How to Barbecue Steak: Buying the Meat

The first decision to make before going to the grill is what cut of meat are you going to use; this is mainly a matter of preference. What can you afford? What flavor do like? How much fat do you like in your steak?

The filet is the most tender of the steak choices, though with less steak flavor; it is also the more costly. Ribeye steaks have more fat marbled throughout and provide a juicy, flavorful steak when cooked properly. Going down the cost spectrum, you have strips, T-bones and Porterhouse, and finally sirloin.

No matter what cut of steak you get, make sure it is a good thickness, about an inch.

How to Barbecue Steak: Prepping the Meat

The best steak is a fresh steak, so try not to freeze your steaks; instead, try to purchase them on the day you are going to use them. If you have to freeze them, try to thaw them in the refrigerator or cold water. When it is time to throw those steaks on the grill, they should be at room temperature.

After patting the steaks dry, feel free to cover them in a rub or marinade (remember marinades should be applied about 30 minutes before grilling). You can find great recipes for rubs and marinades at igrillbbq.com.

How to Barbecue Steak: Cooking the Meat

Gas grills are best for cooking steaks, but charcoal grills are great too for giving that meat a nice charred flavor; either way, make sure your grill is hot. A gas grill should preheat for about 20 minutes, and charcoal should be covered in gray ash. If using a charcoal grill, you may want to consider an alternate heating source for lighting the goals to avoid the taste of starter fluid.

The key to barbecuing good steak is to use the shortest amount of time possible without burning the steak. Once your steak is at room temperature and you have applied any rub or marinade, place your steaks on the hot grill and close the lid. Don’t let your steaks catch on fire but watch for the sides to turn gray; then turn the steaks over and close the lid again.

Once all the sides are gray and there are the tell-tale grill marks on both sides, you can check for doneness. After you have achieved the doneness you like, let the steak sit about 5 minutes and then enjoy. Congratulations! You’ve learned how to grill steak!

Want to know How to grill Tri-Tip? When grilled right, tri-tip is a beautiful, succulent juicy piece of meat.

Tri tip is a triangle shaped piece of meat from the bottom of the sirloin. We will show you simply how to grill this cut of meat resulting in a delicious, succulent roast every time.

How to BBQ Tri Tip: Keep it Simple

Tri tip is marbled superbly with fat. When grilled properly, trip tip is a juicy, delicious piece of meat. However, most grillers do not know how to grill tri tip without ruining it. They do things like trimming every bit of fat off of it, stuffing it with garlic, overdoing it with some random spice combination and constantly tinkering with it on the grill. The secret is to do less to this piece of meat, not more. Do less and your guest will think you are a great cook. But before putting the meat on the grill, you have to make sure you have a great piece of meat.

How to BBQ Tri Tip: Picking Out and Preparing Your Tri Tip

Tri tip comes in trimmed and untrimmed versions. Untrimmed comes with a layer of fat on one side. As you would expect, the untrimmed is cheaper. Get the untrimmed and you can do any trimming you want to do at home. Look for nice even marbling. The rule of thumb is that no marbling should be wider than your finger. Without trimming, you will have a lot of fat and many flare ups on the grill. Go ahead and trim off the layer of fat, but not all of it.

You should leave about 15%-20% of the fat layer on the tri tip.
Use a bit of meat tenderizer. Don’t overdo it; too much tenderizer can turn your meat into mush.
Coat it with your favorite dry rub for beef. Out favorite is Grizzly Joe’s “Trail Dust”. Don’t overdo the rub. You still want to taste tri tip, not just seasoning. It is not necessary to oil tri tip before adding the rub; the meat already fatty enough. The natural juices will pull the flavor from the spices into the meat.
It is important that the meat is room temperature when you grill it. Let it set for 2-4 hours before grilling.

How to BBQ Tri Tip: Grilling Your Tri Tip

Get part of the grill good and hot, about 400 degrees, and have a section that is closer to medium. Put the meat with fat side up over the medium part of the grill but close enough to hotter part that it gets indirect heat. Do not let it drip and flare up, you want a nice indirect heat. Do not stab or poke the meat. This is very important because poking and stabbing lets the juices run out. Do not touch the meat, just let it cook.

The meat is flipped once and only once. After about 15 minutes on the first side flip the roast. Let it cook about 5 minutes on the second side and then start checking it by pressing on the center of the roast. If it feels mushy it is still raw in the middle. Keep checking it and as soon as it is firm take it off grill. It should be medium-rare.

Meat will continue to cook for about ten minutes when taken off the grill. When you let the meat rest, the roast will contract and it draws the juices back to center of the roast, making it more juicy and tasty. Cut it against the grain into ½-inch thick steaks and enjoy.

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How to Barbecue Steak: Buying the Meat

How to Barbecue Steak: Prepping the Meat

How to Barbecue Steak: Cooking the Meat

How to BBQ Tri Tip: Keep it Simple

How to BBQ Tri Tip: Picking Out and Preparing Your Tri Tip

How to BBQ Tri Tip: Grilling Your Tri Tip