How to Grill a Steak

Wet meat steams. Dry meat sears. Before any seasoning touches the steak, blot it down with paper towels and press hard enough to pull the surface moisture out.

Don't skimp here. When you lift the towel and see no more wet spots transferring, you're done. A bone-dry surface is what gives you that mahogany crust later.

The trio: kosher salt, fresh-cracked black pepper, garlic powder. Lay it on liberally. Cover the entire surface so the meat is barely visible underneath.

Pat the seasoning into the meat with your fingertips so it sticks. Flip the steak and repeat. Then run the edges through whatever seasoning fell off so the sides get coated too. You want every square inch dressed.

Open the lid, turn every burner to high, and let the grill climb to its top end. Most home gas grills cap out around 500-550F, and that's exactly where you want to be.

Give it a few minutes to fully heat up. The grates should look almost dry and the air above them should shimmer. If you wave your hand near the surface and pull back fast, you're ready.

Find the hottest spot on the grill, the one you can feel from a foot above. Lay the steak down with confidence. You should hear a loud sizzle the second it touches metal.

Press it gently with the back of your tongs to make full contact with every grate bar. Close the lid and walk away.

At about two and a half minutes, lift one corner of the steak with your tongs. You should see deep brown bars where the grates kissed it. That's the first set of grill marks.

Set it back down rotated 45 degrees from where it was. Don't flip it yet. The same side gets a second set of marks, this time crossing the first to make that classic diamond pattern. Close the lid for another two and a half minutes.

Open the lid. The top should still look raw and seasoned, but the bottom is now a beautiful crosshatch of deep brown bars. Flip it.

Press the new side down with the tongs to lock in solid grate contact. Close the lid. The second side gets the same treatment: a couple minutes, rotate, a couple more minutes.

Around the seven-minute mark, slide an instant-read thermometer into the thickest part of the steak from the side, not the top. Aim for the geometric center.

Medium rare lands at 130-135F on the plate. The carryover heat from a hot steak adds about 10 degrees during rest, so pull it at 115F. If it reads 109, give it another minute. If it reads 120, you're already at medium and you should yank it now.

Move the steak to a plate or wire rack. Don't tent it, don't cut it. Walk away for ten minutes. The carryover heat finishes the cook and the juices redistribute back into the muscle fibers.

When time's up, find the direction the meat fibers run and slice perpendicular to them. You should see an even pink interior from edge to edge with a thin grey band right at the surface where the sear lives. That's a perfect medium rare.