How to Grill the Perfect Steak

Buy it thick

Thickness matters more than grade. A steak at least three centimetres thick gives you working room to build a crust without overcooking the middle. A thin steak, however good the beef, cooks through before it can sear. If you can buy one thing right, buy it thick.

Dry surface, fierce fire

Salt ahead, pat the surface bone dry, and cook over the hottest bed you can build. A dry surface browns; a wet one steams. Charcoal reaches temperatures a domestic gas grill cannot, which is why a steak over coals develops a crust gas struggles to match.

Reverse sear for thick cuts

For anything over about three centimetres, cook it gently on the cool side first until it is around ten degrees below target, then sear it hard over the coals. This gives you edge to edge pink with a hard crust, and no grey band. For thin steaks, skip it and just sear hot and fast.

Rest, then eat

Rest a conventionally cooked steak five minutes; a reverse-seared one needs even less. Then eat it. A steak is at its best minutes off the fire, so have everything else ready before it comes off. The perfect steak is mostly good habits, repeated.