Pro Tip 1

Knock it off (seriously).

You may have been advised to bring steaks to room temperature before you cook them. But for us, the most important thing is to simply knock the chill out of the meat and bring it down a few degrees—no need to let it sit longer than 20 minutes. Also, avoid putting a fresh-from-the-fridge steak into a hot grill pan: you’ll lose a ton of the heat you need for a great sear, plus you’re likely to get an inconsistently cooked cut of meat.

Pro Tip 2

Reach for the storage bags.

Zip storage and sandwich bags can save you a lot of time and elbow grease in the kitchen. For this recipe, we use them to evenly toss vegetables in oil and seasoning so that they can grill evenly. Bonus: one less dish to wash! Recycle or reuse your bags when you can!

Pro Tip 3

Get a little salty.

Season your steaks well with salt on the entire surface—sides and all! Properly seasoning steaks is crucial. It may initially feel like more salt than you’re accustomed to using on a protein, but a nice crust of salt helps tenderize meat and enhance flavor. Shake it on!

Pro Tip 4

Oil your steaks for less smoke.

A lot of people get intimidated by searing steaks indoors for one very loud reason: the smoke detector. Drizzling your steaks with oil before dropping them on the grill or pan can help reduce smoke during searing.

Pro Tip 5

Strategize for those grill lines.

You know those grill lines you see on beautiful TV or Instagram steaks? Getting that same strong sear is easy on a grill pan: just give your protein a quarter turn halfway through cooking on each side to get an iconic cross-hatch. When turning steaks, move them to a previously empty part of the grill pan for even stronger lines—those grill ribs will be hotter!