As a fan of celebrity chefs and their cooking methods, I've spent lots of time deeply immersed in Ina Garten's treasure trove of recipes.
From my all-time favorite chocolate-chip cookies to a full Garten-inspired Thanksgiving dinner, I've yet to find a recipe from the Food Network star I didn't love.
Recently, I tried Garten's method for grilling New York strip steaks — a very specific way of cooking the thick cuts of meat that resulted in some of the most delicious steaks I've ever made at home.
After all, my family and I love eating at a nice steak house, but dining out as a family of four can be expensive. A survey of 1,000 Americans by US Foods found the average respondent spent $166 a month eating out.
Here's what it was like to try Garten's recipe at home.
I started by gathering a few simple ingredients.
I already had most of the ingredients I needed.
Terri Peters
As a busy mom, I'm a big fan of recipes that are big on flavor but short on ingredients. And luckily, the ingredients for Garten's New York strip steaks were simple to find.
I started by picking up three 1½-inch-thick New York strip steaks at the grocery store and was pleased to find I already had the rest of the ingredients in my pantry.
Along with the steaks, I pulled out salt and pepper, two teaspoons of light-brown sugar, two teaspoons of ground coffee, a teaspoon each of garlic powder, chipotle-chile powder, and crushed red pepper flakes, and 1½ tablespoons of olive oil.
Next, I created the coffee-and-chile rub.
The rub was made with coffee, chipotle-chile powder, sugar, garlic, and crushed-red-pepper flakes.
Terri Peters
The first thing I did was mix up the rub — a blend of coffee, chipotle-chile powder, sugar, garlic, and crushed-red-pepper flakes.
Once the ingredients were combined into a dry rub, I slathered each steak with olive oil and massaged the rub into both sides of the meat, making sure to coat the edges of each piece.
I let my New York strip steaks marinade in the rub all day.
Garten suggests allowing the rub to sit on the steaks for at least two hours.
Terri Peters
In her recipe, Garten suggests allowing the rub to sit on the steaks for at least two hours.
Since I had lots of time, I made the rub and put it on the steaks in the morning. I then covered the steaks with plastic wrap and put them in the refrigerator for about eight hours for maximum flavor.
Garten’s grilling method was very specific, but it worked.
For this recipe, timing is everything.
Terri Peters
For this steak recipe, it was all about the grilling method. Garten stressed the importance of having an accurate timer to make sure the steaks were cooked perfectly.
I heated enough charcoal to fill half of my grill, leaving the opposite side empty.
It took just over 10 minutes to grill the steaks.
Garten's recipe called for using charcoal on only half the grill.
Terri Peters
I cooked all three steaks together over the hot charcoal, starting with exactly two minutes on one side. Then, I flipped the meat and cooked it on the opposite side for two minutes.
From there, the steaks were removed from the heat and moved to the empty side of the grill.
I put the lid on the grill and opened the vent, per Garten's instructions, then allowed the steaks to sit on the cool part of the grill for eight more minutes.
I let the steaks rest for 15 minutes before slicing.
My dog was intrigued by the smell of the steaks.
Terri Peters
After the steaks had reached a medium temperature, I removed them from the charcoal grill and brought them inside to rest for 15 minutes.
The steaks looked beautiful, coated with charcoal grill marks and crispy spices, and the savory smell of freshly-grilled steak filled my kitchen.
Even my 10-year-old dog was enthralled by the smell. Throughout the resting and slicing process, he peaked around the corners of the kitchen in hopes of getting a bite.
The steaks were easy to slice and cooked perfectly.
Next time, I'd buy less steak for our family of four.
Terri Peters
Slicing into these perfectly-grilled steaks was easy, and the meat separated and fell apart like pats of butter. The fat in the New York strip steaks was soft and caramelized, and the meat was perfectly pink.
Three New York strips is a lot of steak, and we knew we'd have plenty of leftovers to use the following night in steak fajitas — a win in our book.
In the future, to keep costs low, I'd probably buy half as much steak (ours weighed in at over two pounds) for our family of four. Still, this meal in its full measurements would be an impressive recipe to grill next time we're entertaining guests for dinner.
With a touch of flaky sea salt, the steaks were absolute perfection.
I topped the steaks with a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
Terri Peters
At Garten's suggestion, I finished the sliced steak off with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt and some freshly cracked black pepper.
The steak tasted slightly sweet from the brown sugar in the rub and had the perfect amount of savory pepperiness from the chile powder, coffee, and garlic.
The meat was melt-in-your-mouth perfect, with soft, buttery fat and a seasoned, charred outside that felt like a burst of flavor in each bite.
My whole family loved Garten's steak recipe.
I tried making Ina Garten's recipe for New York strip steaks on my charcoal grill.
Terri Peters
Like every other Ina Garten recipe I've tried in my own kitchen, the New York strip steaks were a hit with everyone in my family.
Not only was it low on ingredients and fairly simple to put together and execute, but the result was some of the most perfectly-grilled, tender steaks I've ever made
I would definitely use Garten's grilling method again for other cuts of steak as well.
Knowing I have this foolproof cooking method in my arsenal will make me more inclined to splurge on expensive cuts of steak since, like Garten, I now know how to cook them without messing them up.
