The Perfect Steak

What you need:

• 1 New York stip steak cut 1-inch thick
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Next:

1. Bring the steak to room temperature. Prepare the grill with a very hot fire, with the coals glowing red all the way through.

2. Season the steak on both sides with salt and pepper. Lay it on the grill rack. Cook for 3 minutes on one side, spritzing at any flames with a spray bottle of water if dripping fat catches fire.

3.Turn the steak over and cook for 3 minutes on the other side. Remove to a plate and allow to rest for 3 minutes. Salt lightly. Eat at once.


Golden Rules for Cooking Steak

1. Buy the best steak you can afford: dry and finely grained. Also look for steak that is highly marbled (full of little veins and flecks of pure-white fat.
2. Bring the steak to room temperature before cooking and blot it dry with a paper towel.
3. Heat the grill to a red-hot temperature before cooking.
4. Sprinkle the steak lightly with salt and freshly ground black pepper before putting it on the grill, and salt again, very lightly, after cooking.
5. Grill for precisely 3 minutes on each side.
6. Let the meat rest for 3 minutes after cooking so it will relax and be as tender as possible.

For more of David Bowers' steak-grilling tips, read "The Perfect Steak" in the September/October 2001 issue of Cabin Life.