Grilling Ribeye On A Charcoal Grill: How To Make The Perfect Steak
Oh, would you look at the time? It’s grilling time! That’s right, there are tremendous variety of meat cuts that you can grill, but for now, we have got our hands on one of the most classic cuts that never ceases to disappoint anyone – the Ribeye Steak!
In this article we will be telling you about how to grill ribeye steak on a charcoal grill, and all the important tricks and tips you need to know to get that Ribeye Steak of yours done to perfection.
Ribeye is one of those premium cuts that naturally comes with strong beefy flavor. So out of many things, this steak won’t give you a tough time when it comes to choosing the seasonings. The basic seasonings such as salt and pepper are ideally enough to enhance the true flavor of ribeye.
However, if you are feeling a little creative and want to give something new to your taste buds then who am I to stop you? The Ribeye is all yours to season!
Ribeye In A Charcoal Griller
Grilling is a favorite hobby of mine! It gives delish meat, and that too in no time! Unlike smoker, griller is known for its quick and easy cooking. Charcoal Grill is one of the cheapest and efficiently versatile grill to get your hands on. It can give you temperature as high as you want for your cooking unlike gas grill and electric grill that come with limited maximum temperature.
Ribeye Steak is honestly the perfect pick to start grilling. It is soft, tender and undeniably tasty. So, the chances of this steak turning out dry and chewy are super low – a relieving moment for those who are new to grilling.
What is a Ribeye Steak?
This beauty steak gets its name from the place it is found at – top of the ribs. There is no doubt in the fact that Ribeye is everyone’s favorite steak (and rightly so). It is super flavorful and tender. But what really makes it succulent and how does it manage to get first position every time someone decides to rank the steak cuts? Well, Ribeye Steak is richly found with intramuscular fat aka marbling aka the good fat that melts in the meat. This marbling not only makes the ribeye flavorful, but also keeps it juicier and tender.
How To Grill Ribeye On A Charcoal Grill
Now that all formalities have been done, let’s get down to the main event!
- Â Lighting Up The Charcoal And Preheating The Grill
- Seasoning Ribeye Steak
- Grilling Ribeye Steak
- Set And Rest
Lighting Up The Charcoal (And Preheating The Grill)
Charcoal Grill uses coals as its fuel, which in turn, helps to cook your food. These coals come in different varieties, and with variation comes change in quality. I won’t go into details about coal, but I will tell you one thing. Briquettes are the best ones to use! They are affordable and burn longer.
Now remove all the grates in the grill, and dump two balls of newspaper in there. This helps the coals to catch fire easily. Put back the charcoal grate and dump the coals on top of it. I like adding little wood chips along with the coals so the fire doesn’t extinguish and gives it a nice aroma.
Light up these coals and let it burn for 15 minutes. Once it turns ashy grey, it means the coals are hot and ready to be used for grilling. But not yet! Put the lid back on and warm up the griller for 10 to 15 minutes.
Note: This is an alternative way (and possibly the best way) to burn up the coals. You can stick with the lighter fluid method if it suits you best.
Seasoning Ribeye Steak
Ribeye requires no extraordinary seasoning as it naturally comes with robust flavor. Hence, for my steak, I go for simple seasonings – salt, freshly ground black pepper and garlic powder.
Before seasoning, I like to trim down the extra fats from the sides – too much fat makes the steak greasy. Dab the steaks with tissue paper to get rid of the excess moist on top. The purpose of doing it is to get that caramelized crust after grilling. Once done, poke fork into the meat multiple times before adding the seasonings on both sides of the steak. Make sure you are pressing the seasoning into the steak with your hands or spoon so it sticks well onto the steak. Let the seasoned steak rest for at least an hour.
Note: If your Ribeye Steak is resting in the freezer, make sure you defrost it properly before seasoning and grilling it.
Grilling Ribeye Steak
Charcoal Grill are known for its high temperatures. When grilling a steak, you will usually find the temperatures between 400-500° F, and it is nothing to worry about – this is what Charcoal Griller is best at.
When grilling the Ribeye Steak, it is important to know the internal temperature of the steak. I usually check the internal temperature of my steak every 2 minutes with a meat thermometer. And if the temperature seems to decrease, add another batch of coals and make sure the vents are open! But I don’t think this problem should come up in the first place – make sure you are adding the charcoals generously when preheating the griller.
- How Long To Grill Ribeye On Charcoal Grill
Grilling is a quick cooking process but the timing usually varies depending upon how you like your steaks. I like my steak medium done. Medium-Rare didn’t settle well with me, and well done steaks were too dry and chewy for my liking – it is just my opinion, please don’t fight me.
Steaks come in different sizes and thickness. The thicker the steak is, the more time it will take to grill. The ideal thickness of a steak ranges between 1 to 1 ½ inches.
To make things easier for steak lovers, I have assembled a chart about degree of doneness with their approximate timings and internal temperatures. So take a screenshot or scribble it down and get down to grilling business!
- Degree Of Doneness Chart Along With Appearance, Internal Temperature and Time
Set And Rest
For medium-rare steaks, once the internal temperature reaches around 130° F, take it out! Always remove the steaks when they are 5° F away from reaching one of the internal temperatures listed above. This is because the core of the steak is super hot when you take it out, and it manages to spread the temperature out evenly during resting phase.
Now put these steamy hot steaks in the aluminum foil along with cubes of butter and wrap it up. Let it rest in the foil for 10 to 15 minutes before dishing out with your favorite sides!
Note: Butter gives the steak a pleasant smell and makes it so soft that every bite feels like it’s melting in your mouth.
Important Tips For Grilling Ribeye Steak
- Before burning up the coals, make sure they are bundled at the side of the grill and not in the center. This setting gives both direct heat and indirect heat in one griller. The direct heat is for cooking, and the indirect heat is for times like those when you think your steak is cooking up a bit too early for your liking.
- Be aware of your surroundings before setting up your griller as the weather has a huge effect on grilling. Try grilling in a shade if it’s snowing, and avoid it if there are strong winds outside. Trust me, grilling while there’s a gusty wind dancing in your face is not appealing – you will be frustratingly and fruitlessly working on maintaining temperature.
- Always cover up the steaks once you take them out of the griller. This retains the moisture and keeps the steak succulent!
Final Word
Now that all the guidelines about the grilling have been shared, check out more of my articles about ribeye:
Let me know in the comment section how your grilling session turned out to be, and be generous enough to share some of your tips and tricks so I can give it a try!
