How Long to Grill Steak?

Written in 2023
by Toni Costa

    Grilling your steak is definitely the most popular method and its an excellent way to bring a steak up to a few different levels of cooked. Some people prefer a steak done as medium rare, some well done, and so on. That's your first thing to decide! No answer we can give you here will be clear cut, it all depends on the thickness and the type of steak you have, but if you read on we can help you to perfect whatever steak you want.

    Common Steak Grilling Times

    The main thing that will decide the grilling time is the thickness, you dont really have any chance of getting a steak wrong so try not to stress too much, we can just use the thickness to determine how long to grill on each side.

    A meat thermometer is a handy little tool that will help you whilst cooking too, especially with the thinner steaks, it'll help you be more precise with the cooking.

    The time frame for medium rare is about 4-6 minutes on each side, depending on the thickness of your steak, and for a medium steak, about 5-8 on each side, again thickness depending. Its always a good idea to start checking the steak early and then using your finger to feel the texture and if it needs more time.

    How Long to Grill Ribeye

    Ribeye's tend to be a little over an inch usually in thickness, so they need a little bit longer than some steaks, at about 130 degrees, they'll take around 5 minutes each side for medium rare and 7-10 for medium.

    How Long to Grill Sirloin

    Sirloin steaks are usually a little bit thinner to the ribeye, maybe around an inch, and so require just a little bit less time. 4-5 minutes for a medium rare, and 5-6 for a medium.

    How Long to Grill Filet Mignon

    Filet Mignon is a very thick steak and can be a couple of inches sometimes, even going up to three.

    A medium rare grill will be around 5-6 minutes on each side and a medium will be around 6-8 minutes each side.

    Because its so thick, moving it to indirect heat and closing the grill lid for a couple minutes can you get the desired temperature on the steak.

    Helpful Grilling Tips

    Once you have a nice high sear from the grill, move it onto a lower heat to make sure that is doesnt dry out too quickly.

    Also make sure to rest the steak after you've cooked it, around 5 or 10 minutes will allow the juices to move through the steak.

    If you're using a meat thermometer, bring the steak off at around 5 degrees lower than what you're going for, it will continue to cook in its own heat a little bit after you bring it off.

    If any of this information is confusing, here is a chart to be a little more specific.

    Steak Grill Chart

    Filet Mignon and Boneless Ribeye's

    ThicknessRare 110 to 120FMedium Rare 120 to 130FMedium 130 to 140F
    1.5"3 min each side3.5 min each side4 min each side
    1.75"3.5 min each side4 min each side4.5 min each side
    2"4 min each side4.5 min each side5 min each side

    Sirloin, Bone-in Ribeye, Porterhouse

    ThicknessRare 110 to 120FMedium Rare 120 to 130FMedium 130 to 140F
    1"5 first side
    3 second side
    4.5 min each side6 first side
    4 second side
    1.25"5 first side
    4 second side
    5.5 min each side7 first side
    5 second side
    1.5"6 first side
    4 second side
    6 min each side7 min each side
    1.75"6 first side
    5 second side
    6.5 min each side8 first side
    7 second side
    2"6 min each side7 min each side8 min each side

    Final Thoughts

    With a bit of time and practise, hopefully this guide will help you to grill any steak to any kind of style! A lot of it is a general feel you get for the steak so don't get stressed if you cant do it first time! Its just practise!

    Written by Toni Costa

    I'm Antonio! I'm a university student based in Leeds, UK. My passions, are sports and food! The less said about the teams I support the better...

    Working on the SmokeGuys site has allowed me to improve my writing and of course, provide you with awesome reviews and guides!

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