“That’s the tenderloin,” I overheard someone say, pointing to the longish strip of meat sitting atop a fattier slab of meat beneath it. Red and marbled, the huge slabs of meat — some with the bones protruding from them — were the first thing I noticed when I arrived at chef Robert Del Grande’s class on how to grill steak.

The first in a series of classes scheduled to take place over three consecutive Saturday evenings, the intimate teaching session was held in the upstairs private dining room at RDG + Bar Annie. There were only a handful of tables that night, with seats arranged for optimal viewing of chef Del Grande in action.

The evening began as a meet and greet cocktail hour, with Del Grande making his rounds to personally greet attendees. Guests had the option of choosing white wine, red wine or a spiked watermelon punch. I actually thought the servers were joking when they said I could have punch instead of wine, but not so. Within minutes of requesting one, I was served a festive, bright pink watermelon cocktail that captured the very essence of summer with its almost-neon hue and sweet, fruity flavor.

Canapes circled the room, including delicious fried oysters on a creamy, tangy slaw. Each scrumptious bite, served on a porcelain spoon, was so enjoyable that I didn’t hesitate when offered seconds. Stuffed mushrooms were also served, along with small skewers of dim sum-style shrimp balls, easy to pop in your mouth.

Once everyone had settled into their seats, Del Grande launched into a 90-minute cooking class that was more like a cooking lecture than the cooking classes you’d experience at Central Market Cooking School or Sur La Table. But it wasn’t without its fair share of bells and whistles.

Del Grande was extremely thorough, covering a wide range of topics that began with the cuts of the meat. Picking up the huge slabs as he explained what they were, he would slice off a piece as he went along, passing each around the room on individual plates so that attendees could see the shape and marbling of each cut: ribeye, tenderloin, filet mignon, hangar steak, skirt steak, T-bone and New York strip. He explained that the slabs had been arranged on his cutting board in the same physical orientation that they would be found on a steer, teaching us to differentiate between the pieces so that we’d understand why something was fattier (near the belly) or more tough (part of a muscle). We learned that fattier cuts of meat (e.g. ribeye) generally take longer to cook, but are richer in flavor because of the fat.

Then began a discussion of cooking theory and heat conduction and the way that heat, applied to the surface of meat, gradually moves inward. Practical tips on grilling were discussed: whether you needed the meat to be at room temperature (you don’t); whether you needed to let the meat rest after being cooked (you do); whether gas or coal or wood grill is better (each is fine, but for the gas grill you want to mimic gradual heat application of wood and coal); whether it’s advisable to pre-marinate the meat (it’s not); the type of seasoning you should use (salt and pepper only, right before it’s placed on the grill, or basting the marinade on the meat when it’s almost close to done).

Del Grande spent a lot of time talking about how to gauge when the meat is ready, emphasizing how difficult it is to cook meat to medium rare or medium specifications, and it made sense. For rare meat, you’re just concerned with the outside sear: Slap it on the grill and char the outside quickly, but keep the inside rare — easy.  For well done, you basically cook it until there’s no more red — way easier than cooking it to pink or pinkish red. I won’t give it all away, but he shared three ways that we could gauge the correct temperature. He coached us using different herbs to create a butter that could be served with the meat.

The fun began when servers brought in plates holding each cut of meat, slicing them on the spot so that we’d get a taste of everything. We were all hungry by then, and the smoky, just-charred aromas of the fresh-off-the-grill steaks were literally mouthwatering.

I didn’t eat right away, waiting until everything was served before I dug in. The result? I don’t know if it was planned that way, but I had several cuts of meat on my plate at once, which allowed me to get a vertical tasting of four cuts of meat at a time: T-bone, ribeye, skirt steak, hangar steak. It was definitely an eye-opening exercise. Each piece had a different texture, tenderness and flavor profile, with the toughest and leanest being the skirt steak and the most tender and flavorful, the ribeye.

As class adjourned, attendees were invited to tour the kitchen area to observe the grill in action, which was crazy because it was during the middle of the service on a busy Saturday night. We arrived just in times to see impressive flames coming off of the 700 degree-plus wood-fired grill. Del Grande was ever so gracious through it all, patiently posing for photographs inside the kitchen, directly in front of his grill while his cooks took pause from what they were doing.

The cost for the class is $75 per person, which includes the cocktail reception, class, and steak tasting — well worth it if you want to sharpen your meat-grilling skills and learn from one of the best.  Guests were invited to stay for a special three-course steak dinner following the class, also priced at $75, which included choice of appetizer, steak and dessert. Of course, I stayed. And my medium-rare ribeye steak was indeed perfection.

“Basically, we should just come here and let you the grill the steak for us,” one obviously clairvoyant attendee asserted towards the conclusion of the class. Del Grande, smiling broadly, replied warmly: “That was what I was hoping you’d figure out all along.”

There are still two remaining classes on July 27 and August 3. For additional information, and to make reservations, contact RDG + Bar Annie. 

RDG + Bar Annie 1800 Post Oak Blvd., 713-840-1111 rdgbarannie.com