Grilling Steak
Before grilling bring the steak to room temperature and lightly sprinkle coarse salt on both sides of the steak. Start the steak (1 1/2” thick) over the hot area of your grill, sear both sides, and then move the steak to the cooler portion of the grill. Keep the top down as much as possible. Ideally, the internal temperature of the grill (with the top down) should be around 300°-325°.
Grill the steak for about 5 minutes per side until reaching an internal temperature of 120° (away from the bone). Remove the meat from the heat and loosely cover with foil, let it rest for 5-10 minutes, and then serve. This should produce a rare to medium rare steak.
The internal temperature continues to rise during the rest period, thus it will reach approximately 125°-130°. Resting also allows the meat to retain juice. Cutting the steak immediately without resting, will cause much of the juice to flow out of the meat.
Grilling Hamburgers
When making the patties don’t overwork the ground beef. The less you handle the meat, the better the burger’s consistency.
Cook the ground beef in much the same way as steak. Sear it on both sides over the hot area of your grill, then move to medium heat until reaching an internal temperature of 150°-155°. Remove the hamburgers from the grill, cover loosely with foil, and let the burgers rest for 5-10 minutes. The internal temperature should reach 160°, at which point it should be very slightly pink inside. Ground beef needs to be cooked throughout as all parts of it have been touched by the cutting blades of the grinding machine.
Reaching the proper temperature is the only way to ensure your meat is safe. You may want to experiment a little, double-checking with the thermometer. When the burger starts to feel firm, it is about done.
Cooking slower allows the internal portion of the burger to cook without drying out the outer part of the meat. Do not press the burger while cooking, as it forces the juices out of the meat. Also, keep your eye on the fire, as it is easy to overcook the burgers, resulting in a very dry piece of meat.
Cast Iron Skillet and Oven Method for Grass Fed Steaks
For those of you that love steak, you might try cooking a Rib Steak or one of our other dry-aged steaks on your stovetop in an old-fashioned cast iron frying pan! It is very easy and the results are fantastic! Follow these simple instructions:
- Thaw your steak(s) in the refrigerator for 1-2 days. Before cooking, allow the steak to come to room temperature.
- Rub the steak liberally on both sides with coarse salt (a Grey or Himalayan salt works nicely!) and pepper.
- Pre-heat your oven to 400 ⁰ F. While the oven is pre-heating, put a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in your cast iron frying pan and heat the pan over high heat on the stove until the oil begins to sizzle. Sear the steak on each side for 2-3 minutes, and sear each edge as well.
- When the steak is seared on all sides, place the cast iron pan with the steaks, uncovered, into the pre-heated 400 ⁰ F oven. Roast the steak until it reaches an internal temperature of 120 ⁰ F (away from the bone).
It may only take a couple of minutes! Let the steak rest for 5 – 10 minutes for the meat to reabsorb the juices. The internal temperature continues to rise during the rest period, thus it will reach approximately 125°-130°. Your steak should be medium rare when sliced!
This method does not take long and it will create some smoke so be prepared to use your kitchen fan!
Slow Roasting
See the recipe for Super Slow Roast which gives directions for roasting various roasts, such as Rolled Rump or Sirloin Tip roasts so that they are fully cooked, but yet pink on the inside.
Steaks
Lean beef is best eaten rare or medium rare!
Rare: 120°-125°
Medium Rare: 130°-135°
Medium: 140°-145°
Medium Well: 155°-165°
Well: 170°
Ground Beef should be fully cooked (but not overcooked) when eaten.
Ground Meat: 160°
Remove meat from heat before the desired temperature since the temperature will continue to increase as it rests. For hamburgers and steaks cover loosely with foil and let the meat rest for 5-10 minutes (temperature will rise 5°-10°). Let roasts rest for 15-25 minutes(temperature will rise 10°-15°).
Juices are retained if the meat is allowed to rest.