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For those with a love of red meat, there may be no more satisfying experience than pulling a beautifully grilled steak off the grill, slicing it, and discovering it’s cooked to the perfect temperature. In many people’s minds, this summer was just right.
But getting there takes some skill—or at least some direction—and that’s why we sought instructions from Top Boss– Award Winner Jeremy Ford, Executive Chef at The Butcher’s Club, America’s leading steakhouse PGA National. Whether you go with a classic charcoal grill or have a gas grill at your disposal, Chef Ford is confident that rotten steaks are in your future.
Before anything else—no matter what style of grill you’re using—start with buying a digital meat thermometer. In other words, check your grillmaster’s vanity on the steps leading to your deck or patio. “It takes all the guesswork out of what I’m doing,” Ford says, admitting he uses one at home all the time. “I don’t have to stand there just staring at my steak for 15 minutes because I’m paranoid about how it turns out.”
reverse sear
When you have the time—and the right equipment, like the Big Green Egg or Komada Joe style Grill—you’ll never go wrong with the reverse sear technique. “It’s so easy for a home cook to do, and it gives the ‘wow’ factor,” says Ford. “The results are just insane. It always blows people away with how easy it is to do.”
Just remember that Do require a significant amount of time. “It takes about an hour,” he admits, “so this is something you do on a Sunday when you have a cold beer in hand.”
To reverse grill a steak, start by setting the grill to about 200 degrees. Once you reach that temperature, toss your steak onto the grill, close the lid, and let it simmer over a gentle, slow heat for about an hour. Then pull the meat off the grill and turn up the heat. “Crank that puppy up to 500 or 600 degrees,” instructs the chef. “I mean hotter roar – until you get that hot nuclear situation.”
From there you’ll grill the steaks for no longer than 2 minutes per side to get a great crust. The end result, Ford says, is a smoked beef and pork match made in heaven. “You get that smoky, almost bacon-like flavor and sensation because of that hour-long smoke you’re putting on the outside of the steak,” he says. “And when you cut that thing in, it’s a really nice rind of a fire-roasted steak, but the inside has a really nice smoky note to it.”
Prepare a gas grill
Barbecue elites may poke their noses at outdoor propane cookers, but oftentimes these stoves are far more practical than old-fashioned charcoal or wood-burning grills. In fact, Chef Ford admits that he and Kobada Joe share a space outside his home.
When grilling a steak on a propane grill, the most important thing to consider is the thickness of the meat. Chef Ford urges home cooks to stick to steaks no more than an inch and a half thick. “If you have a two-and-a-half-inch tomahawk,” he says, “it will be a little difficult to control and may burn.”
From there, the PGA National chef likes to heat the grill as high as he can—to about 400 degrees, he says—which means letting the grill heat up with the lid closed. After coating the steak with a light layer of grapeseed oil, and plenty of salt and freshly ground pepper, sear the meat on each side for four to six minutes, depending on its thickness, and cook each side with the lid closed. “What I love about propane grills is that they just pump the heat in there,” he says. “So with the lid closed, you can still get a really nice smoky flavor.”
For medium rare, Chef Ford recommends removing the steak from the grill when the temperature reaches 115 degrees, as the meat will continue to cook as it rests, usually going up 10 degrees. “One hundred and twenty-five degrees is a nice, rare medium temperature, and this is my sweet spot,” he says.
Don’t be afraid to let the meat rest, just make sure not to turn off the grill. A one-inch-thick steak will need at least four or five minutes of resting time, according to Ford. “Maybe 10 minutes, if you have the time,” he says. For a larger steak, such as a porter, you’ll let the meat rest for 9 to 12 minutes.
Once it’s rested, you can throw the meat on the grill for just a few minutes to warm it up. Then it is ready to be sliced and served.
strong finish
Chef Ford likes to keep a generous portion of flaky sea salt, like Maldon, which he sprinkles over the steak after it’s rested. “This is where all the flavor comes in,” he says. “It enhances all that fat and the delicious caramelization on the outside of the steak.”
He also recommends melting some butter in a small skillet, then sauteing some fresh thyme and fresh rosemary with a little crushed garlic. Once those herbs have softened and become aromatic, he’ll add a little Cajun seasoning, bring the mixture to a boil—just for a second or two—and then remove from the heat and stir. “Once I know those aromas and flavors are there, I’ll take a brush and just paint the bones of that meat,” he says. “People just go crazy about it.”