What you need to know to get perfect results: juicy and tender
on the inside with a charred, flavorful crustKnow your cuts
Tender steaks come from the muscles that get the least
amount of exercise, which run along the back of the cattle—
the rib, short loin, and sirloin. Steaks that are cut from
here—tenderloin, T-bone, porterhouse, rib-eye, and strip—
have thin, diaphanous connective tissue that tenderizes
easily on the hot, dry heat of a grill.
Tougher cuts of meat come from the areas that move or
support the body. Th ey usually require low, slow cooking
with moist heat to become tender. However, there are a few
tougher steaks, such as skirt, hanger, fl ank, and fl at iron,
that, when sliced against the grain aft er grilling, yield tender
meat with an added benefi t: a richer fl avor that comes from
a more exercised muscle.
Tender at the bone?
Th e honeycomb structure of bone
slows heat transfer so that the parts
of a steak bordering the bone cook
more slowly. Th e phrase “tender at
the bone” refers to the succulence
of meat near the bone that is rarer.
When to salt
Salt your steak generously before cooking. Use coarse
salt; the bigger crystals are easier to feel and see and,
therefore, to control and distribute evenly.
Ten minutes after salting, the surface of the steak
becomes moist as the salt draws out juices that are a
mixture of water and savory liquefied proteins. If you
grill your steak right away, this moisture will be lost to
the heat of the grill. But after 1 hour under refrigera-
tion, some of this liquid will be reabsorbed with the
salt to add flavor and moisture. Wait longer—up to
8 hours—and more will reabsorb, while some will evap-
orate, leaving a slightly thickened liquid on the surface
that will aid in making a more pronounced crust.125°F130°F160°F250°FLeast
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14 GRILLING 2019