SteakReverse Seared Ribeye on a Charcoal Grill
The technique that makes a thick steak behave. Gentle indirect heat first, a savage sear last, and the grey band disappears.
SteakSanta Maria Tri-Tip Over Coals
California's contribution to live-fire cooking: a whole tri-tip, salt pepper and garlic, cooked over red oak and sliced across two different grains.
SteakPicanha Skewers Over Charcoal
The Brazilian churrasco cut, bent into a C on a skewer so the fat cap faces out and bastes the meat as it renders.
SteakGrilled Skirt Steak with Chimichurri
Skirt is the most flavourful cheap steak there is, and it wants one thing: a screaming fire and about two minutes a side.
SteakCarne Asada, Mexican Grilled Steak
Mexico's great grilled beef: thin steak marinated in lime, orange, garlic and chilli, seared hard and chopped for tacos. Bright, smoky and fast.
Steak is the cut charcoal was made for, because the only thing that separates a good steak from a great one is surface temperature, and charcoal reaches temperatures a domestic gas grill cannot. A bed of lump will exceed 370°C (700°F) at the grate. Most gas grills top out around 290°C (550°F).
Buy thick. An inch and a half is the minimum for anything you intend to cook properly, because a thin steak gives you no working room between a raw centre and a burnt outside. Thickness is more important than grade: a thick supermarket sirloin will cook better than a thin dry-aged ribeye.
Salt either 45 minutes ahead or immediately before cooking, never in between, and get the surface bone dry. Wet meat steams instead of browning, and no amount of heat will fix it.
At a glance
| Recipe | Method | Grill temp | Cook time | Pull at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reverse Seared Ribeye on a Charcoal Grill | Reverse sear | 290°C (550°F) and above | 45 min | 55°C (130°F) |
| Santa Maria Tri-Tip Over Coals | Two-zone cooking | 230 to 290°C (450 to 550°F) | 35 min | 55°C (130°F) |
| Picanha Skewers Over Charcoal | Direct heat | 230 to 290°C (450 to 550°F) | 20 min | 55°C (130°F) |
| Grilled Skirt Steak with Chimichurri | Direct heat | 290°C (550°F) and above | 8 min | 55°C (130°F) |
| Carne Asada, Mexican Grilled Steak | Direct heat | 290°C (550°F) and above | 8 min | 55°C (130°F) |
Techniques used
Direct heat. Food straight over the coals. Fast, fierce, and finished before the inside overcooks. Reverse sear. Bring it up slowly on the cool side, then sear hard at the end. Edge to edge pink with a hard crust. Two-zone cooking. Coals banked to one side: a searing zone and a gentle zone in one grill. The single most useful technique in charcoal cooking.