You're Just 2 Seconds Away From Grilling The Perfect Steak With This Ruth's Chris Rule

The quest for the perfectly grilled steak never ends. Some of us have mastered it. Many of us achieve it fleetingly and then lose it again. There's no shortage of tips and tricks that professionals will offer to help ensure you get the juiciest, most exceptional steak possible. These can include everything from the type of fire you're grilling over to the way your steak is cut and seasoned to how long you cook it. The experts at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse have a rule that you can follow before the meat even hits the grill. All you need is your hand.

On the Ruth's Chris blog, the restaurant chain offered some familiar tips, like buying a good cut of meat, letting it rest outside the fridge before grilling, and making sure it's well seasoned. But one tip that you may not have heard before involves how to know when the grill is ready. It recommends a two-second rule. "If you can hold your hand over the grill for two seconds—but no more—your grill is ready," it explains. 

The hand test is nothing new, but it's a lesser-known method for those who don't spend much time grilling. Weber offers further insight on its website, recommending that you hold your hand about a soda can's height from the surface. It says if you need to pull your hand away within two to four seconds, you have a high-heat grill. If it takes five to seven seconds before you need to pull away, you have medium heat. Low heat will make you pull away in eight to 10 seconds.

High heat, the kind that makes you pull away in just a couple of seconds, is around 450 degrees to 550 degrees Fahrenheit. That is the perfect temperature for grilling steaks and is the range most professionals will recommend. High heat creates that flavorful crust produced by the Maillard reaction, which is what you want in a steak. Don't forget, Ruth's Chris serves its steaks on 500-degree plates not only to keep them hot but also to ensure the sear locks in all the juices and flavor when you cut into them.

If your grill isn't hot enough, you're not going to get the right browning on your steak. It's going to take longer to cook, which means it's more likely to dry out and get tougher. The hand test is your shortcut to knowing you've got the right temperature. Some steaks benefit from being finished over lower heat so they cook through without overcooking, but you need that initial high-heat sear to brown the exterior. That's part of the trick to making any steak taste like it costs $50.

The next time you're ready to lay down some steaks on the grill, give the hand test a try. Remember, this isn't an endurance thing. You're not trying to force yourself to handle it, and you don't want to hurt yourself. Just hover your hand about five inches above the grill. If two seconds is all you can manage, see for yourself how that sear turns out.