Chef Michael Vignola of Strip House Midtown in New York City knows his way around a steak. Today he shares his top eight steak grilling tips with Epicurious.
Grab a ribeye and get grilling.
1. Make it Thick and Marbled.
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"The best steaks for home grilling are nature's perfectly marbled beef ribeye steaks or bone-in ribeye steaks -- often called cowboy steaks. The marbling enhances the flavor of these cuts while basting the meat in the cooking process to ensure a juicy steak. When selecting your steaks, try to get one that is at least a 1 to 1 1/2-inches thick. The thickness will help in achieving that bullseye-red center. I prefer buying a larger thicker cut steak and carving for my friends and family."
2. Choose Bone-in.
t-bone steak cooking on an open flame grill (iStock)
"It's better to cook with meat on the bone because the bone absorbs some of the heat and distributes the temperature throughout producing more evenly cooked steaks. At Strip House, we like to serve aged meat primarily on the bone because it really holds in the flavor, minerality, and natural umami of the meat."
3. Oil it.
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"Use a canola and olive oil blended oil to coat the steak before seasoning it. Either an 80/20 or 90/10 blended oil will get the job done. Be sure to lightly coat the steak. The oil will allow the surface temperature to get seared fast ensuring a juicier final product as well as greatly aiding the charring of the meats surfaces. Save your expensive olive oils for salads where their subtle flavors will shine brightest."
4. Season Simply.
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"A well-marbled steak needs only coarsely ground black pepper and kosher salt to bring out its natural flavor. It really is a case of the sum being greater than the parts. Be sure to season a bit more than you might normally season a sautéed item. Some of the steaks seasoning will be lost in the grilling process. You want to be sure to have enough on the steak to get the job done."
Check out more need to know grilling tips.
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