🔥 Our Complete BBQ Guide: Never Ruin a Steak Again 🔥

This complete barbecue guide teaches you how to cook every cut of meat perfectly. Discover ideal internal temperatures, cooking times, and essential techniques for steaks, Wagyu, picanha, brisket, spareribs, and other exceptional cuts of meat.

🥩 The Ultimate Gustor BBQ Guide

How to Perfectly Cook a Steak, Ribeye or Côte à l'Os

One of the questions we get asked most often is:

"How do I cook my steak perfectly?"

The answer depends largely on the thickness of the meat. A 1 cm steak requires a completely different approach than a 1 kg côte à l'os.

That's why we're sharing our favorite cooking methods with you—the same methods we use ourselves every day.

General Rules for All Steaks

✅ Remove the meat from the refrigerator at least 1 hour before cooking.

✅ Pat it dry thoroughly with paper towels.

✅ Season only after cooking with coarse sea salt. Pepper is preferably added after cooking as well.

✅ Use the hottest barbecue possible for searing.

✅ Always allow the meat to rest after cooking.

🥩 How to Cook a Thin Steak (1–1.5 cm)

Think minute steaks, thin ribeyes, or striploins.

Preparation

Preheat your barbecue to maximum temperature.
Place the meat directly above the coals.
Grill for approximately 45 seconds to 1 minute per side.
Remove immediately from the heat.
Let rest for 2 minutes.

Goal

With thin steaks, speed is everything. A thermometer is usually unnecessary. Work quickly and use very high heat.

🥩 How to Cook a Classic Steak (1.5–2.5 cm)

The most common thickness for ribeyes, striploins, and sirloins.

Preparation

Preheat your barbecue to maximum temperature.
Sear the meat for approximately 1.5 to 2 minutes per side.
If necessary, move the meat to a cooler part of the grill.
Let rest for 5 minutes.

Target Internal Temperatures

Blue Rare: 48°C
Rare: 52°C
Medium: 56°C
Well Done: 60°C

🥩 How to Cook a Thick Steak (2.5–4 cm)

Perfect for premium ribeyes, thick striploins, and Black Angus steaks.

Preparation

First sear the steak for 2 minutes per side over direct heat.
Then move it to indirect heat.
Continue cooking until the desired internal temperature is reached.
Allow to rest for at least 8 minutes.

Target Internal Temperatures

Blue Rare: 48°C
Rare: 52°C
Medium: 56°C
Well Done: 60°C

Butcher's Tip

Once your steak reaches this thickness, always use a meat thermometer. Just a few degrees can make the difference between perfection and an overcooked steak.

🥩 How to Cook a Large Côte à l'Os (1–2 kg)

Perfect for celebrations and true meat lovers.

Reverse Sear Method

Place the meat over indirect heat at approximately 110–120°C.
Slowly cook until the internal temperature reaches 50°C.
Remove temporarily from the barbecue.
Increase the grill temperature to maximum.
Sear both sides intensely.
Let rest for at least 10 minutes.

Serving Temperature

Rare: 52–54°C

In our opinion, this is the perfect doneness for a premium côte à l'os.

🥩 How to Prepare a Picanha on the BBQ

A beautiful picanha deserves a cooking method that does it justice. For a piece weighing approximately 1.3 kg, we recommend the Reverse Sear method. It produces perfectly even doneness, a crispy fat cap, and exceptionally juicy meat.

Preparation

Remove the picanha from the refrigerator at least 1 hour before cooking.
Leave the fat cap completely intact and lightly score it in a crosshatch pattern. Be careful to cut only the fat and not the meat.
Season generously with coarse sea salt. A quality picanha needs nothing more.

Step 1: Indirect Cooking

Preheat your barbecue to 110–120°C.
Place the picanha on the indirect cooking zone with the fat cap facing upward.
Slowly cook until reaching the desired internal temperature:
- Blue Rare: 46°C
- Rare: 48°C
- Medium: 52°C

For a piece of approximately 1.3 kg, this phase generally takes between 60 and 90 minutes depending on the shape of the meat and the type of barbecue.

Step 2: Searing

Once the target temperature is reached, remove the picanha from the grill and increase the temperature to maximum.
Sear the fat cap first for 2–3 minutes until golden and crispy.
Then sear each side of the meat for approximately 1 minute over direct heat.

Resting Time

Allow the picanha to rest for at least 10 minutes under a loosely tented sheet of aluminum foil.

During this resting period, the internal temperature will continue to rise slightly.

Serving Temperatures

Blue Rare: 48°C
Rare: 52°C
Medium: 56°C

For a premium picanha, we personally recommend serving it at approximately 52°C.

Slicing

Always slice picanha against the grain into thin slices.

