How to Grill a Steak Like a Master Chef

Rainford’s cut of choice is a 2-inch-thick ribeye. "It’s the king of all steaks," he says. "It’s got two different kinds of meat (the more tender eye and the more flavorful cap), and there’s enough fat for flavor and moistness."

If you insist on a leaner cut, try a tenderloin, which is extremely tender (albeit less tasty) and cooks up great and fast on the grill at high heat. But please don’t be tempted by a cut that’s cheap, thin, and lean with a ring of gristle around the outside, like a round steak. "You can break a tooth on that," Rainford quips. 

For Rainford, the secret to a perfect steak is advance preparation. The first step is to "temper" the steak—a fancy word for taking the steak out of the fridge to bring the meat to room temperature. This takes roughly an hour, which is about the max time food experts say meat should be out of the fridge.

The next step is a very straightforward seasoning. Rainford relies on a flavorful, high-quality steak—do as he does and make friends with your butcher—so he can avoid aggressive seasoning or marinades in favor of just a generous sprinkle of salt with an optional grind of fresh black pepper.

And while a steak cooks quickly, it’s also demanding. "It requires your full attention, so you can’t just go off and have a beer," he says. "You’ve got to stay right beside it."

Your grill must be super hot—fully preheated to 500℉ Fahrenheit for at least 15 minutes if you’re cooking on a gas grill. (If you’re buying a new grill, look for one with a fast preheat and a wide temperature range, like our highly rated Napoleon Rogue Pro 425.) Over charcoal—Rainford’s preference—use a chimney to start the fire and allow a half hour for the briquettes to "coal over" and become ashy-white.

While grilling burgers may seem easy, there’s an art to them as well, and that also begins at the butcher shop or the market.

"I love using chuck because chuck has the right amount of fat-to-meat ratio, around 70/30," Rainford says. "You’ll definitely make a juicy hamburger." And toward that end, Rainford prefers a thicker burger rather than the kind of flat-patty that’s become trendy with the smashburger craze.  For food safety, Rainford cooks his burgers thoroughly to 160℉.

But what if you’ve got guests who are vegetarian or vegan? Vegetables are a versatile grilling partner. Rainford does everything from potato wedges (sliced thick, seasoned wth oil and salt), asparagus (marinated in olive oil, salt, and lemon and cooked quickly until it just turns bright green with a little char for flavor), to sweet potatoes (wrapped in foil for a spin on the French preparation en papillote, in which foods are steamed in parchment paper).

But he admits that even world-class veggies can feel a little bit like side dishes. Or just a plain afterthought.

So to make his vegetarian guests feel seen, Rainford keeps a trick up his sleeve: Carrots served on a bun like a hot dog. He starts by peeling and shaping the carrots to resemble frankfurters. He seasons them with some good olive oil, a little balsamic vinegar, and warm Middle Eastern spices like ras el hanout (a warm-but-not-really-spicy seasoning blend with cinnamon, coriander, cumin, ginger, and even rose petals and saffron, which can be found in the spice aisle of most U.S. supermarkets). Rainford puts the carrots on a sheet pan and cooks them in the oven for around an hour until they’re nice and soft and deeply caramelized. He finishes them on the grill to get some char on the outside and serves them up on a toasted bun with the condiment of your choice. BBQ sauce? Cole slaw? Why not? The result is style, substance, and, above all, flavor.