Lol … you got me … but in all honesty, it’s taken me years to learn how to make my own steak.

I used to try to cook it by eye or feel or timing but either burnt my food or didn’t cook it enough (so that I had to reheat it to be safe, which just ruined it). I also tried dry rubs, wet rubs or just plain BBQ sauce to make it tastier but ended up just burning everything.

After about 20 years of experiments I’ve settled on a method.

Buy fresh cuts of sirloin with enough fat and marbling in it.

Marinate it with salt, dry spice, lemon and a touch of Worcester sauce … leave it for at least an hour but usually for about five or six.

BBQ it on a hot grill and stand over it or next to the grill … babysit the dammed thing. Keep an eye out for fire and flames. Flip it after five minutes and turn it every five or more of flames and fire start happening. Flip as many times as you want so long as you avoid any fire or flame.

Don’t put anything on the meat … no salt, no water, no sauce

Use a meat thermometer and test the centers at two or three points.

• 120 F is rare
• 135 F is medium
• 145 F is medium well
• 155 F is well done

Once you get the temp you want, take it off the grill and put it on a plate and cover it for about five or ten minutes before you serve it.

I live in a part of the country with cold winters so we can’t BBQ in the snow. A few years ago I discovered that I could apply the same method to an air fryer in my kitchen. It’s made steak just as good as any BBQ so that now on rainy summer days, I’ll just use the air fryer.

The only other way to put this method over the top would be to buy AAA aged and cured beef but that would cost a fortune. I’ve often thought of making my own but that would cost a fortune as well.