Touch pad for great steak

With just a touch, you can judge if a piece of meat is done to your liking.

Using your left hand, touch the tip of your thumb to the tip of your index finger and make a circle. While holding the left hand in that position, take your right index finger and touch the pad of your left hand, the soft fleshy part that is at the base of your left thumb. Feel how soft that is?

Now go back to the left hand and replace the tip of the index finger with the tip of the middle finger. Again, with your right hand touch the spot. It will be firmer.

Repeat these same movements but next bring the ring finger to the left thumb, and then the left little finger to the thumb. As you replace each finger tip, continue to touch the pad and you'll feel it change, becoming firmer.

Here's how this translates to your steak on the grill:

• When you touch the index finger to the thumb, and the pad of the hand is the softest, this is what rare meat feels like.
• Moving to the middle finger changes the pad to feel like medium rare.
• Moving to the ring finger gives you the feeling of a medium-well done steak.
• When you touch the little finger to your thumb, the pad will feel like a well done steak.

Simple? Yes. Now all we need is some grilling weather!