What’s A Good Grilling Steak?

WHAT IS A GOOD STEAK FOR THE GRILL

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If cut and cooked probably many steaks can be great on the grill.  The secret is to know your steak.  You can separate steaks into three categories, middle meats round cuts and chuck cuts.

Most middle meats, steaks from the loin and rib, are good choices for the grill; these steaks are among the tenderest.  A steak like rib eye, boneless or bone-in, also has plenty of flavors.  Next in line of these middle steaks for flavor would be the New York Strip steak or if you prefer a bone in steak a Porterhouse steak.  These last two are leaner and should be sliced around 1” thick to maintain juiciness but do not require marinating before grilling.  Fillet Mignon also falls into this area but should be cut closer to 2” to maintain its’ juiciness because it is such a lean steak.  The last of the middle meats would be the boneless sirloin steak; this is a lean steak and the least tender.  Cutting at least 1” thick and marinating will make this steak a good grilling steak.

As good as middle meats are good for the grill Round steaks are probably the trickiest choice to grill successfully.  Round steaks like top round bottom round eye round and silver tip steaks are so lean that they are very easily over cooked.  If you do prefer a leaner steak you can use a thicker cut top round, bottom round London broil or sirloin tip center steak but they should be marinated first before grilling.   Marinating will help keep the steak moist and avoid drying out.

Chuck cuts have more flavor then round steaks do because they have more fat and grain in them, but they are not usually that tender.  They are also more reasonably priced.  For this reason if you are looking for flavor, chuck cuts like shoulder London broil if marinated can be a satisfying grilling steak.  First cut chuck steaks, bone in or boneless can also be a flavor full steak as they are cut from the rib right next to the prime rib.  Surprisingly one of the best steaks on the grill both for flavor and tenderness is the Flat Iron steak.  This steak is a chuck cut with plenty of flavor but is also the second tenderest steak, second only to Fillet Mignon. The Flat Iron is cut from chuck Blade steak, but has the excess flat and any gristle removed.  If you really appreciate flavor and don’t mind a single piece of gristle in the middle of your steak that you can eat around, the blade steak is also a great grilling steak and is especially good marinated.