This is a guide to improve good steak to amazing steak using your Blackstone.
There is an ideal internal temperature where steak is the perfect blend of moisture, flavor, and texture. For Filet Mignon, this is 131F degrees. For ribeye or strip, the temperature is ideally 135F degrees.
For perfection, you want as much of your steak cooked to this temperature as possible.
When cooking a steak, there will be a “grey band” around the outer edge. The grey indicates over cooked, dry, flavorless steak. While it is impossible to eliminate it altogether, you want it as thin as possible. I personally aim for less than 1/8th of an inch.
Of course, at the same time, you want a dark sear on all sides of the outer surfaces of the steak.
If your only cooking tool is your Blackstone, use steaks less than 1 inch thick. Cook the steak on the hottest griddle possible until you reach an internal temperature of 125F. Rest for 10 minutes. The steak will rise to 135F while resting.
You cannot cook a steak thicker than 1″ without a significant grey band using just a Blackstone. By the time the center reaches 125F, the outer layers are already grey.
There are two solutions.
1. Sear the steak on the hottest griddle possible for about 1 minute on each side. Then finish in a 350F oven until the center reaches 125F, then rest for 10 minutes before cutting.
2. For “perfect” steak, sous vide the 1.5″ or thicker steak for 1.5 hours at 131F for filet mignon or 135F for NY Strip or Ribeye. Dry with a paper towel. Then sear on a red hot Blackstone for about 1 minute each side. Do not rest as with other methods.
When you have the chance to try a steak with a nominal grey band, you will realize the significant difference in flavor and texture.
(Pictured is a 1.5″ NY Strip from Costco, sous vide cooked at 135F for 90 minutes. It was then seared on a Blackstone.)
