Grilling

Unlike chicken or foods that take a long time to cook through, steaks require a very hot fire so they end up quickly coated with a very tasty brown and slightly crispy crust. If the fire isn’t hot enough or the steaks are too far away from the heat source, by the time the crust has developed, the steak will be overdone. Ideally, grills should be adjustable so you can change the distance from the coals to the grill itself, and the grill should be made of heavy iron so it leaves distinct markings on the meat, although these markings are mainly for looks. To get the distinctive crosshatch pattern you see in restaurants, give the steaks a 90-degree turn after a few minutes of cooking on the first side, cook for a few minutes longer, and then turn them over. (There’s no need for the 90-degree turn on the second side, since no one will see it.) A common mistake is to keep moving the steaks around on the grill; this makes them take longer to brown and interferes with the formation of the crosshatch pattern. In case of flare-up, however, you will have to move the steaks to keep them away from the flames. Foods should never be cooked over flames, because the flames produce soot that clings to them. To avoid flare-up when grilling steaks, trim off most of their fat—it’s the fat that renders and drips into the coals and causes the flames.