I love to grill, but I admit that I’ve never really used charcoal to do it. I’ve watched others grill over charcoal, but it intimidated me a little.
Then Kingsford Charcoal contacted me and asked if I would try their Kingsford Professional Charcoal to grill steak. Perfect timing! This is shaping up to be a tasty summer of outdoor grilling. I’m hooked!
My first step was ordering a new charcoal grill. I went with the Weber Kettle.
Next up – shop for steaks. Costco had a pack of fillet mignon that looked wonderful. Again, I was a little nervous to grill expensive steak. What if I ruined it? Shouldn’t I start with hot dogs?
The steak turned out to be so easy to grill. The whole process takes about an hour, but it is easy to do.
The longest part of the process is waiting on the coals to get hot enough to cook over. I use a chimney to light the charcoal. You’ll need a few sheets of newspaper to roll up and place under the chimney. True confession – I had to buy a Sunday paper for this, because we don’t take the newspaper anymore. Pour the Kingsford Professional Briquets into the chimney, then light the newspaper at the bottom. The flames will spread up through the chimney, catching all the charcoal on fire.
After about 45 minutes, the coals will become gray. That signals the time to pour the burning coals into the grill. Use grill gloves for this step so you don’t get burned.
While the charcoal is getting hot, pull your steaks from the fridge and let them rest at room temperature. You don’t want to put cold steaks on the hot grill.
I kept the seasonings simple so that they flavor of the meat could shine through. I sprinkled each cut with kosher salt and pepper. That’s it.
When the coals are ready, place the steaks on the hot grill. Steak needs to sear and cook over high heat. Kingsford Professional Briquets are designed to achieve very hot temps. Since the fillets were very thick, I cooked them about 5-6 minutes per side, only flipping them once. An instant read thermometer would be handy at this point, but I don’t own one yet.
Remove the steaks from the grill when they’ve reached the desired doneness. Keep in mind they will continue to cook even after you’ve taken them off the heat.
Top each steak with a pat of butter and let them rest for several minutes before serving. This is a good time to call everyone to the table, finish up side dishes, etc.
Get out there and grill!
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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Kingsford. The opinions and text are all mine.
