How to Cook a Steak on a Pellet Grill

How to Cook a Steak on a Pellet Grill
Written By: Kathy Jeffery
Date Published: March 16, 2021

Do you own a pellet grill? of course you do, that’s why you are here! The owner of a grill always looks for a better taste like the restaurant. If you are having a pellet grill. It means you can cook like a pro. As a grill holder the preferable question coming to your mind should be how to cook a steak on a pellet grill!

Steaks are the forever favorite item for Meat Lovers. Without steaks your professional grilling is empty. Even the people who  don’t eat red meat much can never say no to a steak. learning how to make it well done is very essential. So here we will be elaborating how to cook a steak on a pellet grill.

Quick Overview- Steaks on pellet grill

A pellet grill is one of the most versatile grills, giving off the most incredible results. They use wood pellets to smoke, bake or grill whatever you want. Pellet grills are trending because of their automatic wood pellet feeding system, easy temperature control and variety of different tastes. You can select the desirable wood pellets to get the mesmerizing wood flavors.

How to Cook a Steak on a Pellet Grill
How to Cook a Steak on a Pellet Grill

Now we are highlighting how pellet grills work! it’s necessary to know the functioning of the pellet grill so you could know how your steaks on pellet grill will extract most of the flavor. This will assist you to check the proper working of the pellet grill. if your steaks are not turning into best then there must be service needed for proper functioning of pellet grill. When you add pellets to the hopper, it passes through an auger all the way to the fire pot.

In the fire pot the pellets are ignited to the flames and a fan is present for proper smoke distribution. There is also a drip tray for the management of the fire flames and flare ups to prevent the food from burning. Pellet grills has a precise temperature control system with an amazing flavor list. It’s one of the beginners' grills for easy use. To know which pellet is good for you can check the best pellet smoker and buy the right one.

Two most important aspects to cook a steak on a pellet grill are right meat and wood pellet selections. 

Tools you need to Smoke the steak

For cooking steaks on pellet grill, preparations are needed. How to smoke meat with wood is covered to clear a lot of confusions but a generic summary is shared here. First you have to prepare the ingredients you will be using in searing the steak. Marination covers the 70% part of your steak’s taste. you should have all of the ingredients around you before moving towards the grill preparation. put together your grill or clean it if required. A few of the other important tools are present below for better and easy cooking.

Grill grates

Before grilling on a pellet grill you must have proper grill grates that plays the major role in cooking the perfect steaks. This leaves the dark sizzling marks on the steak which makes it look amazing with best taste.

Wood pellets

The ruling step in grilling a great steak is to choose the right wood pellets for the delicious taste of your steak. There are a variety of wood pellets present in the market. You can pick your favorite one and your steak is ready to flare up with amazing smoky wood flavor. If you are a beginner in the pellet grill world then some of the top wood pellet flavors to sear a steak are discussed below.

Thermometer

Use an accurate thermometer to read the temperature of the inside of the grill. It’s better to use the digital thermometer with a probe that can show the internal temperature of steak and grill as well.

Temperature of the steak

After knowing the important tools to smoke the steak. The second most essential thing that comes to mind is what temperature do you cook steaks on pellet grill? Let’s talk about the steak colors and their temperatures. It’s the real time to feed yourself the perfect steak at home. Whether you are looking for medium cooked pink steak or the deadliest with brownish grill marks we will cover every aspect of steak smoking on a pellet grill. Now you can know about the steak doneness by seeing the temperature and time.

Just bear in mind to remove the steak 5-10 degrees before your desired temperature.

Then let it rest for 5-10 minutes for even juice distribution all over the steak.

DonenessRemove from heat (°F)Rest at (°F)Color
Rare115-120°125-130°Dark Red, cool center
Medium Rare125°130-135°Red, warm center
Medium135-140°140-145°Pink
Medium Well145-150°150-155°Slight pink
Well done155-160°160-165°Brown, grilled throughout
Temperate Guide for Cooking Best Steak

Choosing the right meat

You should know what is perfect for you according to your choice. Meat matters the most as everything relies upon . If you are trying to make the steak for the first time then a different meat won’t be good for you. Choose the one you ate in any restaurant or you heard of it. Here are some of the meat types that are perfect steak cuts are described:

  • Ribeye- It is the beefsteak from the rib section. Ribeye has the perfect marbling rich cut and best cooked as medium rare steak.
  • Strip Steak- Particularly tender with juicy flavor (most popular steak)
  • Sirloin steak- Leaner cut from sirloin having good taste. It is thick cut, perfect for grilling, broiling, sautéing or pan-frying.
  • Tenderloin- Tender cut of the beef. It is low in flavor.
  • T-Bone- beef cut steaks that include the tenderloin and strip steak.

Cook steak on pellet grill

It’s not rocket science to cook a delicious steak for your home and friends. Steaks are the predominant part of grilling and smoking that can not be minimized. So take a quick look at grilling a steak on a pellet grill.

