Steakhouse Style New York Strip Steak
On July 30, 2025
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With quality steak, simple dry brine, and piping hot grill grates, you can make Steakhouse Style New York Strip Steaks in your own backyard!
Steakhouse Style New York Strip Steak
I’ve been creating steak recipes for over a decade, and I’ve learned great steak doesn’t need to be complicated. In fact, the best strip steaks use just three ingredients: quality beef, salt, and pepper. That’s it. This recipe is all about getting your grill crazy hot and letting the flavor of the meat shine. Strip steaks are tough enough to handle serious heat, but tender enough that they don’t need fancy marinades or rubs.
The secret is dry brining. Salt your steaks an hour before cooking and let them come to room temperature. This does three things: seasons the meat all the way through, creates a dry surface that sears beautifully, and ensures faster, more even cooking since they’re not starting cold. The result is a steak with a juicy, pink center and a crispy, dark crust on the exterior. If you’re ready to wow your guests with steakhouse-quality steak, let’s get started.
What is New York strip steak?
New York strip steak comes from the short loin of the cow, which doesn’t move around much. That makes it naturally tender and perfect for grilling. You might see it called Kansas City steak or top loin steak. Same cut, different names. Strip steaks hit that sweet spot where they’re tender like filet mignon but have more flavor like a ribeye.
When you’re shopping for strip steaks, look for thick ones – at least 1 ½ inches. You want to see white fat marbled through the red meat. The meat should be bright red, not gray or brown. If there’s a lot of liquid in the package, pick a different one.
Ingredients for Steakhouse Style Strip Steak
One of the best parts about this recipe is the simplicity. You only need three ingredients to create steakhouse-quality results, so make each one count:
- 2 New York strip steaks (about 1 ½-inch thick steaks, if possible)
- 1 Tablespoon Kosher salt
- black pepper (to taste)
Why You Should Dry Brine Steak
Dry brining is just a fancy way of saying “salt your steak ahead of time.” When you put salt on raw steak, it pulls out moisture at first. Then something really cool happens. That moisture mixes with the salt and gets pulled back into the meat. This does two great things: it seasons the steak all the way through, and it makes the meat more tender.
Plus, after an hour, the surface of your steak gets really dry. And dry steak surface means better searing. This results in both darker grill marks and more flavor.
How hot should the grill be for strip steak?
Really, really hot. We’re talking 900 degrees F on the grill grates. I know that sounds too hot, but that’s what creates the perfect crust while keeping the inside tender and juicy.
Turn your grill to high and let it heat up completely. Don’t rush this part – a hot grill is everything for great steak. If you have a gas grill, turn all the burners to high. For charcoal grills, you want hot coals right under where you’ll cook the steaks.
How to Grill Steakhouse Style Strip Steak
Nailing the perfect steakhouse-style steak comes down to timing and keeping that heat high. Here’s exactly how to do it:
- Dry brine the strip steaks. Start this 60 minutes before you want to eat. Take your steaks out of the fridge and cover both sides with salt. Let them sit on the counter while the salt works.
- Preheat the grill. Get your grill as hot as it goes, around 900 degrees on the grates. This high heat is what makes the perfect crust.
- Grill the steaks. After an hour, your steaks should have soaked up most of the salt. Wipe off any leftover salt and water so they’re totally dry. Put the steaks on the grill at an angle. For medium-rare, cook 2-3 minutes, then turn them 45 degrees (this makes those cool crosshatch marks) and cook another 2-3 minutes.
- Finish grilling. Flip the steaks and do the same thing on the other side: 2-3 minutes, turn 45 degrees, then 2-3 more minutes. Cook longer or shorter depending on how done you like your steak.
- Rest, slice, and enjoy. Let your steaks sit for 8-10 minutes before you cut them. This is super important to ensure all that juicy, beefy goodness stays in the steak where it counts. After that, use a sharp knife to slice your steak, and add black pepper right before you serve.
Steak Temperature Doneness Guide
Getting the right temperature is key to perfect steak. Use a good instant-read meat thermometer and refer to the temperature guide below so you don’t have to guess.
- Rare: 125 degrees F
- Medium Rare: 135 degrees F
- Medium: 145 degrees F
- Medium Well: 155 degrees F
- Well Done: 160 degrees F
For more tips about checking doneness, check out my Steak Temperature and Doneness Guide.
Let Your Steaks Rest
Resting isn’t optional, it’s what makes the difference between good steak and great steak. When you take steaks off the hot grill, all the juices are concentrated in the center. Resting lets those juices spread back through the whole steak.
Give your steaks at least 8-10 minutes to rest. I know it’s hard to wait when they smell so good, but trust me. The steak stays warm, and when you finally cut into it, the juices stay in the meat instead of running all over your plate.
More Steak Recipes Your Family Will Love
If you’re still craving more steak, you came to the right place. I’ve got dozens of recipes and methods for every steak cut you can throw on the grill. You can find them all in the Hey Grill Hey App, but here are some favorites to help get you started:
Steakhouse Style New York Strip Steak Recipe
Wow your friends and family with these steakhouse-level New York strips, then let me know how it turned out in the comments below. Feel free to give it a 5-star rating, if you loved making it. For more grilling tips and behind-the-scenes fun, follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Now get out there and become a Backyard BBQ Hero.
Steakhouse Style New York Strip Steak
Ingredients
- 2 New York strip steaks
- 1 Tablespoon Kosher salt
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Dry brine the strip steaks. 60 minutes prior to grilling, remove your steaks from the refrigerator, season on both sides with the coarse salt, and allow to come up in temperature.2 New York strip steaks, 1 Tablespoon Kosher salt
- Preheat the grill. Preheat your grill to High heat. You're looking for temperatures around 900 degrees F on the grill grates, NOT the overall grill temperature.
- Grill the steaks. After 60 minutes, your steaks should have dissolved most of the salt crystals. Wipe off the remaining salt and liquid so your steaks are very dry. Place the steaks directly on the grill grates at a diagonal. For a medium rare steak, cook 2-3 minutes, then rotate 45 degrees and grill for 2-3 more minutes.
- Finish grilling the steaks to your preferred doneness. Flip the steaks over, cook 2-3 minutes, then rotate 45 degrees and grill for 2-3 more minutes. Increase or decrease cooking time as needed to reach ideal internal doneness. For a medium rare steak, cook to 135 degrees F (refer to the temperature section of this cookbook for more options).
- Rest the steaks before slicing and eating. Let the steaks rest for at least 8-10 minutes before slicing. Sprinkle with the black pepper just before serving.black pepper
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
