How to grill a steak on a gas BBQ

Grilling a great steak isn't hard, but you do have to know what to do and what to avoid. Using a gas grill rather than the traditional briquets adds its own set of challenges.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Steak
• Gas Grill
• Olive Oil (optional)
• Salt (optional)
• Pepper (optional)

1. Obtain your steak. For the juiciest, most flavorful steak choose a rib steak. If you prefer a leaner cut, a New York is a great choice. Grilling steaks are typically 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick.

2. If necessary, trim the fat down so that the thickest part is about 1/4 inch.

3. Score the fat (slice a line into it) every inch or so. This will help keep the steak flat when grilling (the fat cooks faster than the meat, so can cause it to curl).

4. Make sure the grill is clean. You don't want last weekend's crusty chicken bits stuck to your steak...

5. Pre-heat the grill as hot as you can get it. This is the biggest trick with gas grills, as they don't get as hot as a well-made charcoal fire.

6. Lightly oil the grill bars. If you have extra pieces of fat from trimming the steaks, just rub them on the bars. Or you can brush some other kind of oil on. Just don't burn yourself - the grill will be hot!

7. If desired, lightly oil the steak and/or add a little salt and/or pepper. You really don't need more seasoning than this.

8. Lay the steak on the grill. You want it on the hottest part, but not right above any metal shields. The fat is going to melt, drip down, and catch fire, and you don't want the flames touching your steak.

9. After 1 minute, flip the steak over.

10. If you want to get fancy, flip the steak over again after a minute, making sure to rotate it 45 degrees. This will sear a nice diamond pattern into it.

11. Cook the steak for half of the remaining time (see below), then flip over again. As above, rotate the steak 45 degrees to get a nice diamond pattern seared into it.

12. Finish cooking the steak based on the time estimates below. The best way to check whether it is done is a pressure test - a rare steak will still be soft, a medium steak will give a little, and a well-done steak will be firm.

13. Let the steak sit for 5 minutes before serving so that the juices from the center can work themselves out, making the entire steak nice and juicy.

Tips & Warnings

• For a rare 1" steak, 8-10 minutes will do. Add about 2 minutes for a 1 1/2" steak.
• For a medium 1" steak, about 12-14 minutes is necessary. A 1 1/2" steak will take 16-20 minutes.
• For a well done 1" steak, try 16-20 minutes. A 1 1/2" steak will take 22-26 minutes.
• The grill will be HOT! Don't burn yourself. If you do, run cold water over it until its numb.