The Perfect Steak

Once upon a time there was a gal who didn’t know how to grill. It wasn’t that she wasn’t a good cook or skilled in the kitchen. It wasn’t even that she didn’t love food cooked on the grill. It was just that, well, growing up, her Dad had always done all of the grilling.

Then Chef Bobby of the Big Green Egg came riding in on his Chevy Pickup and made plans to change all of that. Not only was he going to teach the mom to grill, but he was also going to teach her how to cook the perfect steak…

Stay tuned for a happy ending, and a great recipe.

Alright, enough of fairy tales, lets get down to some good old Steak cookin’!

Folks, meet “Eggy”, The Big Green Egg. My Katy Rose named him and this is a photo of his arrival into the Jordan family, via the specialized attachment on Chef Bobby Cresap’s truck. Bobby is the executive Chef for the Big Green Egg and he was kind enough to come over and show me the ropes.

He was very patient and thorough in his teachings and it was great to get instructions from a pro such as him. It was actually quite an honor. I listened, I took mental notes…

And I ate every blessed thing that beloved man cooked. His food is divine.

These are Chef Bobby’s appetizers and my stomach is growling right now thinking about them. He took large mushrooms, removed the stems, and stuffed them with sausage before cooking them on the grill. They were to die for!

He made the recipe I’m bringing you today for the Perfect steak at my home and I have to tell you, it was the most delicious steak I’ve ever tasted in my entire life. I watched him go through every single step so I could show you how we did this, too.

So after all of this one on one instruction in how to grill, when it came time for me to recreate these steaks for myself, I did exactly what you’d expect me to…

Called in my dad 🙂

Meet Bill Davis. Retired from the Huntsville Police Department so he can just sit around and wait on me to call him and tell him we need steak.

~grins~

Daddy always did the grilling growing up and you know what folks say about things not being broke...

So let me show you how we make these perfect steaks.

You’ll need: Kosher salt, white pepper, black pepper, and cayenne pepper.

White pepper may be something you’ve never heard of but it’s easy to find in the spice section at pretty much any grocery store. I got mine at Krogers.

You’ll also need steaks. Chef Bobby recommends Rib Eyes, 1-1/2 to 2 inches thick.

It can be a bit of a quest finding (and affording) steaks that thick. These are a little over an inch thick and were pretty expensive, but still a LOT cheaper than all six of us going out to eat. Folks tell me that Sam’s Club has the best deals on them and if you have any hints or tips on where to find the best prices on steaks please feel free to leave them in the comments section below.

Place all of your dry ingredients in a shallow dish, like the pie plate I’m using here.

Stir them all together.

Press each steak into the mixture on both sides.

Like this.

You can do this before you’re ready to cook them and then just put them back in the refrigerator for a few hours, or you can do it right before cooking.

Chef Bobby says “It is perfectly acceptable to season your steaks well in advance of cooking them. The salt will pull some of the moisture from the surface of the meat. The moisture mixes with the salt and forms a brine which will pull the flavor into the steak by osmosis. When the meat and brine are in osmosis the seasoning will travel easily back and forth with the muscle tissues. So it really is hard to dry out the steak by seasoning early.”

Now lets get that grill going full steam ahead! Bobby says you want the temperature to be around 600.

Of course, you can use this same rub recipe on your steaks and cook it on whatever grill you happen to have at your house and it will even work in a cast iron skillet in your oven, too! Okay, so I just now realized that I need to do a whole other post on that method so I’ll get to work on it..

Place steaks on hot grill.

Cook two minutes.

Flip and cook two more minutes.

Flip again and close top to grill and cook two minutes more to have them at medium rare. Since we tend to be medium well people, we cook ours just a little bit longer.

This is my Mama and Daddy, enjoying their perfect steaks, salad with Vidalia Honey Viniagrette, and loaded baked potatoes.

And this is my kids and nephew Lane, enjoying their grandparents.

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:237]

For more information on the Big Green Egg, chck out their website or chat with other EggHeads on their Facebook Page, or their extensive forums,which also provide a great source of support and answers to any questions you may have!


