Grilled Bone-In Rib-Eye Steaks With Blue Cheese

By Melissa Clark

Updated June 25, 2025

Grilled Bone-In Rib-Eye Steaks With Blue Cheese
Con Poulos for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
30 minutes, plus 30 minutes' marinating
Rating
5(370)
Comments
Read comments

The usual formula for cooking an amazing slab of steak is as simple as they come: salt plus pepper plus a short stint over a hot fire. But there are times when you want an extra shot of flavor. Some good crumbled blue cheese sprinkled on the hot steak so it melts over the top does just that, especially when you spike it with hot sauce and butter. I like to use a combination of direct and indirect heat when grilling a bone-in piece of meat; it allows a crust to form but not burn while keeping the meat juicy inside. But you know your grill best, so let your instinct guide you as to where to move the steaks and when you think they are done. And if blue cheese isn’t your thing, follow the grilling directions here but leave your meat bare except for the salt and pepper. If you start with good meat, you will never go wrong.

Featured in: Grilling Thick Steaks, a Leisurely Approach

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: Give recipes to anyone

    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.

    Subscribe

  • Share this recipe

  • Print this recipe

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 2(1½-inch-thick) bone-in rib-eye steaks, about 1¼ pounds each
  • 2teaspoons coarse kosher salt
  • Black pepper, as needed
  • Extra-virgin olive oil, as needed
  • 2ounces creamy blue cheese, such as Jasper Hill Bayley Hazen Blue
  • 1tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 2teaspoons finely chopped chives
  • Hot sauce, as needed
Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Season steaks with salt and pepper at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour before you plan to cook them. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature.

  2. Step 2

    Heat grill to high. If using a charcoal grill, mound coals to one side, allowing for an area of indirect heat. If using a gas grill, turn on only a few of the burners and leave the rest off for indirect heat.

  3. Step 3

    Lightly oil steaks. Place on the hottest part of the grill. Cook, covered, until they develop a golden-brown crust, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Move steaks to indirect heat and crumble cheese over the top; cover and continue cooking 2 to 5 minutes longer, depending on desired doneness. (Pull the meat at 125 degrees for rare.)

  4. Step 4

    Transfer steaks to a cutting board to rest, loosely covered with foil, for 10 minutes. While steaks rest, stir together butter, chives and hot sauce. Pour over steak before serving.

Tip
  • And to Drink ... You already know you want red wine with a thick rib-eye, but which one? With this fatty cut I would lean to more robust choices. Many Americans will reach first for a California cabernet sauvignon, and it’s a great choice as long as it’s not overly jammy. Brunello di Montalcino and other sturdy sangiovese wines are great with steak, as are richer northern Rhône wines like Hermitage and Cornas. You may consider a younger Gevrey-Chambertin or a good Oregon pinot noir, and if you prefer expressively fruity wines, now’s the time for a structured Argentine malbec. Somewhere there’s a steak eater who drinks only white: I recommend a rich, dry Austrian riesling, like a Wachau smaragd. Intrepid wine lovers can experiment with oloroso sherry. ERIC ASIMOV

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Ratings

5 out of 5
370 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Comments

Linda

Can I do this in an oven or on stovetop?

Andy

Yes. You can sear one side of the steak on a very hot skillet (cast iron is good), then flip and finish in the oven (375 or so). The timing of the oven finish depends on the thickness.

srobbie

Helpful tips: make sure steak is room temp. If it's a super-thick, bone-in piece of meat, this might take hours.

If you're using charcoal, make the fire as hot as humanly possible; one way to do this if you use a "chimney"-type device to light the charcoal is to line the bottom of half of the grill with one layer of briquettes. Fill chimney to the top and, when the briquettes are ready, dump them on the layer of unlit briquettes; wait 10 mins and then grill.

Rebecca

This is just the best! Grilled to perfection and covered with bleu cheese. I wouldn't change a thing.

Jim Brown

If you wait for 125 degrees to pull a steak this thick carryover heat will finish it to medium, not rare!

TerryO

Great combination. So easy yet so flavorful. Definitely repeat.

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

or to save this recipe.