Have you ever tried grilling but severely burnt the steak? Were the pieces left raw and hard sometimes? Crispy grilled steak with shiny buttered crust outside and juicy, tender meat inside is a luxurious delight you can cherish with a grand meal.
It is definitely a chef’s magic to get the ingredients correct and grill the chopped steak pieces to crisp the crust perfectly. If it’s been a constant struggle for you, here’s a guide on how long to cook steak on the grill to make sure you enjoy a delightful meal every time!
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Does marination affect grilling duration?
Chefs usually recommend marination to soften the meat and make the fibers juicier. While discussing grilling duration, marination plays an essential role in determining the time taken to grill steak. Many culinary experts have found that only salt is the major ingredient absorbed, whereas the rest only enhance the crust’s flavor. For the preparation, you can choose:
General marination
Juicy marinade with soy sauce, vinegar, minced garlic, lemon juice, salt, and pepper takes longer to get absorbed properly. You can make a marinade with these ingredients yourself or get the ones available in the market.
It takes around 6-12 hours resting to get oozing meat that you can grill on a dull fire. Make sure not to leave the pieces in the marinade for more than 20 hours as it can make them taste bitter and crumble the protein’s fibers.
Rubbing dry herbs
A mixture of dry herbs for ground beef or tender steak uses the internal juices of the meat and makes the crust flaky and crispy in less time. You can simply rub kosher salt and ground pepper powder on the top and set aside the pieces for about an hour before grilling. Try adding oregano, garlic, cinnamon, brown sugar, dried onion, or chili powders to the mix if you want a burst of flavors.
Pouring sauce mix at the end
If you have got tender pieces, you can oil coat them and straight away put them in the grill or air fryer to get them crisp. After taking them out, immediately pour the marinade mix on the top and let them sit for about 20 minutes to allow the crusts to absorb. You can make the mixture in edible oil by adding marinade herbs and salt as required. It cuts the time taken to grill steak since you can prepare the mix while grilling the tender pieces parallelly.
Here’s How You Can Perfectly Grill Beef Steak!
Grilling depends on the freshness, thickness, and marination you use. The procedure stays the same for any type, say, New York Strip steak, T-Bone, Filet, or Ribeye. If you are winding how long to cook steak on the grill, it takes the entire duration summing up from preparation to serving the dish.
Preparing the meat
If you have fresh stock on the counter, you are ready to go. But if you have cold storage, make sure to bring it to room temperature to allow it to get tender. You might just rub salt and pepper to quicken the absorption.
Next up, cut the slices to the thickness of 1-2 inches. You can even have minced cubes or strips to bite on. Even if it’s a broad slab, you can make cuts or pierce with a fork to make punctures for marination and heat to get in. The time taken to grill the steak is less if it is softer.
Setting the grill
Steak requires a very high temperature, around 400-450 Fahrenheit, to cook quickly. You can start with or without marination, depending on the choices discussed above. Grills can be an open barbecue with direct heat or electric appliances with a non-stick base.
If you are using direct heat, marination is essential to avoid burning or dryness. The open grills take less time, say 3-5 minutes, but the non-stick ones can take double-time as the impact reduces.
Grilling the meat
After placing the pieces on the high flame, cook each side for 3-4 minutes by flipping intermediately. Note that thicker and raw beef might take 1-2 minutes longer to get the seared marks. You should repeat this in-between flipping till you reach the required internal temperature and properly roast the meat inside.
You can use the open barbecue to grill the crust crisply, then transfer it to the non-stick grill to roast inside on less impact heat. This variation isn’t for thin slices and strips coated with perfect salt and herbs. If you are using dry herbs on the top, keep flipping to avoid them getting burnt.
For non-marinated steak, make sure to flip in just 2 minutes if you have no prior marination. Since the beef is raw, it will get hard and blackly burnt if you leave for long. You can grill the steak faces and the sides and take them down once the crust gets brown hard with glistening grilled marks.
If you have a meat thermometer, you can check the internal temperature. It takes 4 minutes to reach 135F rare temperature, 6 minutes to reach 145F medium temperature, and around 9 minutes for 160F medium-well temperature.
Resting before serving
Since the marinade is grilled on the top, you should allow it to rest for at least 5-10 minutes to cool down the searing temperature and let the flavors settle. At this moment, if you have skipped seasoned marination before, you can pour the mixture on the top.
You can also garnish with soy sauce, butter cubes, or chopped herbs to get absorbed in the remaining heat. After they slightly cool, cut and chop to required pieces, pour the condiments on the top if necessary, and serve!
Final Words
Time taken to grill the steak differs with the marination used, the beef quality, the grill’s type, and how much you want it grilled. It hardly requires 10 minutes on the flame, whereas the entire procedure accounts for a much longer duration.
The next time you wonder how long to cook steak on the grill, make sure you also consider marinating the meat for sufficient time, grilling the faces properly till they get brown, and importantly resting them till the crust absorbs the sauces and herbs properly.