Summer in full-on, and it’s time to fire up the grill. This week we are talking about grilling rib eye steaks!

A rib eye steak is a beef steak sliced from the rib primal of the cow. It is both flavorful and tender, coming from the lightly worked upper rib cage area. Its marbling of fat makes it very good for fast and hot cooking (aka grilling).

The rib eye is the fattiest of the high-end steaks, which means it has the boldest flavor. But, it needs to be handled a little differently than the others.

Keep in mind that cooking a fatty steak on the grill cause flare-ups, too. Since you don’t want to char your steak, keep your tongs close by…you might need to grab the steak at a moment’s notice.

How to grill your rib eye.
Begin by making certain you have given it a good 45 minutes to come to room temperature before placing it on the grill.

Rib eyes are flavorful enough that they don’t need anything more than salt and coarse black pepper. So, when it comes out of the fridge, season your rib eye generously. The salt will draw out the liquid from inside, creating tiny beads of moisture on the surface. These then reabsorb back into the muscle strands and create a kind of quick brine that makes your steak tasty and tender.

A good rib-eye should be cooked just shy of medium (or 135° F with a meat thermometer). All that fat content needs time to render for the steak to be perfect.

A 1-1/2 inch thick steak should cook for about 5 minutes on each side on a hot grill. Rub it down with some high-temperature oil, like grapeseed, to get a good sear.

And, do remember to allow your steak to rest after it comes off the grill. About ten minutes is enough time to reabsorb the juices and relax. You can cover it with aluminum foil to keep in the heat. While it is resting, you can melt a pat of butter on it to add to the flavor.

Slice your rib eye against the grain for the most tender steak.