How to Grill Sirloin Steak: Temp, Timing and Technique

Sirloin might be the most honest steak on the grill. It's lean, beefy, and priced for a weeknight, but it doesn't forgive guesswork the way a fatty ribeye does. Learning how to grill sirloin steak comes down to a hot grate, a short cook time, and a thermometer. Here's how we cook the grass fed sirloin we raise in Alabama.

 

Key Takeaways

• Grill a 1-inch sirloin over medium-high heat for 4 to 5 minutes per side for medium-rare.
  
• Medium-rare finishes at 130 to 140°F internal; pull the steak about 5 degrees early because the temperature keeps climbing as it rests.
  
• Salt and pepper are enough. A sirloin dry aged up to 28 days brings its own flavor.
  Rest the steak 5 minutes, then slice against the grain.

 

Start With the Right Sirloin

A good grilled sirloin steak is decided before the grill is lit. Thickness matters most: a steak cut around 1 inch thick sears deeply outside while the center climbs at a pace you can control. Ours is cut to approximately 1 inch and dry aged up to 28 days, which concentrates flavor before the steak ever meets the fire.

Sirloin comes from the sirloin primal, just behind the short loin, so it's leaner and slightly firmer than a ribeye. If your steak is frozen, thaw it fully in the fridge first, then pat it dry. A wet surface steams instead of searing.

 

How Long to Grill Sirloin Steak

For a 1-inch sirloin over medium-high heat, plan on 4 to 5 minutes per side, about 8 to 10 minutes total, for medium-rare. Sirloin steak grill time shifts with thickness and fire, so treat the clock as a guide and the temperature as the finish line.

 

We aim for medium rare on this cut. Push a lean sirloin past medium, and it starts trading juice for chew.

Steak doneness is a temperature, not a color. On the standard doneness scale, rare finishes at 125 to 130°F, medium rare at 130 to 140°F, and medium at 140 to 150°F. A ten-degree window separates juicy from gray, so cook with a thermometer, not your eyes.

 

Grill Setup and Technique

Heat is the technique. Build a hot direct zone, keep a cooler zone free, and let a clean, oiled grate fully preheat before the steak goes on. Our guidance for this cut is simple: salt, pepper, and a hot grate. Dry aged beef doesn't need a marinade to taste like something.

Set the steak over direct heat and leave it alone for 4 to 5 minutes. Moving it early tears the crust. Flip once, cook the second side the same way, then check the thickest part with a thermometer. If the crust is ready before the center, slide the steak to the cooler zone.

Carryover cooking is real. Traeger's doneness guide pegs a perfect medium rare at 130 to 135°F and recommends pulling steaks off the heat several degrees before their target, letting residual heat close the gap. Whatever your doneness, pull early and let the rest finish the job.

 

Rest, Slice, Serve

The last five minutes happen off the grill. Resting the steak lets the juices settle back through the meat instead of onto the board. Five minutes under loose foil is plenty for a sirloin. Skip the rest, and even a perfectly cooked steak gets dry.

Then slice against the grain. Cutting across the muscle fibers shortens them, and a lean cut like sirloin gets noticeably more tender for it. Serve it plain, or spoon over the chimichurri from our recipe collection if you want something bright against the beef.

 

Frequently Asked Questions