A Photo Essay:  How to Grill the Perfect Steak

by Susan Montgomery

My son, David, is the head cook on the award-winning "Meat, Drink and Be Merry" competitive BBQ team. So recently, while visiting him in Memphis, I was thrilled when he agreed to show me how to grill the perfect steak. He described his technique as his own take on a "reverse sear" and emphasized that one key to his approaach is to use indirect heat. David grilled these steaks on his Big Green Egg smoker, but the same techniques can be used on your Weber grill.

About 30 minutes before he wants to begin grilling, David starts the fire by lighting the charcoal with his Looflighter from Scandanavia. (No, it's not a hair curler.)

Of course, another key to the perfect steak is to choose great meat in the first place.  These Choice New York strips were from one of David's favorite butcher's, Porcellino's in Memphis. Their steaks come from Claybrook Farms, a local farm where the cattle are mostly grass-fed. David chose well-marbled steaks that were about 1-1/2 inches thick. First he seasoned them generously on both sides with ground peppercorns and Himalayan sea salt. The seasoned steaks need to sit for about 30-60 minutes so they can absorb the seasonings.

While the steaks were resting, David started to prepare ingredients for what would become a delicious wine reduction sauce that would enhance the grilled steaks. First, he chopped medium-sized shallots—one for each steak.

Then he cut up chunks of butter and put them in the freezer on ice. This will make the pats of butter easier to pull apart when he puts them on the steaks during grilling.

Now it was time to check the grill and make sure it was really hot. At a scorching 600 degrees, David felt it was time to start grilling.

He added hickory chips to the burning charcoal. Since the steaks need to be grilled with indirect heat, David used the place setter in his ceramic komodo style smoker (Big Green Egg) to keep the flames from the steaks.  On a Weber grill, you can put charcoal on only one side of the grill and grill the steaks on the other side.

Small pats of butter are put on each steak as they grill.

Pull the steaks off the grill at 10 degrees lower than your goal temperature. So, in our case, we wanted medium steaks so we took them off at 125 degrees. For rarer steaks, obviously the goal temperature would be lower.  Here David tests the temperature of the steak to make sure he takes them off at exactly the right time.

The steaks rest while David adjusts the grill for direct heat.

David then puts a cast iron skillet on the grill, adds butter, and waits until butter sizzles before adding more butter. (As a chef friend of mine says, "butter is your friend.")

Then he puts the steaks in the pan and sears them for about a minute on each side until the temperature hits 135 degrees for medium. (This would be about 125 for medium rare.)  When he took the steaks off, they were enticingly crusty.

Now it's time to make the wine reduction sauce. First glaze the same cast iron skillet that has the meat's juices with wine.  Add the chopped shallots and 2 tablespoons of butter and simmer. Then add about a cup and a half of a rich, red wine. Next add about 4 more tablespoons of butter. David points out that European butter, which he uses, has more fat and more protein and works well in this sauce. Cook until the sauce thickens.

Now the best steak I have ever tasted was served. David's wife, Susan, had prepared roasted vegetables with fennel, olive oil, salt and pepper for the delicious accompaniment, along with sauteed shitake mushrooms.  We all agreed that these steaks tasted much better than ones just slapped on the grill. David's bit of extra effort was well worth it.

And, of course, a nice, bold red wine made the meal taste even better.

Photos taken by Susan Montgomery and David Mekeel on their iPhones.