Grilling tips from the experts
From the Kitchen of the 225 Club

What are the secrets to first-class grilling? We contacted some of the nation’s top steakhouses, including chains Smith & Wollensky’s and Morton’s, and Grill 23 in Boston and East Coast Grill in Cambridge, Mass. We asked them to help us help you, the devoted tailgating public, to grill a better steak. Here are eight tips you can put into use at your next tailgate or backyard barbecue.

 

Choose wood over gas

Every steakhouse worth its salt and pepper uses hardwood or hardwood charcoal. It lacks the convenience of gas grilling, but the results are simply far more satisfying. When tasted side by side, there is a radical difference in the flavor of meat cooked with wood and meat cooked with gas. Hardwood gives the most flavor to meat – too much for some people. Gas offers absolutely nothing in terms of added flavor. Hardwood charcoal is a happy medium. It still gives the meat natural wood flavor, but not nearly as intense as straight hardwood.

 

You can adjust temperature simply by raising or lowering the grate of your grill. Also, build your fire on one side of the grill. That way you have a hot side for cooking and a cool side for foods that don't need a good, hot sear.

 

There is a way to get the convenience of gas and the flavor of wood. Weber sells something called The Performer (pictured here). It's uses hardwood or hardwood charcoal to cook, but the fuel is easily lit with propane. It's a great piece of equipment that the 225 Club uses quite a bit.

 

Remember that fat is flavor

Purchase cuts of steak with plenty of marbled fat. Steaks that are too lean will turn out tough. Many steakhouses have a little secret to add flavor to their steaks. They brush it with a little melted steak fat, or melted butter, right before serving. Trim some excess fat and render it on your grill in a small cast-iron skillet, with a little butter if you choose. Then brush it over the steak just before serving.

 

Turn up the heat

The biggest mistake people make when grilling – especially when grilling steaks – is that they don’t have the heat up high enough. Make sure your cooking surface is extremely hot before placing a steak on it. High heat will sear the surface of the meat and seal in flavor and juices. Meat will stick to surfaces that are not hot enough. If you go to turn a piece of meat and it's sticking to the grill, it means the grill is not hot enough or the meat has yet to sear properly. Wait until the meat no longer sticks before flipping. When using charcoal, don’t cook until the flame has died down and the coals are covered in white-gray ash.

 

Study timing and touch

Most people cut slits into a steak to see if it’s done. That saps precious and flavorful juices from your meat. The experts use timing and touch. Cook a 1-inch steak about 3 to 4 minutes per side for rare; 5 to 6 minutes for medium, and 7-8 minutes for well done. Press the center of the steak with your finger. A rare steak will be soft, like the base of your thumb. A well-done steak will be firm, like the base of your small finger. Turn just once and never squeeze meat with your cooking utensils.

 

Marinade building blocks

The Kitchen of the 225 Club offers plenty of different marinades, but feel free to experiment and create you own. But just remember, there are three basic building blocks to every marinade: an acid (lemon juice, vinegar, etc.), an oil (e.g., olive, sesame) and seasoning (salt, pepper, paprika, onion, rosemary, cayenne, etc.). The acid tenderizes meat. The oil adds moisture and texture. Seasoning means flavor. Vegetables should marinate for an hour. Meat and fish should marinate overnight in the refrigerator. But a good steak often requires little more than a generous dry rub of kosher salt and cracked pepper.

 

Grill everything

Grilling should not be limited to hamburgers, hot dogs, steaks, sausage and chicken. For tasty vegetables, slice, cover in a thin coat of olive oil and add a little salt and pepper. Try grilling pizza or do you very own tailgate clambake on your grill.

 

Buy steaks the pros use

Steakhouses dry-age meat for up to four weeks. Dry-aging breaks down tissue and creates an extremely tender steak. However, it requires a carefully controlled environment and is virtually impossible to do at home. However, a number of high-end retailers and steakhouses sell dry-aged steaks. They cost a lot, but devoted steak aficionados often find the price worth it. (Smith & Wollensky’s, for example, charges to-go prices $38 for a 14-ounce filet mignon, an 18-ounce sirloin or a 28-ounce rib eye.)

 

Get help

There are plenty of great resources out there to help you cook better. Pick up “The Thrill of the Grill” or “How to Cook Meat” by Chris Schlesinger, the owner of the aforementioned East Coast Grill, and John Willoughby, editor of Gourmet magazine. Weber, meanwhile, released in 2005 a very informative book called “Weber’s Real Grilling” by Jamie Purviance. It features loads of recipes and useful grilling tips.