We love to cook steak on the grill, but think my daughter could use this information. How do you tell when it's the right temperature? Do you use a probe thermometer or cut to check or other?

Everybody is different but your way is appreciated by many and enjoyed!

Normally I grill it, but when I don't I sear it on both sides. I then add a tablespoon of herb butter on the top and bake it. Delicious and always serve it with potatoes or salad.

lizbeth, I check with a thermometer. I like mine medium well since I cook it until it's about 150 degrees and then let it rest until it comes up to 155-158. And if you don't have a thermometer, jus cut the steak open.

Lizbeth, I bake it at 400 degrees. About 8-10 minutes for medium well then let it rest for about 5 minutes.

I almost always grill a steak....unless it's 10 below zero and snowing, or raining torrents....then I do the iron fry pan thing. But I never bake a steak. I like my steak very rare and unless it's really really thick just searing it cooks it enough for me. And somehow the concept of "baked steak" is just wrong!

I've been grilling quite a few flat iron steaks lately, since we live in Arizona. But I always baked it in the winter cause we moved from Ohio.

When I ate red meat in abundance (last century) I only cooked ribeye steaks that were custom cut to 1-1/4" thick. They were cooked on a very hot Weber kettle with all-natural charcoal. 3 minutes, flip, 3 minutes, flip. Get the internal temperature in the center of the meat to 125 degrees and then let them rest for 5 minutes. The result was medium/rare but closer to rare.

I tried other cuts of beef and either produced shoe leather or raw cow, that then went back on the grill and became shoe leather. Ribeyes worked perfectly every time. If someone wanted theirs medium, it was 4 minutes per side.

I love a thin-cut rib-eye that can be seared quickly in the pan and then comes out to rest. This seems to be the easiest way for me to a get a good "medium" which is what I prefer. For Valentine's Day, we tried a recipe from David Lebovitz where the rib eyes were rubbed with a mixture of smoked salt and chipotle and added a dollop of mustard butter for the adults (my kids are not mustard fans). We loved it. I will probably vary the butter from time to time (because I also like a garlic herb butter on my steak) but I think the smoked salt and chipotle will be my steak default from here on out.

There are Ten thousand + one "The very Best" method for cooking a steak to "Perfection".

To me, two methods always work., based on very simple science.

1. Sous vide - You get exact degree of doneness, impossible to fail.

2. Probe thermometer - It makes no difference how hot the fire is, the steak surface temperature can never be hotter than 212F (water heat of vaporization). Once the surface temperature reaches 212F, the speed (time) of heat travel (thermal conductivity constant) to the center of the steak will always be the same (depending on the thickness of the steak) no matter what. Just use the thermometer to measure the steak's internal temperature to how hot you want your steak cooked.

dcarch

Martha - try a bit of dill on your steak along with the salt and pepper. I don't much care for the various rubs either, but a sprinkle of dill is just the thing for beef, including hamburgers. I discovered this when eating at the in-laws. Every couple of years they raised a steer and then stocked the freezer. What an amazing difference from grocery store beef! Anyway, MIL sprinkled with dill and I've been a fan ever since. Try it.

I also tend to like just salt and pepper, as good beef usually doesn't need "help", in my opinion. Elery does like the Montreal Steak Seasoning, so we use that sometimes.

I like my beef extremely rare, and I grow my own so I'm comfortable eating it that way. I've been know to eat it raw, even. (shrug) I figure Steak Tartare and Carpaccio are both raw beef, so it's all good.

I never grill. I like grilled food, but not enough to ever grill it, I just dislike the entire process. Instead I get a cast iron pan screaming hot, toss the steak in there, turn it when I get a nice sear, get a sear on the second side, take it out. I'm done. My favorite steak is sirloin. It's not as tender but has so much flavor and I figure that's why I have teeth!

Annie

I never season good meat before broiling/grilling. Just cook and add a touch of finishing salt at the end. :)