Cooking outdoors often means grilling fatty meats. More expensive cuts of beef, such as ribeye, contain more marbling, or fat, making them tender and juicy. Keeping a few preparation and cooking tips in mind when grilling a ribeye will help you keep it tasty and healthy.
Prepare The Grill
At least a day or two before your cookout, check your grill to make sure it’s in working order. Make sure you have enough propane and turn it on, letting it get to the heat you’ll want during your cooking.
Clean the grill and rack, if your grill comes with one. Use a stiff brush to scrape and clean any rust or food debris that may be stuck to the grill. Collect all the tools you’ll need, including a large knife and fork, tongs, towel, marinade brush and spray bottle of water to help reduce flames.
Prepare The Ribeye
To reduce fat, trim your steak close to the meat. Fat keeps your steak juicy — consider adding an acidic marinade such as teriyaki or a pineapple or tomato glaze to tenderize your ribeye. Even if you trim your ribeye, if you don’t overcook it, you should still have enough fat to keep it tender and moist.
If you don’t plan on marinating the beef, let the steak get to room temperature before you place it on the grill. Brush it lightly with olive oil, then add salt and pepper or other favorite seasonings. Garlic is a healthy choice for a steak seasoning.
Use Indirect Grilling for Steaks
If you place your ribeye directly on the grill above the coals, you heat it more quickly. This is a good technique if you want a crisp outside and rare inside. You can reduce fat by placing the steak away from the coals on the grilling rack, using indirect heat.
This will take longer, but let more fat drip away into a drip pan you place under the steak. The Better Homes and Gardens website recommends direct grilling a 1-inch ribeye for 11 to 15 minutes at 145 degrees for a medium steak, and 16 to 20 minutes at the same temperature to make a medium rare steak using indirect grilling.
Less is More When Grilling Steaks
When you cook steak, the more you flip, press and touch the meat, the drier it will become. Turn your ribeye only once during the cooking process and don’t press on it unless you want to release more fat. If you’re looking for a nice sear on both sides, start the steak on a high heat setting for 30 seconds, flip, reduce the heat to your desired cooking temperature, then finish cooking the steak, turning only one more time.
This will give you a quick char on one side, then another quick, initial char on the other side as the heat decreases, sealing in flavor while you finish grilling.