Many choose to marinate the meat with liquid or dry seasonings, up to 24 hours before the cookout. You can experiment with various flavors and marinades, buy one already made, or create your own. You can marinate a steak in Italian salad dressing, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, beer or wine. You can try lemon juice, orange juice, or olive oil. These liquids are fine as a base ingredient, and then liberally add your spices. The easiest way to marinate your steak is to put it inside a zip-lock style bag, then add the marinade. Squeeze extra air from the bag, and close. Leave it in the refrigerator for as long as you need, from 4 to 48 hours.
Personally, I prefer the taste of a great steak to the flavor of marinade. Generously rub black pepper and garlic on both sides of the meat, and place in a plastic bag. Set this in the refrigerator while you prepare your grill.
Time to light the fire!
The first thing you should do is line the base of your grill with heavy-duty aluminum foil. This will make clean up a lot easier.
Place the charcoal briquettes in a pyramid, large enough to cover the grill area that will have food on it.
Completely soak the briquettes with starting fluid. Make sure the entire briquette is covered, even the edges and corners. You should use about ½ cup fluid for each 25 briquettes.
Allow the starting fluid one full minute to soak into the briquettes.
Using your fireplace matches, light the briquettes in several places, around the edges of the pyramid stack.
If the fire is sluggish, fan the briquettes with a stiff piece of cardboard or small piece of wood.
Leaving the lid off (if your grill has a cover), allow the charcoal to heat for 30 minutes.
How will I know when the charcoal is ready?
Briquettes are ready for cooking when they are covered with a layer of white ash. Time to go get your steak!