Grilling is a discipline full of little hacks and helpful tips, but it's also one replete with possible small errors or mistakes that can make the task more tedious than it should or could be. Luckily, there are excellent hacks for best grilling your meat, too, including even the thickest cuts of beef.
Especially with thick cuts, how do you get a good texture on the outside while also cooking the center of the piece to your desired doneness, all while avoiding overly burning your steak? The secret lies in cooking thick steaks off to the side of the grill, away from your direct heat source. Grilling them with indirect heat will allow the steaks to cook slowly. And once they nearly reach your desired level of doneness, you can simply transfer them to a direct heat source in order to finish the process with an excellent crust.
You'll want to set up your grill so that you have two distinct areas: A direct heating spot and an indirect heating spot. The majority of your steak's cooking time will be on the indirect source if it's a thick cut, and you can use a meat thermometer to gauge the doneness of the meat while it's cooking. Sure, this will take longer than usual, since your meat is cooking at a lower temperature. But when done this way, you have far greater control over how rare or well-done your steak becomes.
As the meat approaches your desired doneness (a good anchor point is when it's about 10 degrees Fahrenheit away from the goal temperature), move your steak to the direct heat source. This intense heat will caramelize the outer part of the steak and form a crust. Essentially, this is a method of reverse searing – in this case, one utilized to get the perfectly-done, thick-cut steak.
With these tips in mind, you're ready to expertly tackle any kind of steak, no matter how thick or intimidating it may be.
