Step 1

Place the steaks into a ziploc bag, along with the marinade. Press all the air out, making sure the entire surface of the steak is coated in marinade, front and back. Refrigerate and marinate overnight.

Step 2

1 to 2 hours before you’re ready to grill, take the steaks out of the fridge and let sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour, or up to 2 hours. Preheat your grill until it’s searing hot! Aim for 450-500°F.

Step 3

If using a gas or regular charcoal grill, place the hickory chips in a bit of heavy duty foil, and place in the grill (for gas, just place on the grate; for charcoal, nestle it among the briquettes), to impart a smoky flavor to the steaks. If using a grill with hardwood lump charcoal (which already gives the meat a smoky flavor), adding hickory chips is not required.

Step 4

Just before grilling the steaks, you can add the optional coffee rub. Adding coffee rub gives the steaks a different, more complex flavor, although some prefer more or less (see discussion above). How much you use is your preference!

Step 5

When the grill is hot, place the steaks on the grill and cover. After a couple minutes, check the steaks. Turn them 45° to 90° to get those grill marks. Cover the grill again,  then flip them every 3 minutes, leaving the grill covered in between turns for 12 minutes total cooking time.

Step 6

This will give you medium rare for a steak that’s 1.75 inches (4.5 cm) thick. If your steaks are thinner, you may need less time. If you’d like your steak cooked more well done, you can cook them a bit longer. Ribeye is actually one of those cuts that actually tastes pretty good at both medium rare and medium.