Rib of beef: how to cook it perfectly on the electric barbecue or plancha

Before cooking

In order to cook evenly, the beef must be at room temperature. Remember to take it out of the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before grilling.

Preheat your barbecue or plancha to 300 °C for 10 minutes, on maximum power. Before you start cooking, preheat the appliance to a high temperature to sear the meat quickly and avoid water loss: the grilled meat is juicy and tastier.

Never salt red meat before cooking, as salt can harden the meat and draw out its moisture. On the other hand, you can lightly brush your beef with flavoured oil prior to cooking.

Cooking

What’s the secret to cooking the perfect piece of meat? Adjusting the cooking time based on its thickness.

Turn your barbecue to position 5. For a steak that is 3 cm thick, turn the meat over twice, cooking each side for 3 minutes twice (i.e. 12 minutes total cooking time).

If your cut of beef is 4 cm thick, cook twice for 4 minutes on each side (i.e. 16 minutes total cooking time). And what do you get? A grilled steak that is a little red in the centre.

To add flavour to the meat at the end of cooking, place a bunch of herbs in the tray of the electric barbecue.

When the cooking process is complete, remove the steak onto a chopping board. Rest the steak for a few moments before serving: This will help redistribute the steak juices for a more tender result.

Just before serving, season with freshly ground pepper and fleur de sel from Guérande.

Assessing how well done your steak is

Visual assessment

• Very rare: the meat is dry on the surface, raw meat is still just visible on the sides.
• Rare: the meat perspires, a thin layer of water is visible at the surface.
• Medium rare: some small red droplets are visible on the surface.
• Well done: the meat has shrunk, there are no more red droplets.

Using a probe to test the meat

Place the probe in the middle of the meat, inserting it into the side of the cut of beef. Proceed with cooking, alternating sides and wait until the desired temperature is reached:

• Very rare: core temperature of 45 °C.
• Rare: core temperature of 55 °C.
• Medium rare: core temperature of 60 °C.
• Well done: core temperature of 65 °C.