When searing a steak you can enjoy the both, direct heat traditional method in which you can quickly make the steak given the intensely crispy brownish crush with inner red results. Second is the reverse-sear method. Through this method you can get more smoky flavor and the flavor is penetrated in the central part of the meat. Low and slow is always juicy. There are two methods to Cook the Perfect Pellet Grill Steak:

Method 1- Direct heat (Searing the Crust)

  • Marinate your steak with pepper and salt or as you want.
  • Leave the steak for 1-2 hours for distributed flavor.
  • Preheat the grill for about 15 minutes before grilling, approximately at 350-450°F
  • Once the grill is sizzlingly hot. Place your marinated steak on the grill grates.
  • Let each side of the steak cook for 3-4 minutes.
  • Measure the internal temperature of your grill with a temperature probe.
  • Take off your pellet grill steak once the temperature reaches your expected doneness.

Method 2- Reverse-sear Trendy method.

  • Select a thick meat cut of about 2 inches or more. Thinner meat cuts are suitable for traditional methods and cooks faster.
  • Remove all of the moisture from the meat cut.
  • Preheat the pellet grill for 15 minutes at 200-225°F
  • Cook each side of the steak for 13-15 minutes.
  • Take off the steak from the grill when it reaches 110-120°F
  • Turn the grill to 500°F and heat up for 10 minutes
  • Put the steak back on the pellet grill and cook on each side for 4-5 minutes for sizzling hot grill marks.
  • Your reverse searing pellet grill steak is ready to serve when it reaches your desired temperature.

Best wood pellets for steak

Selection of right wood pellets are the most important thing to focus on while you are cooking. Following are the best wood pellets for steaks.

  • Hickory- It is the strong wood which gives off sweet and pungent flavor with the richness of bacon. Avoid using a lot of hickory because it can cause a bitter flavor in your steak.
  • Mesquite- It is the strongest one in the term of smokiness. It provides the strong and intense flavor to your steak.
  • Pecan- Pecan is not used by most people  because of it’s light smoky flavor. It still gives the sweet and nutty amazing flavor to the steak.

Final tips to cook the steaks on pellet grill

There are some final tips for you before heading toward the steak. These tips will help you to get the most out of your pellet grill and feed your family a delicious steak. By following all pf tips and tricks you will be able to cook like a pitmaster.

  • Use the fresh meat for best taste.
  • Remove the moisture and excess fat from the meat before cooking.
  • Close the lid after checking the temperature for preheating.
  • Apply butter or spirits on steaks.
  • Do not flip the steak too often.
  • Let the steak rest for 10 minutes after taking it off from the pellet grill.

Now, you know every step and tip on how to cook a steak on a pellet grill. Go ahead and act like a professional grill master by serving delicious restaurant style steaks to your mates. Good luck for well done steaks.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are pellet grills good for steaks?

The shortest answer is YES. Yes pellet grills are good for steaks because of the wood pellet flavors and highly precise cooking temperatures.

How long does it take to reverse sear a ribeye?

This depends on the thickness of the ribeye. You need to follow the reverse searing method which could take almost 30-60 minutes for proper cooking. otherwise you can choose the temperature as you desire.

How long does a steak takes to cook at 225°F?

You can smoke your steak for about 45 minutes to 1 hour at 225 degrees. This temperature for steak is recommended in the reverse searing method.

What temperature do you cook steak on a pellet grill?

It depends on the thickness of the meat. Heating the grill to 500 degrees Fahrenheit would be sufficient to cook a thin steak in around 6 minutes. Medium-rare steaks should be heated for about 10 minutes. A thick steak may need to be heated for about 15 minutes.

How long does it take to cook a steak on a pellet grill?

It really depends on how you like your steak done. A steak can be cooked well done in less than 10 minutes, however, to get the juiciness and tenderness that a steak should have, you should cook it until it reaches the temperature of the medium rare. Timing depends on the meat temperature you want, but a medium rare steak takes between 15-20 minutes to cook.

How do you cook a steak on a pit boss pellet grill?

Cooking a steak on a pellet grill is easy. The trick is to understand how a pellet grill works, and what the requirements for cooking steaks on it are. A pit boss pellet grill is primarily an indirect heating device. This means that it is meant for low and slow cooking. As a result, the pit boss pellet grill requires that you cook your steaks indirectly. This means that you set the pit boss at a higher temperature so that it can reach its maximum cooking temperature. However, you should not put the meat on the grill immediately after the pit boss is at its maximum temperature because it will be too hot. You should wait for the pit boss to cool down to around 250 degrees Fahrenheit before putting the steaks on it. Additionally, you should also preheat the steaks to around 250 degrees Fahrenheit before putting them on the grill. When the pit boss is at its maximum temperature, then you can put your steaks on it. You might need to rotate the steaks because the pit boss might not cook them evenly. Once the steaks are done, you should remove them quickly after the pit boss is at its lowest temperature.

Article written by Kathy Jeffery
Kathy learned to cook early on in life because she had to feed the ranch hands! Kathy is a mama of 2 boys and dreams of having a vegetable garden one day.

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