José Andrés' Game-Changing Grill Process For Rare Steak Lovers

José Andrés is practically the king of the grill. Not only does he have two combination oven-grills — called Josper ovens — at his Las Vegas restaurant Bazaar Meat, but according to Food & Wine, he also has an enviable grill setup in his backyard. The sheer number of top-of-the-line grills in Andrés' life should hint at his ability to grill a mouthwatering steak. But he also has plenty of expert advice that even the most seasoned grill masters may not know.

The chef's top piece of advice is especially valuable for those who love their steak rare and think that a well-done steak is an abomination. Rare steak tends to be fairly juicy already, but Andrés has advice for getting that coveted sear and still having the juiciest rare steak around. 

If you love rare steak, Andrés' tip about tempering steak will change your grill game forever.

The problem with cooking steak is that the juices can leak out, leaving you with a dry piece of meat that tastes more like a giant hockey puck than a scrumptious dinner. But chef José Andrés has the key to solving that issue.

Andrés suggests putting time and care into tempering steak before you cook it. If you usually let meat sit at room temperature to temper it, that's a good start, but there's a better way. Temper the meat on your grill's vegetable rack — yes, with the heat flowing — until it's about 105 F. (Be sure to have a meat thermometer close by so that you can check the steak's temperature.) Once the steak is done tempering, get the grill as hot as possible and finish grilling. This way, both the inside and the outside of the steak will be hot when you serve it, and the steak's juice will stay inside so that you can enjoy it without needing to scoop it off your plate (per Edible Communities). 

Andrés takes his own advice regularly, too. At Bazaar Meat, every steak starts on a rack three feet above the coals, and the indirect heat cooks the steak (per Food & Wine). You may not have Andrés' high-tech oven-grills, but you can still use his technique.

If you don't want to temper steak on the grill, don't worry — you can still use José Andrés' method. His steak trick also works in the oven, although it takes a bit longer. Once you bite into the juicy steak you've tempered in the oven, though, you'll realize that it's definitely worth the wait.

To temper steak in an oven, set the oven to a low heat setting. Once the oven is warm, pop the meat into the oven and check on it periodically to see if it's almost rare. As soon as it's rare, take the steak out of the oven and put it on the hot grill. According to Food & Wine, it's not uncommon for a steak tempered in a 250-degree oven to take around 45 minutes to reach a rare state. (But if you need to, you can use that time to prepare side dishes.) You can even let the steak sit a bit between the time you take it out of the oven and the time you grill it — you won't lose any of the juices because you've already tempered it. 

Tempering steak is key, regardless of how you do it (per the Los Angeles Times). And Andrés' tips will give you the juicy, rare steak of your dreams.