steaks on the egg

I'm looking forward to grilling steaks this afternoon, assuming these crazy temperatures and high humidity don't force me inside.

It seems as if I've cooked steaks forever. Until recently, I've felt comfortable in front of the grill. I grew up using a wood fire in a large built-in barbecue on the patio outside our kitchen door. It was beautiful and fun, but it pretty much had one temperature and you were on your own guessing what that might be. Trial by fire so to speak.

For many, many years after that, I used a Weber kettle-style grill. I loved it, them actually, as I went through a few ever-so-slightly different models. The one I still have, even though I no longer use it, is red with an accurate thermometer built right in. I love it to this day, but it was overshadowed by our Big Green Egg. Which brings us to my current wariness with grilling.

The Egg can be regulated beautifully. I've slowly barbecued deep pit style beef for almost two days with ease. I've also managed some great steaks from time to time. And at least twice, I've managed to set myself on fire. One of those times resulted in some pretty nasty burns and a trip to urgent care. Both necessitated and emergency call to my hairdresser. And there's my now ongoing issue with sparse eyelashes. But enough about my carelessness.

One big issue for me, aside my newly acquired fear of the flames, is keeping my steak rare and getting GK's well-done, while browning both well and not destroying the meat itself. We buy mostly grass-fed meat, and simply put, I don't want to ruin meat I had to talk myself into buying due to what seems like ever-increasing price tags. I was delighted this week to find a few clues. In Melissa Joulwan's The Clothes Make the Girl this week was a link some of the best steak advice I've seen in awhile, dispelling some deeply ingrained myths.

 If you are cooking steaks for the Fourth of July, or anytime soon, don't start your grill before you read these great tips for cooking steaks from Serious Eats.