This step is essential for maximum tenderness.

Gustor Tip

If you're using a kamado (Big Green Egg, Monolith, Kamado Joe, Bastard, etc.), add a small chunk of oak, whiskey barrel, or cherry wood during the indirect cooking phase.

This creates a subtle smoky flavor that perfectly complements the rich character of picanha without overpowering it.

🔥 The Most Common BBQ Mistakes 🔥

❌ Putting meat on the barbecue straight from the refrigerator

❌ Flipping the meat too often

❌ Piercing the meat with a fork

❌ Not allowing the meat to rest

❌ Salting too early

❌ Cooking large cuts without a meat thermometer

The Golden Rule

The thicker the cut of meat, the more important it becomes to cook it slowly and finish it with a short but intense sear.

A 1 cm steak is cooked entirely over direct heat.

A 1 kg côte à l'os is first brought up to temperature slowly before being seared at the end.

Follow this simple rule and you'll get the very best out of every cut of meat.

Enjoy your meal!

The Gustor Team 🥩

🔥 Low & Slow BBQ 🔥

Discover three must-try recipes for Brisket, Short Ribs and Spareribs. 🥩

You can do it too—everything is explained clearly, step by step.

🥩 How to Cook BEEF SHORT RIBS 🥩

The creator of some of the finest BBQ rubs and sauces, Dimitri Zetsche from Braai BBQ, wrote this award-winning Short Rib recipe exclusively for Gustor.

The Beef Rub used in the recipe is very similar to the Meatpal Beef Rub, although it contains no sugar.

Equipment Needed

A smoker (pellet smoker, offset smoker, etc.)
Meat thermometer
Aluminum foil or butcher paper
Spray bottle filled with water
Braai BBQ Steak & Burger Rub
Braai BBQ Beef Rub
Optional binder: mustard or another liquid

Preparing the Beef Short Ribs

You cannot simply take beef short ribs out of the package, season them, and place them on the smoker.

Proper trimming is essential.

Remove large chunks of fat and ensure the fat cap is evenly trimmed. A thickness of approximately 4–5 mm is ideal.

Remove any loose pieces of meat and create a neat shape that allows heat and smoke to flow evenly around the meat.

Trimming takes practice. As BBQ pitmasters often say:

"If it doesn't look pretty, it can't cook pretty."

👉 Read the full recipe »

🥩 How to Cook ST. LOUIS SPARE RIBS 🥩

Forget the famous 3-2-1 method and put your thermometer aside.

We're going to teach you how to smoke ribs by feel rather than by temperature.

Technically, your ribs may reach the perfect internal temperature, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're fully cooked and tender.

Equipment Needed

Gustor USDA Swift St. Louis Ribs
Teaspoon
Aluminum foil
Toothpick
Basting brush
Pellet smoker or Kamado set up for indirect cooking at 120°C (250°F)
Smoking wood (for Kamado users)
Butter
Honey
Light brown sugar
Meatpal BBQ Rub available from Gustor
Braai Red Sauce available from Gustor
Spray bottle filled with clean drinking water

Instructions

The secret to championship-quality ribs lies in:

Proper membrane removal
Allowing the rub to absorb thoroughly
Building a beautiful mahogany-colored bark
Wrapping at the right moment
Cooking until perfectly tender
Finishing with a glossy glaze

This method consistently delivers competition-style ribs that are juicy, tender, and packed with flavor.

👉 Discover the full recipe »

🥩 How to Cook a BRISKET on a Smoker 🥩

Recipe by Dimitri Zetsche

With just three key ingredients, plenty of time and patience, and the expertise of a multiple BBQ champion, your brisket can no longer fail.

A perfectly cooked brisket is one of the ultimate achievements in barbecue.

The goal is to create:

A deep, flavorful bark
Beautiful smoke flavor
Perfectly rendered fat
Tender meat that slices beautifully

In this recipe, Dimitri explains step by step how to:

Select the right brisket
Trim it correctly
Season it properly
Manage the smoking process
Wrap at the right time
Rest the brisket long enough for maximum juiciness

Whether you're using a pellet smoker, offset smoker, or kamado, this recipe provides the foundation for authentic Texas-style brisket.

👉 Go to the recipe »

🥩 A Final Piece of Advice

The difference between average BBQ and exceptional BBQ rarely lies in the quality of the barbecue itself.

It lies in patience.

Great barbecue is all about:

✅ Giving the meat enough time

✅ Using the right temperature

✅ Respecting the resting period

✅ Cooking by feel, not by the clock

Master these fundamentals and you'll elevate every piece of meat—from a simple steak to a competition-worthy brisket.

Happy grilling!

The Gustor Team 🥩🔥