The Best Steak Grilling Trick You Haven’t Heard Of

Food writer Sherry Rujikarn calls this technique for getting tender, well-seasoned meat “the best steak grilling trick you haven’t heard of.” It’s simple, takes about twenty extra seconds, and looks to be pretty promising.   The process involves scoring the meat, or making little crisscross hatches along the surface. It’s common on hams, big holiday roasts, and duck breasts, and can do wonders for your steak. 

Why? Well, three reasons: 1) it helps for more uniform cooking, allowing the outsides to cook quicker while not overcooking the middle. These leads to 2) better browning and creations of the crispy bits, and there’s more surface area to get all charred and tasty. And 3) spices, seasonings, and salt can get deeper inside the protein and distribute quicker. Sherry explains, 

If you like rubbing your steaks down with spices, garlic, or herbs, this trick makes sure the flavor sets in because you can really cram the seasoning into the cuts. The shallow cuts also give the heat from your grill easier access, thereby minimizing that dreaded, dry, gray line that can sometimes appear around the perfectly juicy, medium-rare band in the center of your steak. I also like using this method because I’m a texture-freak and my favorite parts of any grilled protein are the crusty edges and ends. So by making these cuts all over your steak, you maximize the crusty-edge quotient of your steak.

Get more info and the full how-to at Good Housekeeping: The Best Steak Grilling Trick You Haven’t Heard Of