Grilled Steak

Christine Gallary
Christine GallarySenior Recipe Editor at The Kitchn
I grew up in a Chinese food-loving family, eating my first restaurant meals in Oakland's vibrant Chinatown. My love of food but lack of cooking experience led to me Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, where I graduated with a Diplôme de Cuisine in French cooking. After culinary school, I learned how to test and edit recipes in test kitchens at Cook's Illustrated and CHOW, falling in love with the process of rigorously testing recipes to make sure they were foolproof for the home cook. I've worked with thousands of recipes over the past 15 years, including developing recipes for the James Beard-award winning Mister Jiu's in Chinatown cookbook. Living in the delicious diversity of San Francisco, I never get tired of finding new ingredients or cuisines to try. My favorite type is Cantonese home cooking — I'm on a quest to recreate the dishes my grandmother used to make. All the food I test at home is eagerly tasted and enjoyed by my husband, Hayden, and daughter, Sophie, while our little dog, Mochi, looks wistfully on.
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Meghan Splawn
Meghan Splawn
Meghan was the Food Editor for Kitchn's Skills content. She's a master of everyday baking, family cooking, and harnessing good light. Meghan approaches food with an eye towards budgeting — both time and money — and having fun. Meghan has a baking and pastry degree, and spent the first 10 years of her career as part of Alton Brown's culinary team. She co-hosts a weekly podcast about food and family called Didn't I Just Feed You.
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published Jul 4, 2024
summer
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overhead shot of two pieces of full grilled steaks
Credit: Photo: Erik Bernstein; Food Styling: Rachel Perlmutter

Don’t forget the herby butter.

Serves2 to 4

Prep5 minutes

Cook6 minutes to 10 minutes

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overhead shot of two pieces of full grilled steaks
Credit: Photo: Erik Bernstein; Food Styling: Rachel Perlmutter

Grilled steak is truly one of the easiest things you can cook on the grill; there’s no need for a complicated recipe. Just buy a good New York strip steak, season it generously with salt, and let the hot grill do all the work. In just a few minutes, you’ll have a tender, juicy main dish that’s made even better if you top it with a quick herb compound butter. Eat the steak with a loaded baked potato if you want to channel some steakhouse vibes, or lean into eating outdoors and pair it with a summer veggie chopped salad, grilled stuffed tomatoes, or garlic and herb butter bath corn. You might even want to throw an extra steak on the grill so that you have leftovers to put on a spinach and strawberry salad to take lunch up a notch.

Why You’ll Love It

  • All you need are New York strip steaks and kosher salt, and less than 10 minutes on the grill.
  • The herb butter is optional but delicious as it melts all over the steak and mingles with the juices.
Credit: Photo: Erik Bernstein; Food Styling: Rachel Perlmutter

Key Ingredients in Steak

  • Strip steaks: This recipe cooks steaks quickly over a hot flame, so the best steak for grilling is a boneless New York strip steak, which is cut from the short loin and is tender and flavorful.
  • Salt: These steaks contain enough fat to grill up browned and delicious, so all they need is a generous sprinkling of kosher salt right before cooking. That being said, I’m a big fan of slicing the steak up and sprinkling the slices with flaky salt before serving for an extra boost of flavor.

How to Make Grilled Steak

  1. Make the compound butter. This is optional but delicious. Mix softened butter, thyme, rosemary, and salt together.
  2. Heat the grill. Heat the grill for direct, high heat. You want the grill really hot so the outside of the steaks brown and get flavorful. Let the steaks sit at room temperature while the grill heats.
  3. Dry and season the steak. Pat the steaks dry with paper towels and season all over with kosher salt.
  4. Grill the steaks. Grill the steaks, covered, until dark grill marks form on each side. Grilled steak will take 6 to 8 minutes total to cook depending on how you want it cooked (see the chart below). If the steaks are browned before they reach the desired internal temperature, move them to a cooler part of the grill to finish cooking.
  5. Rest the steaks. Let the steaks rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Grilled Steak Temperature Chart

Here are the internal temperatures you want the steaks to be at before resting for each desired doneness:

  • Rare: 115ºF to 120ºF
  • Medium-rare: 120ºF to 125ºF
  • Medium: 130ºF to 135ºF
  • Medium-well: 140ºF to 145ºF

Helpful Swaps

  • You can substitute rib eyes, which come from the rib section and contain more fat, for the New York steaks. (If you don’t feel like grilling rib eyes, cook them on the stovetop instead.)
  • While this recipe calls for boneless steaks, you can also grill bone-in steaks.
  • Skip the herb compound butter and dip bites of steak in cowboy butter instead.

Storage

What to Serve with Grilled Steak

Comments

Grilled Steak Recipe

Don’t forget the herby butter.

Prep time 5 minutes

Cook time 6 minutes to 10 minutes

Serves 2 to 4

Nutritional Info

Ingredients

For the steaks:

  • 2 (about 1 1/4-inch thick)

    boneless New York strip steaks (about 12 ounces each)

  • 1 teaspoon

    kosher salt

  • Vegetable oil, for the grill

  • Flaky salt, for sprinkling (optional)

  • Freshly ground black pepper

For the compound butter: (optional)

  • 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick)

    unsalted butter

  • 4 sprigs

    fresh thyme

  • 1 sprig

    fresh rosemary

  • 1/8 teaspoon

    kosher salt

  • 1/8 teaspoon

    red pepper flakes (optional)

Instructions

Make the compound butter: (optional)

  1. Place 4 tablespoons unsalted butter in a small bowl and let sit at room temperature until softened.

  2. Pick the leaves from 4 fresh thyme sprigs and 1 fresh rosemary sprig, and finely chop (about 1 teaspoon each). Add the herbs, 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes if desired to the butter. Smash and stir together until combined.

  3. Transfer onto a piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper, then roll into a log. Twist the ends to seal. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 30 minutes.

Make the steaks:

  1. Prepare an outdoor grill for direct, high heat (about 450ºF). Meanwhile, let 2 New York strip steaks sit at room temperature while the grill is heating.

  2. Scrape the grill grates clean if needed. Oil the grill grates with a paper towel dipped in oil. Pat the steaks dry with paper towels, then season all over with 1 teaspoon kosher salt.

  3. Place the steaks on the grill. Cover and cook until dark grill marks form on the bottom, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip the steaks, cover again, and cook until grill marks form on the second side, 3 to 4 minutes. Check the temperature: For medium-rare, an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of a steak should register 120ºF to 125ºF. If the steaks are not ready, continue to grill, flipping every minute or so, until the steak reaches the right temperature. If the steaks are browning too quickly, turn a gas grill down to medium-high or move the steaks to a cooler part of a charcoal grill.

  4. Transfer the steaks to a clean cutting board or serving plates and let rest for 5 minutes. Top with slices of the compound butter, or sprinkle with flaky salt and season with freshly ground black pepper if desired.

Recipe Notes

Storage: Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days. The compound butter can be refrigerated for up to 1 week or frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before using.

Filed in:
Main Dish
Gluten-Free
Beef
Meat
quick
Grilling