Few pieces of backyard equipment have changed the way people cook steak as much as the flat-top griddle. Grilling enthusiast Eric Monchecourt has spent years refining a method that turns an ordinary cut into something that rivals a steakhouse. The Blackstone griddle rewards patience and technique in ways a standard grill grate simply cannot. Once you understand why, the difference in your results becomes hard to ignore.
The appeal is simple. A flat cooking surface gives the meat full contact with screaming-hot steel, which builds a deep, even crust across the entire cut rather than just the spots that touch the grates. This edge-to-edge sear is the single biggest reason home cooks fall in love with the griddle. The tips below walk through the details that separate a good steak from a great one.
Image Source: Eric Monchecourt
Before a single steak hits the steel, the griddle itself needs your attention. A well-seasoned surface, built up over time through thin layers of oil baked onto the metal, gives the Blackstone its slick, almost nonstick properties. Skip this step, and you’ll end up with meat that sticks, tears, and loses the crust you worked so hard to build.
The method is straightforward. Heat the griddle until the surface just begins to smoke, wipe on a very thin coat of a high-smoke-point oil, such as avocado or grapeseed, and let it cook until it darkens. Repeating this several times when the griddle is new creates a foundation that only improves with use.
This kind of consistent, unglamorous preparation is exactly the sort of discipline that shows up in the work of a seasoned entrepreneur and hobbyist, and it pays off every time you cook.
One of the most common mistakes steak lovers make has nothing to do with the griddle. Pulling a cut straight from the refrigerator and dropping it onto hot steel guarantees an unevenly cooked interior, because the cold center takes far longer to reach temperature than the exterior. By the time the middle reaches your target, the outer band of the steak is overcooked and gray.
All the fix requires is time. Let the steak sit on the counter for 30 to 45 minutes before cooking, loosely covered so the chill comes off, and then pat it completely dry with paper towels right before it goes down.
Surface moisture is the enemy of a good sear: a wet surface steams where a dry one browns, and on a flat top, that difference decides everything.
A Blackstone griddle usually has multiple burners, and learning to use them as distinct heat zones changes how you cook. Crank one section too high for searing and keep an adjacent section at medium or low as a landing area. Sear the steak hard on the hot zone to build the crust, then slide it over to the cooler side to finish cooking through without burning the exterior.
This two-zone approach gives you control that a single-temperature surface never could. It also lets you work several steaks at once at different doneness levels, which matters when you are cooking for a group with different preferences.
The ability to manage a process across parallel stages, adjusting on the fly, is a skill that translates well beyond the backyard, and it is one reason grilling appeals so strongly to people who like solving problems. Treat the griddle almost like a workspace, with each zone assigned a clear job.
The Maillard reaction, the chemistry responsible for that savory brown crust, needs uninterrupted contact and high heat to happen. The most frequent error at this stage is flipping and fiddling. Every time you lift the steak to peek, you interrupt the browning and drop the surface temperature. Lay the steak down, press it gently for full contact, and then resist the urge to move it for two to three minutes.
You’ll know it’s ready to turn when it releases cleanly from the steel. If it sticks, it simply hasn’t been seared yet.
A generous knob of butter added in the final minute, spooned or spread across the top, adds richness and helps carry flavor from any aromatics you toss on. Enthusiasts who document their cooks, including those who share their results in real time, tend to preach the same gospel: patience over poking.
Guessing doneness by touch is a party trick that fails more often than it works, especially across different cuts and thicknesses. An instant-read thermometer settles the question. Pull the steak a few degrees below your target temperature, because carryover heat will continue to raise the internal temperature as it rests.
For a medium-rare finish, that generally means pulling it around 130 to 132 degrees Fahrenheit and letting it climb the rest of the way off the heat. Keeping notes on times and temperatures for the cuts you cook most often turns griddling from a gamble into a repeatable result.
This habit of measuring rather than assuming is something Eric Monchecourt carries into his broader interests. Followers who track his hands-on food experiments see the same attention to detail, whether the subject is a ribeye or a business idea.
Resting is the step people rush most, and it costs them the juiciness they just spent all that effort creating. When a steak cooks, its juices are driven toward the center. Slicing immediately sends those juices spilling onto the cutting board instead of staying in the meat. A rest of five to ten minutes, loosely tented with foil, lets everything redistribute so each bite stays moist.
Use the rest window to your advantage. It is the perfect time to warm plates, toast a roll on the residual griddle heat, or caramelize onions and mushrooms on the flat top.
Making full use of every stage rather than leaving capacity idle is the kind of efficient thinking you often find among people with an entrepreneurial streak, and it is worth noting that the same person can channel that mindset into the companies he has founded and into a Saturday afternoon cookout with equal focus.
How you cut the steak matters as much as how you cook it. Always slice against the grain, meaning across the direction the muscle fibers run, to shorten those fibers and produce a more tender bite. A sharp knife and a clean, confident cut preserve the crust you built and show off the rosy interior.
Small finishing touches elevate the plate. A sprinkle of flaky salt right before serving wakes up the flavor, and a quick drizzle of the resting juices adds a final layer of richness. Keep the accompaniments simple, so the steak stays the star, letting the crust and the clean sear do the talking.
None of these steps is complicated on its own. What produces steakhouse results in a backyard is stacking them consistently—cook after cook, cut after cut—until the process becomes second nature. The griddle rewards cooks who respect the process and refine it over time.
Whether you are searing your first ribeye or dialing in a method you have used for years, these principles hold up. Follow the sensibility that Eric Monchecourt brings to the flat top, treat each step as worth doing right, and the steak will speak for itself.
