For many of us, getting out that grill is just the first step to making a great steak, and while there are lots of foods that do well on the grill, none of them are quite as good as the perfect steak. However, if you do not know what you are doing, it can be extremely difficult to produce a great steak. Lots of people say they have the best method, but choosing can be pretty tricky. Here is a quick overview of how long and how hot you should cook your steak.

Step one is remembering that you do not start with cooking. You start by selecting the best possible steak, and some people even purchase a whole tenderloin and butcher it themselves to make sure they’re getting great meat.

You will need to look for steaks that are three to five ounces each, whether you cut them yourself or buy them. Consistency is important, since consistent thickness and size mean your steaks will be a lot more reliable when you cook them.

The next step is learning to cook beef on the grill, if you do not already know how. Many people think that grilling takes no skill at all, but they would be wrong. If you do not know what you are doing, you will get meat that is safe to eat, but does not have a lot of taste. Remember that grilling is a fast, intense type of cooking, which makes your mistakes that much more difficult to work around.

Be sure your grill is very hot and your steak is seasoned correctly before you start cooking. Seasoning should be gentle enough to allow you to taste the meat, but strong enough to complement the flavor of the beef. Put the side you would like to show off on the plate down on the grill, and cook it until it is about three quarters of the way done. Then flip it and finish it to your preferences. Grilling beef does not have to be complex if you pay attention.

So, how long to cook a steak, and how hot should it be? Unfortunately, the answers start getting complicated pretty quickly. Usually, all we can say is that you should cook a steak till it is done. However, the process of cooking a steak is something that happens the same way every time, as long as you know what you are looking for. Keep an eye on the changes that happen in the meat to know when your steak is ready for eating.

At a hundred sixty-five degrees Fahrenheit, the proteins begin to coagulate, and the steak will shrink and stiffen, with sides that begin to tend toward gray or brown. At three hundred twenty degrees, the grill marks start to show and the sweet smell that says the steak is cooking right begins to appear.

The steak will then begin to bubble, as the juices come up from the bottom. At this point, the steak is half to three quarters done, and it is time to flip it.