Thick steaks are easier to grill.
You have more time to get the
outside perfect before the center
is over cooked.

Don't let the steaks sit over a
flare-up very long. In fact, in
Argentina, this is considered
a rookie mistake because the
raw flame can cause an oily taste.

This is a "black and blue" or
"Pittsburgh style" strip steak.

 

Flank steaks that were grilled
for fajitas. Notice how the steak
is medium rare from edge to edge.
Good grilling technique. It takes
high heat to accomplish this on
a thin cut of meat like flank steak.

The Perfect Steak

Let your steaks come up to room temperature outside the refrigerator. This can take an hour or more. About a half hour before they go on the grill, salt both sides with kosher salt. Watch for the salt to draw out some moisture from the meat and start to bead up on the surface.This takes 10 minutes or so. When it happens, add your rub. Now watch and the meat will re-absorb the salt and some of the flavor of the rub over the next hour or so. 

Light up a good Hickory or Red Oak lump charcoal, raise the coal basket, and get your grate hotter than the hubs of you-know-where. You need intense heat to do this correctly. Oil the grate and gently place the steaks. Use tongs, not a spatula. When they release from the grate (and they will, just be patient), rotate them once to generate cross hatch char marks and to avoid burning too deeply into the steak with the first set of grill marks. You don't really want the meat to burn and change texture at the char marks. Flip and repeat.

At this point, the most certain method is to place a thermometer with a remote probe into the side of the thinnest steak*. Set the thermometer to 125. Wait for the beep.

Move the steaks off the indirect heat to the resting zone of the grill, or completely off the grill if you don't have an indirect zone, (if off-grill, cover with foil) and wait at least five minutes for the juices to reabsorb. All the moisture in the meat "retreats" to the center of the cut because the meat proteins tighten up when they get hot and force out the flavorful juices. You have to give it time to relax and allow them to re-distribute from edge to edge. The temperature will rise about ten degrees to Medium.

A few other tips: Keep turning the steaks as they rest. I think this makes them even more tender. If you're feeling particularly decadent, use my Grandpa's trick and put a pat of butter on the steak while it's resting-it could even be herbed butter-which combines with the juices for even more flavor.

If you like your steaks truly rare, set the thermometer to 115. This technique will produce juicy steaks that are charred and spiced on the outside and perfectly medium rare all the way through without the grey stripes top and bottom. Be careful. While the steak is over the fire its internal temperature will rise at 10 degrees PER MINUTE! So the difference between a perfect medium-rare steak and shoe leather is three minutes.

(*Also, not to be a nag, but a true grill chef would call you lazy for using a thermometer. It means you haven't mastered the chef's touch, and you poked a hole and let the juice run out. If you plan to keep investing in good meat, get serious about it! You need practice by grilling hundreds of steaks so you can tell what the internal temperature is by touch. It's a necessary skill for a true master. Of course, if there is beer involved, we recommend that you always use a thermometer.)

 
Notice the pepper crust on the meat.
This is the classic "Steak au Poivre"
done over charcoal. Excellent.

The Pittsburgh style steak after resting.

Basic Burgers

Don't use extra lean hamburger. You want 85/15 hamburger so there is some juiciness in the meat. There is simply no way to make lean hamburger stay juicy on the grill. Cruel fact.

There are two schools of thought on what to do next, and it really boils down to whether you like your hamburgers pink in the middle or not. If you cook a hamburger until it is gray all the way through, it will be too dry for most tastes. In all things grilled, well done and juicy do not happen together. The only way to get a juicy burger is to cook it until only barely pink in the middle. However, pink means that some of the meat may not have come up to the full 140+ degrees required by most food safety guidelines. If you trust that your hamburger is freshly ground under clean conditions, use method one and get a naturally juicy burger. If not, skip down to method number two.

METHOD ONE:
Handle the meat as little as possible. Form the burgers thick-close to an inch.  Warm them to room temperature on the counter before they go on the grill. Salt and pepper both sides generously at the last minute. Raise the lever for high searing heat. The grate must be hot-you need a ton of heat for this. Throw on a handful of smoke chips (do this right away because they won't get any smoke flavor once the outside is seared) and then lightly place the burgers on the grill.  Don't close the cover. Generate some char marks, rotate 90 degrees so the grate doesn't burn in too deep, flip and repeat. When the inside is at 125° move them off the fire to the right side of the grill to rest for at least five minutes. Flip them a few times while they are resting and they will be much juicier. The interior temperature will rise to about 140°, just a hint of pink.

METHOD TWO:
Mix a pound of hamburger with a large slice of white bread that has been mashed into a tablespoon of milk. It will form a paste that chefs call a "panade". (This also works for meatballs in any form.) Add the meat to the bowl along with salt, pepper, finely chopped onion and mix it to an even consistency. If you want to take this to the limit, add five or six tablespoons of bacon grease to the mixture. Now form your patties and proceed to the grill-same routine as explained in METHOD ONE, but don't use quite as much heat, or you'll burn the outside. You can cook these gray all the way through and they will still be juicy and flavorful.

Here is where you begin your sacred hamburger preparation ritual. Add onion salt, steak sauce, tabasco, cheese, i.e., doctor 'em up the way you've been eating burgers your entire life. I offer no advice on condiments, buns, cheese or beverage, but using this minimalist procedure you will have the juiciest, most perfect first step on the stairway to hamburger heaven.

Find the Spot.
Find the point at the base of your thumb (usually right above the bottom of the lifeline) that feels like a piece of raw beef. You might have to poke around to find it. Choose the "meatiest" place that has the most "give" to it.

Thumb to Pointer finger = Medium/Rare.
Touch thumb and pointer finger together very lightly and notice how the spot tightens a bit when you poke it. This is roughly how a medium-rare steak will feel if you poke it on the grill.

Thumb to Second finger = Medium/Well.
Thumb to middle finger feels roughly like a medium-well steak.

Thumb to Ring Finger = "Damn! I ruined another steak."
If it feels like thumb to ring finger, you weren't paying attention. When you let that steak rest it'll turn into a chunk of wood. Feed it to the dog.

Or ... collect your wits, take it inside and cut it into strips to make Texas-style chili! In about two hours of slow simmer with some kick-ass spices it'll be edible again, and the chili will have a real nice smokey taste to it: But remember that you could have made that same chili with a much cheaper piece of meat. If you're going to be a grilling rock star you need to figure out how to do this!

   " I MEANT to do that..."     Texas Chili Recipe

2 pounds ruined steak cut into 1/2 inch strips
1 teaspoon cumin
1 ripe tomato, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 medium white onion, chopped 
6 stalks celery, chopped
1 8 ounce can green chili salsa
1 8 ounce can green chile peppers, diced
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1 tablespoon hot chili powder
1 tablespoon medium chili powder
1 tablespoon mild New Mexico chili powder 
canned tomato juice to barely cover the meat
salt to taste
Simmer until reputation is restored.