Ascend Chef Brandon Muehl on How to Make the Perfect Steak (and Chicken)

Restaurant steaks taste better for a few fixable reasons — heat, seasoning, and timing chief among them. Ascend Prime Steak & Sushi culinary director Brandon Muehl breaks down the pro moves home grillers can copy for a better backyard steak.

Start Hot

Start with a fully preheated grill. The No. 1 biggest mistake Muehl sees is folks “putting a cold steak on a grill that isn’t hot enough,” he said. “You should preheat the grill for longer than you think and pat the steak dry right before throwing on the grill.”

When he says high heat, he means 600-plus degrees. You want your steak to sear fast, and that high heat is what achieves the Maillard reaction (the browned, seared crust of a steak that gives it flavor). If it’s not hot enough, you end up with a grayish, bland steak.

When you achieve the crust, you can move the steak to a slightly cooler 450-degree area of the grill to finish cooking the steak to your desired doneness level.

“I prefer a two-zone setup, but it depends on the cut of steak,” Muehl said. “Lid open for searing the steak and then closed for finishing the steak to ensure even cooking. Personally, I prefer charcoal for grilling — you can hit higher temperatures, and it adds additional flavor.”

It’s simple to create different cooking zones on a gas grill. For charcoal, you’ll want your hotter side to have more coals for the sear, and move the steak to a cooler side that has no coals to finish cooking.

For a crust, Muehl has a preference. “My go-to method is to dry brine the steak, pat it dry, oil it lightly, then sear hot and fast,” he said. “Once you’ve seared, move the steak to indirect heat to finish, then let it rest for at least 5–10 minutes before cutting in.”

If you ever had a steak stick, you can avoid the frustration by making sure your grill grates are clean and really hot, and by putting a bit of oil on the steak.

Flip It

As the steak is sizzling on the grill, you might wonder if you should leave it there and for how long.

“I recommend flipping every 45 seconds to a minute — this gives more consistent cook on the protein, and you’re less likely to overcook the steak,” Muehl said. “Be sure to watch for moisture forming on the top of the steak, rendering of the fat along the edges of the steak — the biggest indicator is the color.”

But what about those fancy grill marks? Is that the sign of a really great steak, or is it just for show?

“To be honest, grill marks don’t really matter, other than they look nice. It’s better to get full even caramelization on the whole steak as opposed to just grill marks,” he said. “However, to achieve grill marks, place the steak down on the grill, rotate 45 degrees after about a minute, then flip and repeat that process.”

If you are feeling confident and ready to try to grill a steak like a pro, certain cuts are (almost) foolproof. And some are even more budget-friendly. “The ribeye is my ‘ can’t miss’ cut of steak — it’s the best for grilling for flavor,” Muehl said. Budget picks are chuck eye and teres major. Teres major sits just behind the more well-known filet mignon and is tender, super flavorful, and a fraction of the cost.

Season That Steak

“I stick with the classic and prefer just salt and pepper to finish,” Muehl said. “Season one hour one hour or so before planning to grill, then finish with pepper right before pulling the steak to rest. I recommend reserving marinades for thin and/or tough cuts. If you need a seasoning mix, a simple salt/pepper/garlic mix will suffice at 3 parts salt, 1 part pepper, 1 part garlic.”

How Would You Like It Cooked?

If you want your steak cooked “just right,” you need a meat thermometer, so you know when to pull it off the grill to rest. The last thing you want to do is cut into a hot steak to see how done it is — letting all the flavors and juice inside spill out. The steak continues to cook when it’s resting.

Pull Temperatures for a Filet Mignon

• Rare: 100 • Medium Rare: 108/110

• Medium: 118/120

For other cuts — striploin, ribeye, sirloin, and others — they maintain heat differently, so you’ll pull them a few degrees higher in temperature. Resting time should be 10 minutes on average, Muehl explained.

Tips for Juicy Grilled Chicken

• Brine it (soak in salted water) for 2 to 4 hours.

• Sear it fast and hot briefly like steak, and finish with indirect heat until it reaches 165 degrees. Let it rest for about 5 minutes before cutting.