To cook a great steak, you have to have a good steak to start with and not all steaks are great for grilling. So it all starts with your choice of steak. Get this wrong and you’re off to a bad start.

You start with the quality of the meat. How do you decide how good the meat is and which is best for grilling. It can be very confusing, as a nation of meat eaters, there are so many varieties out there.

If you are lucky enough to have a butcher in your area, then I would always suggest getting your steaks there, especially if you like medium or rare. It tends to be fresher and the butcher can give you some great advice. Or even in your supermarket they often have a fresh butcher section. Try there for your steak. Here are some tips on getting through the jargon.

The cut of Steak, what does that mean?

To keep it simple, the best cuts for grilling are Rib Eye, T bone, Porterhouse, Strips Steak and Sirloin. This is because they contain more fat, which gives great flavor and makes sure the steak does not dry out on your grill. Other cuts like tenderloin and fillet, well they have less fat and are not so good for grilling. For my money I always go for rib eye. But you should try them all before you choose.

Marbling And Your Steak.

Marbling is the visible lines of fat that you see going through the meat. The fat is what gives your steak its great flavor. Now of course the more fat you have on your beef, the less healthy it will be. But as long as you don’t over do it, I’m sure its fine. The marbling should be thin lines of fat and should be evenly distributed throughout your steak. Just try to avoid thick marbling, as this will produce a tougher steak.

What Grade Should You Use For Grilling??

The grade is easier. There are three different grades. They are Prime, Choice and Select, in order of quality. You probably won’t get much prime in your supermarket, these are the top end expensive cuts and are more often found in restaurants. So you will be looking at choice or select. So try both and see what you think. I have found great select cuts at good prices for use on my grill.

So for starters test out a rib-eye, T-bone, Porterhouse and Strip to see which one you like the best on your grill.