A T-bone steak takes more effort to eat, but offers twice the flavor. Unlike eating a strip, ribeye or filet, eating a T-bone requires you to cut around bone to get to your meat. The payoff with a T-bone is that you’re treated to both a strip and tenderloin. To keep your T-bone moist and tender, follow a few tips from the pros that will prevent you from drying out your steak.
Keep your contact with a T-bone to a minimum while grilling.
Pre Your T-Bone Steak Correctly
Remove excess fat from the steak if you want a healthier cut of meat. Trim the fat while the steak is cold to make it easier. Leave the steak on the counter when you are done trimming, allowing it to reach room temperature before you cook it. Cooking a cold steak can result in a charred outside and rare inside.
Clean your grill to remove left-over food from the last time it was used. Lightly oil the grill with a monounsaturated cooking oil after you have cleaned it.
Brush a small amount of oil onto the T-bone, then season with salt, pepper or other seasonings, such as garlic salt, rosemary or a steak rub.
Use the Correct Cooking Temperature
Heat your grill to medium high heat. Let coals get white hot if you are using a charcoal grill, and keep them at least 2 inches or more from the grill. Hold your hand 5 inches over a charcoal grill to determine the temperature, recommend Epicurios.com. If you can hold your hand there for three to four seconds before it gets too hot, the temperature is medium-hot.
Place the steak on the grill and let cook on one side for four to five minutes, depending on the thickness. A 1-inch thick steak will take five minutes to cook on the first side to achieve a medium rare temperature, according to the steak cooking chart at the website of the Omaha Steaks company. Do not press the steak while cooking; this will release juices, making a tougher, drier steak.
Don’t Poke and Prod a Steak
Turn the steak using a pair of tongs. Using a fork will puncture the streak and let juices run out, making it drier. Let the steak finish cooking, usually one minute less than the first side for rare and medium rare steaks. For more well done steaks, cook the steak two minutes longer on the first side, rather than cooking the steak longer after the flip.
Take the steak off the grill and let it rest three minutes or more before you cut it. Letting a steak rest allows the juices that have come to the surface to be absorbed back into the meat, keeping it tender.