Grill Marks Are Overated

"Constantly turning burgers and hot dogs is a great way to avoid interaction with others." 
                                                                                                                        -David Letterman

All the grocery store advertisements, all the restaurant ads, all the grill ads show beautiful steaks and burgers with cross-hatched grill marks.  Overrated!  Look at the ribeyes numbered 1 and 2 on this page.  Ribeye 1 creates a Pavlovian response, right? Yes, that's what grill marks do. But I'm here to tell you, ribeye 2 will taste the best.

When it comes to meats, and many other foods, the goal is golden to brown color on as much surface as possible. Dark brown crusts on grilled meat are the most flavorful part because dark brown is the result of changes in the chemistry of the meat. Called the Maillard Reaction and 
Caramelization, browning occurs when heat changes the structure of amino acids, proteins, and sugars, creating hundreds of new really tasty compounds. We call that searing, and the result is a crust that to many of us is the highlight of the meal. When it comes to most foods, brown is beautiful. Tan is not.  Black is not.