Tips for Grilling with Butter - Challenge Dairy (2024)

FAQs

Tips for Grilling with Butter - Challenge Dairy? ›

"There is no real need for butter when cooking a steak because it already has plenty of fat and flavor in the meat itself," he says. (That is, of course, assuming you have a solid starting product.)

"There is no real need for butter when cooking a steak because it already has plenty of fat and flavor in the meat itself," he says. (That is, of course, assuming you have a solid starting product.)

So when you spoon it over your steak, you're getting all the fat instead of just hot moisture. That's the KEY difference to building a crust with the maillard reaction (the thing that turns steak golden brown and delicious), versus making your surface soggy.

How to baste the grilled steak. ⇢ Melt the butter & garlic in a small cast iron pan on the grill, then dip your herb brush into the mixture. Be sure to let any excess butter drip back into the skillet to avoid flare-ups on the grill! Gently brush the butter on each grilled steak as they are charring over direct heat.

Soften or melt the butter by placing the container on top of a hot stove or grill. You could microwave it a little, too. Brush the butter onto the food you are grilling.

Best cooking fat for steak

Flavourless oils like sunflower, vegetable or groundnut work best, and once the steak is searing you can add butter to the pan for flavour.

Instead, it's a classic pan-searing technique called butter-basting that, for my money, often gives me the kinds of steaks, chops, and fish I crave.

According to a professional chef who spoke to Taste of Home, steakhouses use lots of butter in their cooking, often slathering it over pieces of meat even when the use of butter is not indicated anywhere on the menu. Butter—especially clarified butter—can add taste and even improve the glossy look of a cooked steak.

Basting: this is the pouring of any fat or juices over any type of meat during cooking with the objective of keeping it moist.

Sear first in oil and then add butter.

Starting the steak in a few tablespoons of vegetable oil gives it a nice initial crust. Waiting to add the butter until the steak has been seared for about 4 minutes helps prevent it from burning.

How to keep steak juicy on the grill? ›

As I said, the best way to get sizzling steaks on the outside and juicy, buttery steak on the inside is to first sear the steaks over a hot, high flame, then move the steaks over to a cooler, unlit portion of the grill to finish cooking via indirect heat.

Here's the thing: Cooking a cold steak can be quick to result in uneven cooking, with a well-cooked outside and an undercooked center. Follow this tip: Plan to take the steak out of the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour before cooking. This simple step helps the steak cook more evenly.

Place the steaks on the grill and cook until golden brown and slightly charred, 4 to 5 minutes. Turn the steaks over and continue to grill 3 to 5 minutes for medium-rare (an internal temperature of 135 degrees F), 5 to 7 minutes for medium (140 degrees F) or 8 to 10 minutes for medium-well (150 degrees F).

Brush or place the butter directly on top of the meat, not on the grill. Limit the grilling time of the butter. Grill your meats first without the butter, then apply butter when the meat is approximately 10 degrees away from your target temperature.

3. Season the Steak: Steaks don't need much to make them great. Just before grilling, brush them lightly on both sides with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. If you want to get fancy, you can add spices like chili powder, paprika, or garlic powder to the rub.

Now, before you accuse restaurants of butter sabotage, let's talk about the "tenderizer" effect. The fat in the butter can help soften the meats' protein fibers, resulting in a more tender steak. It's like giving your steak a spa day, minus the fluffy robes and cucumbers on the eyes.

Because it adds proteins to the mix, butter is a better medium for adding deep brown color to your steak as well, which means that even if your steak is looking a little pale after its initial sear, once you add that butter, it'll rapidly take on color.