Raw steak
jupiterimagesSure, a great steak is delicious, but it's even better when you grill it yourself. Follow our tips for perfect steak every time.

When you say you're grilling out, chances are half the people listening to you immediately conjure up images of a juicy beefsteak sizzling over the coals. And with good reason: You're going to find few meals more instinctively satisfying than a perfectly cooked steak fresh from the grill.

Though it seems like one of the simplest things you could slap onto a grill -- after all it's just beef, salt, pepper, and fire, right? -- a good steak seems harder and harder to find these days at your average backyard barbecue. Sure, steak has taken hits from the health-conscious crusade against red meat, the residual consequences of mad-cow disease, and the backlash against the Atkins Diet, but when your host serves you up a pallid, grey slab of shoe leather and a bottle of A1 Sauce, well, you can see the critics' point.

But if you follow this basic guide to grilling steaks, we'll help you avoid the most common mistakes of at-home chefs -- and reacquaint you with your first grilled love, the steak. Click on the gallery tab to read our tips.
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How to Grill Steak

Choose the Right Steak
All the fanciest gadgets in the world can't save you if you try to cook a filet mignon the same way you would a flank steak. Filet mignon is extremely tender, but relatively bland. Flank steak is chock full of flavor, but can be tough if you aren't careful. Know what kind of steak you want to serve, and buy accordingly.

How to Grill Steak

Thaw Your Meat
If you put a frozen steak onto the grill, you're going to either get a rubbery mess that's still icy in the middle, or you'll get a blackened piece of beef jerky that you cooked way too long. Make sure your steaks are fully thawed -- in the fridge, not on the counter, where they can easily pick up the nasties -- before you even think of going near your grill. About a half hour before you're going to cook, pull them out and bring them to room temperature.

How to Grill Steak

Trim Excess Fat
Fat lends meat flavor and a pleasant mouthfeel, but if there's too much on the grill, it'll melt onto the hot coals and cause flare-ups that will burn your meat and make it that much harder to control your cooking. If fat measures more than a quarter-inch on a steak, then cut it down.

How to Grill Steak

Get It Hot, Hot, Hot (and Use a Charcoal Grill)
Gas grills are great for a lot of things, and are more consistent than charcoal, but you want to be able to achieve a super-hot grilling surface if you want to emulate the kind of crusts you get in a steakhouse. Use a charcoal grill, use hardwood charcoal if you can, and get it going blazing hot.

How to Grill Steak

Form a Two-Level Charcoal Pattern
Ideally, one side of the grill will be superhot (the part you'll sear on), and the other side will be medium-hot (the part you'll use to finish cooking the meat). Do this by stacking the coals (with tongs, of course) in a single layer one side, and pile up coals on the other side in a high jumble.

How to Grill Steak

Pat Down the Meat:
You want to grill the meat, not steam it. Pat the moisture off the steaks with a paper towel once you're almost ready to cook.

How to Grill Steak

Oil Up Filet Mignons and Other Lean Meats
Fat doesn't just add flavor and juiciness, it also provides protection from drying out. For a lean meat like a filet mignon, rub the sides with a teaspoon of olive oil.

How to Grill Steak

Salt and Pepper the Meat
If you wait until after the cooking's done, you may find yourself with a delicious crust but flavorless middle. Salt and pepper your steaks generously before they hit the grill.

How to Grill Steak

Sear It, Baby:
The most critical step of creating the perfect steak is getting the sear just right. That's when you get a nice, brown crust on the exterior of the steak -- the famous Maillard reaction, in which the proteins in the meat recombine and infuse the meat with countless complex flavors. Generally, for a 1 1/2-inch steak, that means about 2 or 3 minutes on a side on the hot side of your grill.

How to Grill Steak

Cook Through on the Cooler Side
Once you've got a nice sear, the inside of the meat may still have to cook through longer, depending on how thick your steaks are and how you and your guests like your meat. For thicker steaks, move them to the cooler side of the grill and let them sit for anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes, depending on how well-done you want them. If you want to be precise, test them with a thermometer -- 125 degrees F is rare, 160 degrees F is well-done. Don't try to cook through your thick steaks on the hot side -- that's a good way to guarantee you'll be serving your guests the blackened crisps of a former cow.

How to Grill Steak