The backyard grill and a thick, juicy steak. It’s an iconic pair. For the meat-eaters, a perfectly grilled steak is a meal not to be soon forgotten. But there are two main ingredients that are necessary to make that happen: a quality cut of meat and a good barbecue that will get hot enough to sear and lock in the juices and flavor of the steak.

For the steak, there are many different cuts from which to choose: T-bone, filet, tomahawk, ribeye, New York Strip, Denver Strip, sirloin … there are several options.
As a basic rule, you want a cut of meat that is at least an inch thick (but an inch-and-a-half to two inches is better!) and has nice marbling of fat throughout the cut. As the steak cooks, this fat will melt into the meat and create more succulent flavors.

It would be waste to ruin this fine cut of meat on a barbecue that isn’t up to snuff. A grill that suffers from hot spots, poor heating, or rusted-out cooking grids will result in a dry mass that lacks the flavor you would expect.

Napoleon — offers two different ways to cook the perfect steak, both using its Infrared SIZZLE ZONE to sear the steak and lock in the taste.

Napoleon’s SIZZLE ZONE uses ceramic burners with thousands of evenly spaced flame ports to generate infrared radiant energy. The flame energy is absorbed by the ceramic, which then glows and heats up to an incredible 1,800˚F within 30 seconds. This high-intensity radiant energy heats the cooking grids directly above the burner to intense temperatures which are then transferred to the food for incredible searing.

Preparing the Steak

1. Season the steaks liberally with salt and freshly ground black pepper approximately 30 minutes before you are ready to cook.

2. You can let the steaks rest on the counter or in the fridge until the grill is preheated.

Infrared Grilled Steak

1. Lift the lid on the infrared burner, raise the cooking grid into the upper position. Light the SIZZLE ZONE and let it warm up for at least 5 minutes — it will be glowing a bright red-orange within a minute, but for the best sear marks, you want the cooking grid super-hot too.

2. Place your thick, juicy steak on the cooking grid.

3. After two to three minutes, use a pair of tongs to flip the steak. (DO NOT use a fork. The tines will pierce the meat and allow tasty juices to escape.)

4. After another two to three minutes, turn off the burner. Place the steak on a plate and tent with aluminum foil where it will rest for five minutes.

You now have a tasty medium-rare steak to enjoy.

Infrared Grilled Steak with Barbecue Finish

Before starting this method, mix some fresh rosemary, thyme, garlic and fresh-ground pepper into some butter. Place about a tablespoon of the mixture onto a sheet of wax paper (do as many of these dollops as you have steaks) and place in the freezer.

1. Turn on your grill for indirect cooking; if you have four burners, turn on each of the outside burners and leave the middle ones off. You want the temperature of the barbecue to reach 300°F to 325°F.

2. Turn on the SIZZLE ZONE and let it warm up.

3. Place seasoned steaks on the SIZZLE ZONE, grill for one minute on each side — again using tongs to flip the meat, NOT a fork.

4. Remove steaks from the SIZZLE ZONE and place over the unlit burners in the barbecue. Place a frozen dollop of the herbed butter on each steak with a sprig of fresh rosemary. Close the lid and let the steaks cook for a further five minutes (for medium-rare, internal temperature of the meat at 130°F to 140°F) or eight to 10 minutes for medium (140°F to 150°F). Remember your steak will continue to cook a few more degrees after your remove it from the heat, so factor that in.

5. Take steaks off the grill at the desired temperature and let them rest under tented foil.

Enjoy!

Each of these methods quickly cooks the meat over intense heat, locking in moisture and flavor. The results are unmistakable — succulent, flavor food with every bite. The key to infrared cooking is that it heats the object (the steak) and not the air, so it cooks twice as fast as traditional burners while using less fuel — it can reduce your gas consumption by up to 50 per cent.

For more information visit www.napoleon.com