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How Long to Cook T Bone Steak on Grill

Grilling is one of the simplest and most delicious ways to prepare a T-bone steak right in your home. The ultimate result is perfect for a simple family supper, a romantic night in, or a weekend get-together. They’re also great for a low-carb supper when served with the correct side dish, and as long as you follow the cooking directions, you’ll get fantastic results.

In this article, we’ll show you the best way to grill a T-bone steak in order to ensure the best possible results. It is very important to pay attention to the timing guidelines because overcooking steaks are quite common and the results are not exactly ideal. Also, take note of our helpful tips so you can get the best out of your cooking.

How Long To Cook T Bone Steak On Grill

T-bone Steak Nutrition Facts

How Long To Cook T Bone Steak On Grill

Tips for Cooking T-bone Steak on Grill

Take note of the following helpful tips, suggestions, and guidelines when cooking a T-bone steak on the grill:

Rest your steaks before cooking – If possible, let the meat sit at room temperature before you commence your cooking. Because steaks aren’t ground beef, resting them this way is safe, however, anything longer than an hour is not advisable. Choosing not to rest your steaks before cooking means that they will typically take a bit longer to reach the desired internal temperature, and could end up dried up.

Salting your steaks – There is some disagreement over the timeline when adding salt to steaks.  Salt tends to draw water out of meat, but both the salt and water content will eventually be reabsorbed into the meat; this should take between 45 to 60 minutes.

Salting your steaks just before you leave them to rest has been shown to deliver incredible-tasting results. It’s also good if you add salt just at the end, but it’s not quite as good. Except for the last 10 minutes of the rest, don’t add salt when there’s less than an hour left. This may cause the meat to lose water, which it will not be able to re-absorb in time.

Ideal cooking time – The approximate cooking times provided in the table below are for planning purposes only and will typically vary across recipes depending on the thickness of the steaks, the grill’s temperature, and rest time after cooking. It is important to use a meat thermometer at all times and never judge doneness by time alone.

Cook the steaks to your desired internal temperature, but make sure to allow for a temperature rise of 2°-4° after taking the steaks off the grill. Meat cannot be uncooked (if you end up overcooking your steaks) although it can always be cooked a little longer (in the case of undercooking).

Rest your steaks before serving – The rest period after cooking is just as important as the rest before cooking, so make sure not to skip this step.

Water escapes the cells while the steaks are cooking up on the grill. If you slice into the meat right away after cooking, the juices will simply drip onto your plate and your steaks will lose their moisture. Instead, allow them to rest for a minimum of 5 minutes (10 minutes is much preferable). Ensure that the steaks are loosely tented in foil during this period; the liquid will be absorbed back into the meat.

 

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Cooking Time for T-bone Steak on Grill

Ideally, the timing guidelines in the table below should be adhered to when cooking a T-bone steak on the grill:

Desired doneness degree Cooking time
Rare-cold T-bone steaks with a red center (125°-130°F) 6 to 7 minutes
Medium rare-warm T-bone steaks with a red center (130°-135°F) 7 to 8 minutes
Medium-rare T-bone steaks with a pink and firm center (140°-150°F) 9 to 11 minutes
Medium-well T-bone steaks with minimal pink in the center (150°-155°F) 12 to 14 minutes
Well-done T-bone steaks, with a firm and brown center (160°F+) 14 minutes and above
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Grilled T-bone Steak (2 to 4 Servings)

  • Author: Bobby

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 whole T-bone steaks, at least 1½ inches thick (about 30 ounces each)
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. Season steaks on both sides, including the edges, with salt and pepper. Do this at least 45 minutes prior to the beginning of your cooking.
  2. Refrigerate the steaks, uncovered, on a wire rack placed over a rimmed baking sheet until you’re ready to cook. You could also season the steaks right before putting them on the hot grill.
  3. 1 complete chimney of charcoal should be lit. Pour the coals out and scatter them out evenly over half of the coal grate once all charcoal is burning and blanketed with gray ash. Alternatively, preheat half of a gas grill’s burners on high.
  4. Place the cooking grate on the grill, cover it, and let it heat up for 5 minutes. The grilling grate should be cleaned and oiled.
  5. Place the steaks on the cooler portion of the grill, and keep the tenderloins (the smaller meat medallions) at the furthest portion from the coals. Cover the top and bottom vents and close them halfway.
  6. Cook the T-bone steaks, turning once. Cook them until an instant-read thermometer put into the coolest area of the strip registers 115°F/46°C and the tenderloin reads 110°F/43°C at a medium-rare doneness level (this should take about 15 minutes). Keep in mind that cooking durations might vary significantly depending on the grill’s heat, so start monitoring the steaks after 10 minutes.
  7. If the coals in the grill aren’t blazing hot at this stage, you’ll need to add some more coals to the fire and give them time to warm up. Move the steaks to the portion of the grill with direct heat from the embers. Cook them here, flipping occasionally, until the steaks are fully charred on both sides. Push the steaks down on their edges with tongs to roast the sides as well.
  8. Allow 10 minutes for resting before serving the steaks as you please.

If you’d like more recipe ideas or inspiration for grilling a T-bone steak, then we recommend that you take a look at this video recipe.

Notes

  • Porterhouse steaks, which are essentially T-bone steaks with larger chunks of tenderloin attached, function just as well using the above-described cooking procedure.

Following the above steps to cook a T-bone steak on the grill is sure to lead you to the most delicious results. Also, make sure to cook your steaks at the appropriate time to keep them from overcooking.

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