How long to grill a 1.5-inch ribeye
Short answer
About six minutes a side for medium rare, twelve minutes total — but not all over direct heat. Sear both faces hot for two to three minutes each, then move the steak to the cooler side of the grill until the centre reads 125°F (52°C). Rest ten minutes.
Change the numbers
Your results
Per side, on a hot grill
6 min
Total on the grill
12 min
Pull at
125°F / 52°C
Rest before slicing
8 min
A one-inch steak can live entirely over direct heat. A 1.5-inch ribeye cannot: by the time the centre reaches medium rare, a crust that has spent twelve unbroken minutes over flame is bitter. Two zones is not a refinement here, it is the difference between a good steak and a burnt one.
Sear first or sear last, both are defensible. Searing first is faster and gets the crust out of the way; finishing over low heat and searing at the end — a reverse sear — gives a more evenly pink interior because the meat comes up to temperature slowly before it ever meets high heat. On a thick ribeye the reverse sear is genuinely better, and it costs twenty minutes.
Ribeye has an advantage no other cut has: the intramuscular fat that makes it a ribeye needs heat to render. At rare, that fat is still waxy. Most people who prefer their steak rare prefer their ribeye medium rare for exactly this reason, without knowing why.
Rest a thick steak ten minutes, not five. There is more stored heat to redistribute and more carryover — a 1.5-inch cut can climb 8°F off the grill, so pull at 122°F if you want to eat at 130°F. Tent it loosely; wrapping it tightly steams the crust you just spent twelve minutes building.
Related questions
What is a reverse sear?
Cook the steak over low indirect heat until it is about 15°F below target, then sear it hard for a minute a side. It gives an edge-to-edge pink interior and a crust, which is hard to get any other way on a thick cut.
Should I trim the fat cap on a ribeye?
No. Score it if it is thick so it does not curl, but leave it — it bastes the steak as it renders, and it is the cheapest flavour on the grill.
Bone-in or boneless?
Bone-in takes two to three minutes longer and cooks slightly unevenly around the bone. It also tastes better to most people and is harder to overcook. Add the time and take the bone.