Growing up, steak was the pinnacle of food creations, and, in my mind, I did not consider myself a worthy creator of food until I could make a good steak. It is one of the most universally loved dishes in our country, and there are even entire restaurants devoted this one dish that is essentially just a grilled piece of red meat. My steak recipe is actually my father’s recipe and without his guidance I wouldn’t be able to prepare a proper steak, much less any of the other dishes I create. Please enjoy my version of what I consider one of the most important dishes in American culture.

Recipe:

Ingredients: 1 thick cut New York strip (at least 1 inch thick); garlic powder; salt; ground black pepper; dried basil

Preparation: Season each side of the strip lightly in this order: salt, garlic powder, pepper then basil. (The order in which you season the steak is important because certain seasonings will be absorbed whereas other will be brought to the forefront of the palate.) Be sure to rub the seasonings into the meat. Set the heat on the grill to the highest possible setting and preheat until it reaches around 450 degrees. Place the steak on the grill and immediately close the top. OPEN THE GRILL AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE. This is going to sound a little gross but… Do not turn the steak until you see the blood in the meat start to puddle on the surface of the steak. You will see the edges of the meat brown and the fat around the edges to burn slightly. This is a good indicator that the steak should be flipped. ONLY FLIP ONCE!! The keys to a good steak is only turning it once so as to avoid overcooking. On most grills you can cook the steak about 5 or 6 minutes on each side before it’s done, but this depends on the thickness so use your best judgment. Take the steak off the grill when it reaches your preferred cooking state. Enjoy.

Now…this is a bit of a tangent but a proper steak should be served at a medium-rare status. This is the perfect cooked status to allow all of the flavors of the meat to come forth. For those who are a little wary at the sign of a pink middle let me say this: The bacteria in the blood of a steak is killed by temperature. So, if you bring the meat to an appropriately high enough temperature, you have nothing to worry about.