Grilling Perfect Steak - How to Grill Steak

Grilling steak can be intimidating — especially when everyone has a different opinion about how cooked it should be (medium rare!). But I promise you that, in reality, it's easier and faster than grilling chicken.

First, you need to know about direct and indirect heat. Direct heat means you're cooking something directly over the flame (whether it be gas or charcoal). It's what gives grilled meat its beautiful char. Indirect heat means you're cooking the food to the side of the heat source. For steak, you're mainly dealing with direct heat. (Indirect heat is better for slow-cooking foods like ribs.)

The next thing to consider is temperature. Yes, you should go buy a meat thermometer if you don't have one already. If you like your steak medium rare, 130-135° is your range. For medium, it's 135-145° and for medium well, 145-155°. Please don't go any higher than that!

Below is our grilling cheat sheet for medium-rare steak. If you like yours cooked through more, add a minute to each side. Exact cooking times will vary due to the meat's thickness, so check temperature often. ALWAYS let the the cooked meat rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing against the grain.