Remove it from the grill when or before it reaches 165°F.
Tip: Let it Rest!
Let those babies rest for at least 5 minutes after you’re done cooking them. Afterall, they just did a lot of hard work, transforming into juicy melt-in-your-mouth amazingness, tender in the middle and crisp on the outside!
Don’t forget to do this step because the steak’s muscle fibers contracted and toughened while they were cooking. They need time for the juices to redistribute and reabsorb throughout the meat. You don’t want that deliciousness to pool on your plate, which is what will happen if you cut into it too soon.
Photo credit: Emerson Vieira