Gallery: How To Grill a Gigantic Rib-Eye Steak

Step 1: Salt

Season all sides of the steak well with coarse kosher salt and black pepper at least 45 minutes before cooking, and up to overnight. At first, the salt will draw moisture out of the surface of the meat but will then create a brine with this extracted liquid that will dissolve meat proteins, allowing them to re-absorb the liquid, and the salt along with it. The result is deeper flavoring and a more tender texture.

Step 2: Cook Over Indirect Heat

Build a two-zone indirect fire with at least a full chimney worth of coals banked entirely to one side of the grill. Cook the meat over the cooler side of the grill with the lid on, flipping every five minutes or so until it reaches 10 degrees cooler than the desired finished temperature (130°F final temperature or 120°F after this step for medium-rare, 140°F and 130°F for medium). For a really thick steak, this can take up to half an hour or so.

If using a gas grill, light up one set of burners to high and leave the rest off.

Step 3: Sear

Once you're within ten degrees of your final serving temperature, transfer the steak to the hot side of the grill and cook with the lid off to supply the coals with plenty of oxygen and allow them to burn hotter. Sear the steak until it has built up a significant charred crust and is within five degrees of its final serving temperature. If you don't like the ultra-charred taste of burning fat, keep a squirt bottle filled with water nearby to put out any flare-ups (I personally like the flavor).

Step 4: Rest

After your steak has been seared, transfer it to a cutting board and allow it to rest for at least 10 minutes. During this time, its internal temperature should climb up to its maximum, then drop down again by a couple of degrees. For a medium-rare steak, you want to serve it after the temperature has peaked at 130°F and dropped back down to 128°, ten degrees hotter for medium.

Step 5: Serve

After sufficient resting, carve the steak and serve immediately. With a bone-in steak this large, I like to serve it completely whole, allowing guests to cut hunks off for themselves. A two-pound steak will serve at least two very hungry people, and more likely three or four. This is rich stuff!

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