For a steak, there is a simpler way. Actually, chefs don’t take the time to read the temperature when they cook a steak on a gas grill. They simply poke it with their finger to gauge its doneness. You can do this too. It’ll just take a little practice. So here are some things you’ll need to know before you begin practicing the poke method.
Let me start by trying to use words to describe how it will feel:
- Rare -When you grill a steak it will feel soft and squishy
- Medium-Rare – Your steak will feel somewhat resilient
- Medium – Your steak will feel semi-firm
- Well-Done – Your steak will feel firm
The problem with that is understanding what that feels like. Without practicing and cutting open steaks you may not be able to how long to cook a steak on a gas grill. So, some folks have come up with a few more tactile methods for determining grill times for steak.
One method uses three spots on your hand. The first spot is the fleshy meat at the base of your thumb. If you go ahead and poke it, you’ll notice it’s pretty mushy. This corresponds to rare.
The second spot is right in the middle of your palm. This is a lot firmer and should be about the same as a medium steak.
The third location is the boney part just beneath your pinky. Because there is a bone there, it’s definitely the firmest part of the three. This is equivalent to well-done.
A slightly more sophisticated approach to the poke method suggests that you make a series of O.K. signs with your hand. Each time, you poke the fleshy part at the base of your thumb.
- When you use your index finger, as shown in the picture, it will feel like a rare steak.
- Making an O.K. with your middle finger is the equivalent feel of a medium-rare steak.
- The next finder will feel like a medium steak.
- Using your pinky will give you the feel of a Well-done steak.
Depending on the thickness of the cut, the times will vary. The cuts I like to get usually take 4-6 minutes per side. I like my steaks on the medium-rare side, so I don’t let it go too long after the first flip before I start checking the firmness.
Neither should you because while you’re learning, you need to feel what every phase of cooking is like. Then you’ll know how to cook a steak on a gas grill for all of your friends and family.