My wife surprised me with a beautiful ribeye steak last week. The steak weighed in at 1.6 pounds and was at least 1.5 inches thick. While I love grilling steaks, when they get this big they can be a bit tricky to cook.

If you are wondering how to grill a thick ribeye then you are in the right place as I am going to show you my technique that works great for steaks that are up to two inches thick.

The key to this technique is to grill the steak slowly with frequent flipping. This is going to help you achieve a steak that is cooked to a near perfect Medium Rare all the way through and minimizing the amount of grey Overdone meat on the outer edges.

If you want to take a different approach then check out How to Reverse Sear a Ribeye on a Traeger.

Table of Contents

Season and Warm the Steak

The first step to tackling this tricky steak is to season it and let it rest at room temperature for one hour.

Seasoning the Ribeye

Since we are working with a really thick steak I like to use a lot of seasoning. The seasoning is only going to be on the surface of the steak and it needs to have enough flavor to make the entire thick slice tasty.

You can use your favorite steak seasoning or the recipe given below.

Steak Seasoning

1 tbls salt
1 tbls black pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp granulated garlic

Liberally coat both sides of the steak with the seasoning and press it into the meat with your hands.

Let the Ribeye Warm at Room Temperature

Once the seasoning has been applied you need to let the steak rest at room temperature for an hour. You should probably cover it with a piece of foil to keep away any insects, etc.

You want to let the steak rest at room temperature for two reasons:

Salt Penetration
Even Cooking

The longer the steak rests the more time the salt has to penetrate into the meat and act as a tenderizer.

After the steak has sat on the counter for an hour the center of the steak will have warmed up to about 50F. The slight warming of the center is going to help the center reach Medium Rare before the outside of the steak gets cooked to Over Done.

Set Up Your Weber Grill with Medium High Heat

Set your grill up with Medium High heat.

I was grilling on my Weber Traveler and at Medium High it has a lid temperature of about 375F. You should get similar results on a Weber Q1200 or Q2200.

Regardless of what grill you are using, you do not want it to be scorching hot. If you use High heat when grilling a thick steak you are going to end up with a piece of meat that is overcooked on the outside and undercooked on the inside.

I use a GrillGrate panel when cooking ribeye to make sure that I do not have to deal with flare-ups but it is an optional piece of equipment that makes my list for one of the best grill accessories that you can buy.

Get the temperature of your grill set and then let it pre-heat for 10 minutes to make sure the cooking grates are hot.

Flip the Ribeye Frequently While Grilling

This technique flies in the face of that overused “grill knowledge” that you only want to flip a steak once while grilling.

We are going to put this steak on the grill, close the lid and then flip it EVERY TWO MINUTES.

The frequent flipping is going to slowly and gently push heat into the center of the steak while minimizing the heat applied to either side of the steak.

The ribeye is not going to look pretty for the first ten minutes or so but don’t worry as the crust will develop with time.

You want to grill the steak until an internal temperature of 135F is reached. This should take:

20-22 minutes for a 1.5 inch thick steak
28-30 minutes for a 2 inch thick steak

If desired, you can baste the steak with melted butter during the last few minutes of the cook.

Rest the Ribeye and Serve

After the steak reaches an internal temperature of 135F remove it from the grill and let it rest for about 10 minutes. I like to rest the steak in a shallow pan so I can collect any juices that seep out.

For steaks this size I like to slice them for service instead of serving each person a monster steak. I will create a pile of long pretty slices from the heart of the ribeye alongside some bite sized slices from the spinalis. This way everyone gets to pick from their favorite part of the steak.

Collect any juices and pour over the steak slices.

I know that this recipe is more involved than a typical steak recipe but it is an easy way to make sure you don’t ruin a beautiful thick cut ribeye!

Grilled Thick Cut Ribeye Steak

A thick cut ribeye steak is seasoned and then grilled to a perfect Medium Rare.

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Prep Time 1

Cook Time 30

Total Time 1 30

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Calories 415 kcal

Ingredients

1.75 lbs Thick Cut Ribeye Steak
Steak Seasoning
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp granulated garlic

Instructions

Season bothe side of teh steak with the steak seasoning and allow the meat to rest at room temperature for one hour.
Pre-heat your grill with Medium High heat (about 375F) for 10 minutes.
Place the steak on the grill and close the lid.
Flip the steak every two minutes.
Grill the steak until it reaches an internal temperature of 135F. About 25 minutes.
Remove the steak from the grill, rest 10 minutes and serve.