A griddle is a handy piece of kitchen equipment. You can make a pancake breakfast complete with bacon and eggs or a tasty steak dinner, as we’ll see here.
It’s easy to cook a good steak on a griddle, and when you do it correctly, the results speak for themselves. You won’t get flare-ups from fat dripping onto hot coals. You won’t have hot or cold spots, either – just a nice, even surface that will rival any grill for cooked meat perfection.
Here are some secrets for making your griddle steak taste better.
Note: For the very best results, get yourself a cast iron griddle, which ensures even heat distribution.
Select the best cut of meat for the job
The cut of meat that you choose will make all the difference. The best cuts of meat for griddle steak are Porterhouse, T-Bone, Ribeye, and NY Strip. Get the best quality you can afford.
Steak tips are also delicious when grilled: these are the very tender pieces of beef cut from the sirloin. They are also known as sirloin tips or tri-tip steal.
Dry your steak
Before seasoning your steak, dab it first with a paper towel to get any moisture off that could interfere with the searing process.
Drying your steak will also enable the seasoning or marinade to soak into the meat more effectively.
Season your meat
The best kind of seasoning for griddle steak can be simple: a light coating of oil with some salt and freshly ground pepper.
You can use any flavored seasoning you like – but coating your meat with a light oil first will make it extra tasty.
The best type of oil for cast iron griddles is one that has a high smoke point, such as canola oil, avocado oil, grapeseed oil, or peanut oil.
Try a marinade
If you want to marinate your steak before cooking it, let it marinate for at least 2 hours, or overnight if you can (in the fridge).
An effortless marinade recipe is a mixture of steak seasoning, garlic, brown sugar, and Italian salad dressing.
Let it rest
Allow your seasoned meat to rest for half an hour at room temperature before putting it on the griddle. Letting your meat rest won’t give you food poisoning – you are taking the chill off, which will provide you with meat that is juicier and more evenly cooked.
Prepare the griddle
Heat your griddle at high heat. When the griddle is hot, put a knob of butter or a bit of cooking oil on the surface and spread it out. You want the area where your meat will cook to be covered with a light base layer of fat.
Alternatively, if your chosen cut of meat has fat around the edges, rub the meat’s fat over the surface of the griddle. If your griddle is hot, the fat will melt and provide an excellent base layer.
Cook your meat
Place your steaks on top of your base layer of fat, and press down with a spatula. You want your meat to be nice and flat. Don’t press too hard, as you don’t want the meat’s juices to run out onto the griddle.
Now let the steak cook for long enough to form a seared crust on the bottom. Don’t flip your steak more than once, or you won’t get the flavorful crust. When the brown starts coming up the sides of your steak, it’s ready to flip.
If you want to check your steak’s progress, you can peek underneath by lifting a small corner.
As a rough guide to the cooking time you’ll need, a steak that is one inch thick tends to cook in about 18 minutes (10 minutes on the first side). A thinner steak will cook faster.
If you don’t want to estimate your steak’s doneness, you can use a probe thermometer. Here are some temperatures you can use as a guide:
- 128-135 degrees F for medium-rare
- 135-145 degrees F for medium
- 145-155 degrees F for medium-well
Let the meat rest again
Most people skip this step, but it’s a crucial one: before serving your cooked steak, let it rest.
You want to let it rest at least 8 minutes before you start cutting it. During this time, your steak continues to cook, even when it’s removed from the heat.
While your steak cooks, the juices go into the center of the steak. Allowing your steak to rest enables the juices to redistribute towards the outer edges so that you can get juice in every bite.
