How Hot and How Long to Cook a Steak?
Articles - Lifestyle
Lots of us associate breaking out the grill with making the perfect steak. While there are all kinds of foods that grill up well, from steak and shrimp to fruits and veggies, steak is still an all around favorite. However, it can take a while to learn how to make your steak come out its best. Lots of people will tell you they know how to do it right, making it even harder to choose. Here is a look at some of the best ways to cook your steaks.
by K.C.Kudra


Lots of us associate breaking out the grill with making the perfect steak. While there are all kinds of foods that grill up well, from steak and shrimp to fruits and veggies, steak is still an all around favorite. However, it can take a while to learn how to make your steak come out its best. Lots of people will tell you they know how to do it right, making it even harder to choose. Here is a look at some of the best ways to cook your steaks.

It is important to keep in mind that the process of coming up with a great steak does not start when you begin cooking. You have to start with high quality meat. That is what causes some people to go so far as to buy an entire tenderloin, cutting it down into individual steaks on their own.

Choose steaks that are three to five ounces each, depending on who is eating, but always use a consistent size. That will resist in consistent, reliable cooking performance every time you make steak.

The next step is learning to cook beef on the grill, if you do not already know how. Many people think that grilling takes no skill at all, but they would be wrong. If you do not know what you are doing, you will get meat that is safe to eat, but does not have a lot of taste. Remember that grilling is a fast, intense type of cooking, which makes your mistakes that much more difficult to work around.

Be sure that your grill is as hot as it can get, and make sure you lightly season your steak before you begin. You do not want to season too much, since it will overpower the taste of the meat, but you do not want a bland steak, either. The side of the steak you want to show off on the plate should be the one that hits the grill first. Cook that side until the steak is seventy-five percent done, then flip and finish cooking.

So, how long to grill a steak, and at what kind of temperatures? That is a hard question to answer, because every steak is a little different and every person likes his or her steak done differently. There are a number of things that will usually happen to your steak as it cooks, however, and keeping an eye on it to see these signs can help you make a good steak. Here is a look.

At 165 degrees Fahrenheit, the meat proteins will start to coagulate. That shrinks the steak down and makes it stiffer. The sides of your steak will become brownish gray at this point. Later on, at 320 degrees, the sugars in the meat begin to caramelize, which is when we begin to see grill marks.

You will smell that process, too. It is what tells us the steak is cooking the right way. The juices will start bubbling up to the surface when the steak is most of the way done. That tells you to flip it and use a meat thermometer to tell you when it is ready for you to eat.

DISCLAIMER: This article is provided as information only and is not to be taken as financial advice.