Grilling steak doesn’t have to be complicated. Make the most of the summer grilling season and learn how to grill steak perfectly every time with these tips and tricks from Olympus on Main apartments in Carrollton, Texas.

Season Your Steak Before Grilling

Skip fancy marinades and instead generously sprinkle steak with a high-quality kosher salt and freshly ground or cracked pepper, then leave it uncovered in the fridge for two to three hours. Remove from the fridge around an hour before grilling, let the steak come to room temperature, and brush with good quality olive oil, or an olive and canola oil mix, right before you put it on the grill. The oil will help ensure you get a good sear and nice browning on the meat.

Use Direct & Indirect Heat When Grilling

The key to perfect steaks is to initially cook them for three to four minutes on each side at a very high heat in order to get a good sear. Then move the steaks to a more moderate, indirect heat to finish cooking the inside, without burning the outside. This is especially important for thicker cuts of meat. You can have your burners set to high on one side of the grill and low to medium on the other, or transfer the steaks from the high-heat grill to a moderately hot oven (around 375 to 400 degrees) to finish cooking.

How to Judge Doneness

It’s the bane of all wannabe grill masters. Your steaks look beautiful on the outside, but when you serve them you realize they’re either over- or underdone. The most reliable way to judge doneness is with a good meat thermometer inserted through the side of the steak into the center. According to The Spruce Eats, you’re aiming for around 120 to 130 degrees for rare, 130 to 135 degrees for medium rare, 140 to 150 degrees for medium, 155 to 165 degrees for medium well, and 170 degrees for well done.

Experienced cooks can also gauge when a steak is cooked by the way it feels – the meat gets firmer as it continues to cook. While this method has more room for error and can result in scorched fingertips, it does make you look cool to your guests. Check out this guide from Simply Recipes to learn how it’s done.

Let it Rest

One of the most common mistakes people make when grilling steak is not allowing it to rest after it’s cooked, before it’s sliced. Let the meat rest (i.e., sit on a plate off the heat) for around a third of its cooking time. This allows the juices to settle so they’ll remain in the meat when it’s cut up and the steak will be tender and juicy. This is also why you don’t want to cut into a steak while it’s cooking in order to check doneness.

Now that you know how it’s done, fire up the grill and get cooking. Visit the Olympus on Main blog for more food and lifestyle tips.