I am a firm believer in letting the meat speak for itself. Steakhouses that hawk fancy sauces are places that I avoid. If they are famous for their sauce, then I must question why they are covering their meat in the first place. Especially when a great steak is simple meal to grill at home. Here’s how I do it.

Ready

• Ribeye (ask your butcher to cut even 2” thick steaks)
• Some good pepper
• Garlic, pealed and broken to release the oils
• Smoked salt (regular salt will certainly suffice)

Set

• A grill (charcoal, gas or grill pan)
• Tongs
• Paper towel
• Oil (any variety will suffice)
• Meat thermometer
• Trenched cutting board

Go

1. Start by purchasing a steak that is well marbled and evenly cut. Butchers can be lazy and an unevenly cut steak will cook unevenly.
2. Get you grill good and screaming hot.
3. Rub your meat with the broken garlic cloves. All you want is for the meat to absorb some of the oil. Discard the garlic cloves when done.
4. Sprinkle the meat liberally with your favorite crushed peppercorns.
5. Using tongs oil the hot grill with either paper towel and oil. This keeps the meat from sticking to the metal.
6. Flip the steak after about 8 minutes or when the first side is looking done. Cook until 135º F. Basically the meat should be seared on the outside edges and nice and pink in the middle.
7. Let the meat sit for 10 minutes on a trenched cutting board. This is a great time to finish your vegetables, toss your salad and finish your meal. I don’t tent because the meat continues to cook and it will head towards medium instead of medium rare. If you leave the thermometer in you will see that the un-tented meat will continue to cook and hit 140º F before starting to cool which is perfect.
8. Cut into thin slices, sprinkle with salt (preferably smoked salt) and serve.

What you should know

As a general rule of thumb I plan on about ½ lb of meat per person. So if I am having 6 guests for dinner, I purchase 4 lbs of meat. The extra pound is for leftovers.

Not everybody likes it the way I do. Here’ the scale to cook to your desired preference.

• Rare - 125º F to 135º F
• Medium rare - 135º F to 145º F
• Medium - 145º F to 150º F
• Well done - 150º F to 160º F
• Not worth it - 160º F and above

I recommended asking your butcher to cut the steaks 2 inches thick. That way the outside of the steak will sear while the inside cooks to a nice juicy pink perfection.

Finally, I beg you not to think like a pseudo-health-conscious American and buy a piece of meat with no fat. If your going to splurge you should enjoy yourself. Otherwise eat chicken.