The Expert Way To Avoid Grilling Dry And Tough Steak

Cooking steak doesn't seem like it should be that hard. After all, when it comes down to it, all you're really doing is cooking a single piece of beef. But with only one primary ingredient, it matters a whole lot that you get it right or the dish is going to be subpar. To find out how to avoid grilling dry, tough steak, we reached out to Tim Crain, LongHorn Steakhouse Grill Master and 2025 Steak Master Series Champion.

"Not buying a quality steak and overcooking are probably the two biggest mistakes in grilling that lead to a tough steak," Crain told The Takeout. Overcooking the steak is easily the more obvious culprit between the two. It doesn't take a grill veteran to know that too much time over heat will dry a nice piece of beef.

But as Crain points out, the process of ensuring a steak dinner turns out tender and juicy begins long before the grill has been fired up. "Aging has a big impact on the tenderness of any cut," Crain continued. "At LongHorn, we wet age all our steaks a minimum of 21 days. This will help develop flavor and tenderness." You don't necessarily need to be wet aging the beef yourself, but it's something you could look into if you were interested. For most people, choosing a cut of steak with rich marbling is really all that's needed since all that fat is going to contribute a lot in terms of tenderness.

All this is to say, you need to do your homework beforehand to know which type of steak you should be ordering. Some cuts of steak are easier to cook at home than others, but the basic dividing line in that regard has to do with fat content. If you're cooking something lean like a flat iron steak, it's still possible to achieve a tender result, but it's going to be a lot harder.

If you only have a lean cut of steak on hand or you don't have the extra cash for a deluxe cut of beef (Certainly not alone on that front, friend), you may want to consider improving your steak marinade game. There are several cuts of steak that benefit greatly from marinade, so don't be shy.

Worst case scenario, you mess up and the steak turns out dry. Is there anything you can do to fix it? "Your best option at fixing a tough steak is cutting it into smaller pieces and repurposing it into another dish like steak tacos," Tim Crain said. "If you ever find yourself in a real bind, LongHorn has your back. Come see us for a boldly seasoned, expertly grilled steak and a great dining experience."