If you have any special grilling recipes you’d like to share, please feel free to do so in the comments below. If you just wanna drop a “Hidy” that’s fine, too! Chat, have a good time, and make yourself at home because we sure are glad you’re here!


Life is all about how you look at it. Is the glass half empty or half full? To me, if there is even a little something in my ‘life’ glass, then I am going to drink it up and consider myself blessed that I got a drop of it!

Submitted by Christy Day (thank you Christy!). To submit your quote or read hundreds more, please click here.

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84 Comments

  1. Christy,
    You’re a SOUTHERN ANGEL! My daughter called me from Savannah the other day and asked me how to grill steaks. I pretty much gave her the same instructions you gave (except for the pepper in your seasoning), and prayed the steaks she planned to cook (tomorrow–Saturday) would turn out well. Now that I have YOU to back me up, I feel so much better. I think she gets your posts, but just in case, I’m sending this one to her to review before she and her husband cook steaks for their friends tomorrow! Bless you, sweet friend! Pat

  2. Wow, that was such a sweet gesture to come to your house & bring the BGE..just another reason why I think SP family mbrs are really ANGELS that have been sent from heaven just to bestow goodness on those all around.

  3. I’m the griller in our family–not because DH can’t but because I have the patience to not only get our Green Egg (small) or our Primo XL up to speed for cooking steaks on high temperatures or low and slow for succulent pulled pork. I love ceramic grills after cooking for so many years with gas or charcoal. Sure, gas is instant on but the flavor you get from the Egg or Primo is just superb and worth the little extra time. I get superb beef from Tallgrass Beef (online) but it is pricey (but the flavor!!!). I also look for ribeye at the supermarket on specials.

  4. It is so time to grill. We’ve had marinated chicken breasts and hamburgers already. We also buy our steaks at Sams however, we’d love to buy a quarter or half beef and pig. Any ideas of where??? Following is a great recipe I’ve used for years now.

    Grilled Pork Tenderloin
    1/2 cup canola oil
    1/3 cup soy sauce
    1/4 cup red wine vinegar
    3 T lemon juice
    2 T Worcestershire Sauce
    1 clove garlic, crushed
    1 T chopped, fresh parsley (I use dried)
    1 T dry mustard
    1 1/2 t. pepper
    1 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin
    Combine all ingredients except pork. Mix well. Pour into gallon size plastic bag. Add pork. Seal turn over a few times. Refrigerate 4-24 hours. Remove pork and reserve marinade. Grill over med hot coals until internal temp reaches 160, about 16 min, turning once. Let stand 5-10 min before slicing. In a small saucepan over high heat boil marinade for 2 min. Pour over sliced meat. Serve warm or at room temp.

    This is from Square Table cookbook from Oxford, MS.

    1. Hey Judi! If you head up to the Madison Farmer’s Market soon as they open (I think it starts soon) there is a group there called something like Curly Girl farms or something that sells grass fed beef and I believe you can buy a whole side. There is also a farm in Harvest or Hazel Green (sorry to be so vague) that lets you order a whole side. Check out localharvest.org. I would love to do this as well but just can’t afford the price right now so I’d love to hear about your experience if you get to do it!

      Thank you for this great recipe!!

  5. We get all our meat from Costco. Inexpensive and oh sooo good! We also love to grill asparagus or any veggie for that matter.

  6. Who says you have to give up your mom card by being a master of the grill! 🙂 Of all the women in my house hold I was the one who learned the grill! I was also the youngest girl! And my dad’s joke was of all of us my cooking temp was HI! I’ve helped cure cast iron skillets, and when Dad had yard work to do I was left in charge of the grill and the meat to get it done for lunch or dinner! Simply because I guess I had a healthy respect for fire, and I LOVED IT!

    One of the last times I was home my Dad fired up his grill while I was seasoning the meat. Came in carried out the steak, chicken, etc. Helped me put everything on, and said….Let me know when you need help turning everything, and taking it back in the house!

    This is a rub I’m gonna have to try! Will have to take out some steaks for dinner tonight! Now I’m hungry and I just had lunch!

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