Before tossing a steak on the grill, remember this grandfatherly bit of wisdom: That steak is perfect just the way it is.
Don’t go poking it with a fork in a misguided attempt to tenderize it.
Refrain from bludgeoning it with a hammer.
And unless you really love the flavor of that marinade, don’t lather up a perfectly tasty hunk of meat with unnecessary seasonings.
According to some of Aurora’s expert grill men, the minimalist approach is the best approach.
At Emil-Lene’s Sirloin House, open since 1958 at 16000 Smith Rd., the steaks are drizzled on the plate with browned butter and sprinkled with salt and pepper.
That’s it. No frills, just choice cuts of beef cooked over charcoal.
“Anytime you are dealing with steak, it’s already a good cut of meat for the most part, so usually the simpler you can do it, the better it is,” Lloyd Mason said as he looked over two perfectly grilled slabs of sirloin.
Mason rejects the title “chef,” but with 10 years on Emil-Lene’s famous charcoal grill, he knows what he’s talking about when it comes to sirloins.
For the steaks at Emil-Lene’s, Mason likes to let the meat speak for itself. Steaks go from the fridge to the flat grill where they are seared briefly before hitting that grill over red-hot coals.
Aurora steak experts say the moment that the steak hits the grill is an important one.
Jorge Alvarez, who mans the grill at The Summit Steakhouse, open since 1977 at 2700 S. Havana St., said some cooks mess up here by forcefully shoving the steak onto the grill. That added force just pushes tasty juices out of the meat, Alvarez said.
Like Mason, Alvarez takes the simple approach to grilling.
Sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper on the meat, toss it on the grill and let the heat do the rest.
One of the biggest mistakes a cook can make is messing with the steak too much once it’s on the grill, Alvarez said. Not only do those unnecessary flips and turns send juices dripping onto the grill, it means more time spent hovering over the hot flame.
“If you move it a lot of times, it takes longer to cook,” he said.
For a 12-ounce New York strip last week, Alvarez rotated the meat 45 degrees after a couple minutes to give it those pleasing-to-the-eye grill marks, and flipped it just once.
Seconds after the sizzling slab hit a warm plate, he drizzled butter on top and sprinkled a dash of parsley.
“Not too much stuff,” said Alvarez, who has been at the Summit more than six years, and spent about 20 years working a grill.
The Summit uses a gas broiler, cooking the steaks under a rolling flame that keeps the grill at between 400 and 500 degrees. Alvarez said it’s vital that the grill is that hot because it sears the meat and locks in the juices.
Back at Emil-Lene’s, charcoal is king.
“I think charcoal gives more flavor than gas does,” Mason said.
At Emil-Lene’s, the charcoal is always Kingsford — a fact owner Karen Kuchar-Krause proudly boasts on her business cards — and they never use lighter fluid.
Kuchar-Krause said the fluid soaks into charcoal and ends up flavoring the meat.
“That’s the worst thing you can do,” she said.
To get the coals going, electric coal lighters work well, Mason said, as do charcoal chimneys.
Still, cooking with charcoal can be a challenge. Coals can be finicky and patience is a must.
And once you master the art of keeping charcoal red hot, there is the challenge of cooking meats to the ideal temperature.
Kuchar-Krause, who has been at Emil-Lene’s for 40 years, said knowing when a steak is medium-rare or when it’s well-done is an art.
There are several tricks, she said, like if the steak feels soft like your belly, it’s rare. If it’s soft like your cheek, it’s medium. If it’s hard like your forehead, it’s well-done.
But those tricks don’t always work. Sometimes a cook just knows when a steak is perfectly grilled.
That’s where lots of practice comes in handy.
“They say anybody can cook a steak,” she said. “And yeah, anybody can cook it.”
But, Mason chimed in, that’s not always the point.
“It’s a matter of doing it right,” he said.
Sage steak advice
Keep it simple: Whether it’s before the steak hits the grill or while it’s cooking, don’t mess with it. A good steak should be tender already, and excess tossing and turning loses juices.
No forks: Don’t stab your steak with a meat fork. A pair of tongs is the ideal tool.
Choose the right cut: Reach for a ribeye or a sirloin, the bigger the better. A heftier steak cooks slower and is more forgiving. Avoid the filet mignon until you’re a master, otherwise you could have a burnt outside and raw inside.
The taste triumvirate: Overseason the steak and those seasonings will likely burn on the grill. The only add-ons you should need are butter, salt and pepper after grilling.