How to Cook the Perfect Steak

Yes, everything we’ve been saying is true: You can have a home-cooked steak dinner that’s every bit as good as what you’d get in a leading steakhouse. It’s simply a matter of ensuring that you know how to prepare the meal perfectly—that you know what your ritual should look like.

1. We’ll start with the obvious: If you want a great steak meal, you need to start with a great steak. A legendary Diablo is naturally going to be the best choice. Don’t make the mistake of assuming you can create a memorable meal with unremarkable ingredients; settle for nothing less than the very best!
2. As for which cut of beef you choose, well, that’s really a matter of personal preference. Those looking for something especially tender may wish to indulge in a Filet Mignon; those who hope for a rich, hearty, beefy flavor—and who don’t mind a fair amount of fat—will prefer the Ribeye. You can learn more about some of the different cuts of beef here.
3. If your steak is frozen, you’ll want to get it up to room temperature in a gradual way. Thaw your steak in its vacuum-sealed pack, on a plate in the refrigerator, starting at least a day before you plan on grilling. If you don’t have time for that, you can fill the sink with cold water and place the vacuum-sealed pack down in it. Whatever you do, don’t just pull the steak out of the freezer and place it on the kitchen counter.
4. When you’re working with a really exceptional cut of beef, like a Diablo, you don’t want to do anything to mask its rich flavor. You don’t need barbecue sauce. You don’t need fancy rubs or sauces. What we recommend is a rub that’s mostly sea salt, with a bit of cracked black pepper for good measure. If you really want to get crazy, just a touch of chopped garlic can be added, but nothing more. The last thing you want to do is ruin the flavor of your steak.
5. Make sure your grill is good and hot before you put the steak on it—north of 400 degrees. Of course, you’ll also want to make sure it’s clean. You can add some light oil to keep the beef from sticking to the surface of the grill, but do ensure that it’s light—not anything that will interfere with the flavor of the beef.
6. Treat your steak well. You don’t need to flip it, push it, or prod it too much. Let the grill do the work. If you want to get good grill marks, lay the steak on the grill at a diagonal, let it sit for a minute and a half, and then turn it to the other diagonal. Turn the grill down a bit—300 degrees or so should be fine—and after another minute and a half, flip your steak over. Ideally, you’ll only flip the steak once. As for the total cook time, that just depends on how done you want it.
7. Finally, and crucially, remember that the steak is technically still cooking for five or 10 minutes after you remove it from the grill. The best steakhouses let the steak stand for a couple minutes before serving it, and you should too. Put it on a hot plate for a few moments—not a cold one!—and ensure that it’s still piping hot when you serve it.

This is how great steak meals are prepared—not just in private homes, but even in legendary steakhouses. The first step is getting your Diablo. From there, these seven steps should carry you to a truly excellent, memorable meal.