An Expert’s Guide to Cooking Steak

1Blue | 110–120 degrees F

Also referred to as extra-rare, these next-to-raw steaks feature only the lightest of sears. But don’t be scared: “American beef is really safe,” says Hawes. “The big deal with getting sick is how it’s handled.”

2Blue | 110–120 degrees F

Also referred to as extra-rare, these next-to-raw steaks feature only the lightest of sears. But don’t be scared: “American beef is really safe,” says Hawes. “The big deal with getting sick is how it’s handled.”

3Rare | 120–130 degrees F

Blue steak is cool in the middle; rare is a hair less so, cooked for about two minutes on each side over a scorching flame. “Rare and extra-rare are the ones you can set to the clock,” says Hawes.

4Rare | 120–130 degrees F

Blue steak is cool in the middle; rare is a hair less so, cooked for about two minutes on each side over a scorching flame. “Rare and extra-rare are the ones you can set to the clock,” says Hawes.

5Medium-Rare | 130–140 degrees F

This has a fine brown sear and a reddish, warm center. Starting here, you have to take into account thickness and aging when grilling. “With medium-rare to well-done, if you’re not a veteran steak cooker, the best thing to do is buy an instant thermometer,” says Hawes. This is the most popular order among his customers.

6Medium-Rare | 130–140 degrees F

This has a fine brown sear and a reddish, warm center. Starting here, you have to take into account thickness and aging when grilling. “With medium-rare to well-done, if you’re not a veteran steak cooker, the best thing to do is buy an instant thermometer,” says Hawes. This is the most popular order among his customers.

7Medium | 140-150 degrees F

That reddish-to-pink center is fading now, and the meat’s fibers are really beginning to tighten. The sear should be a nice dark brown: “That’s where the optimum flavor is gonna be,” says Hawes.

8Medium | 140-150 degrees F

That reddish-to-pink center is fading now, and the meat’s fibers are really beginning to tighten. The sear should be a nice dark brown: “That’s where the optimum flavor is gonna be,” says Hawes.

9Medium-Well | 150-160 degrees F

You generally won’t see any blood at this point. “It gets a little firm,” says Hawes. “It looks maybe like a piece of brisket could’ve cooked for a couple more hours.”

10Medium-Well | 150-160 degrees F

You generally won’t see any blood at this point. “It gets a little firm,” says Hawes. “It looks maybe like a piece of brisket could’ve cooked for a couple more hours.”

11Well-Done | 160-170 degrees F

A tasty well-done can be tough to achieve, but “if it’s cooked properly, it can be very good,” says Hawes. It requires a medium fire and a longer grilling time; optimally, there’s a little char on the sear, but no burning, and a tan-colored center.

12Well-Done | 160-170 degrees F

A tasty well-done can be tough to achieve, but “if it’s cooked properly, it can be very good,” says Hawes. It requires a medium fire and a longer grilling time; optimally, there’s a little char on the sear, but no burning, and a tan-colored center.

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BRYAN HAWES HAS BEEN THAT GUY AT THE GRILL for going on 20 years. His steak-making career started out when his then-employer, Whole Foods, gave him a Saturday showcase cooking beef samples. From there the dearly departed Tavern on Gray recruited Hawes to run its weekly steak night, turning him into something of a local celebrity.

“It went from 40 to 50 steaks a night to about 400 to 500 over the course of three years,” says Hawes, who now runs weekly nights at four local Heights and Montrose-area bars: Heights Public House, Cecil’s, Pimlico, and Dan Electro’s. “It kind of fell in my lap.”

Hawes’s steak nights are unique in that he carries pork chops and lamb along with the traditional ribeye, pre-rubbing all of his meat with his trademark Meat Mojo seasoning, which he swears by.

“I’ve heard so many great chefs say that if you have really good-quality meat, you only need salt and pepper,” he says. “I respect that, but I’m from Texas, and here in the South we like our food seasoned, you know?”

Hawes knows his stuff, which is why we asked him to break down the various degrees of steak doneness for us. While we all have our preferences (he isn’t picky but likes his own steaks somewhere around medium-rare or medium), the grillmaster says there are no wrong options. He explains.

Published in the 23 Best Places for Steak in Houston issue of Houstonia Magazine.