If you want to cook an award-winning SCA Steak, well look no further, I’ve paired up with one of my grilling besties, Sunny Moody, who is a two time 🏆 World Foods Steak Champion, who shares ALL her secrets!! Here is the play by play on how to cook an SCA steak!!

If you’ve ever attended a Steak Cookoff Association (SCA) event, you know it’s no joke. Competitors travel from all over the world, fire up their grills, and turn in ribeyes that are judged on taste, tenderness, and appearance. The difference between winning and losing often comes down to the tiniest details—like whether you remembered to pull out a cocktail pin before turn-in.

So what does it actually take to cook a championship Steak Cookoffs steak? Here’s a breakdown of competition-style ribeye grilling that you can use whether you’re chasing a trophy or just chasing compliments at your next backyard cookout. 👇

🥩 Step 1: Selecting the Right Steak

In most SCA events, ribeyes are provided by the organizer, and competitors “draft” their cuts. But whether you’re on the circuit or shopping at the butcher, here’s what to look for:

• Marbling: Fat equals flavor. A well-marbled steak cooks juicier and tastes better.
• Complexus Muscle: Look for the ribeye with all three muscle groups (spinalis, longissimus, and complexus). Judges love the tenderness and balance of this “tri-heart” cut.
• Even Thickness: A consistent 1¼” cut cooks more evenly and looks better on the plate.

🔪 Step 2: Trimming and Tying

Once you’ve got selected your ribeye, it’s time to clean it up.

• Trim: Remove the fat “tail” and any thick outer fat that won’t render. This prevents flare-ups and chewy bites.
• Tie & Secure: Use butcher’s twine to shape your steak into a neat “football” for presentation. Many cooks also use turkey skewers or cocktail pins to hold the spinalis and complexus tight against the longissimus.
• ⚠️ Important: Always remove skewers and twine before turn-in. Leaving them in is an automatic DQ in SCA competitions.

🧂Step 3: Seasoning Like a Champion

Competition cooks often layer multiple rubs to hit all the flavor notes: sweet, salty, spicy, savory, umami, and even a hint of bitterness. A popular combo Sunny recommends includes:

• Pigrit Steakhouse (savory base)
• Kosmos Q Dirty Bird (sweet + color)
• Kosmos Q Cow Cover Hot (heat + cumin)
• Kosmos Q Texas Beef (classic SPG profile)

At home, you can simplify with a mix of kosher salt, cracked black pepper, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and a dash of mushroom powder or parmesan for umami.👉 Pro tip: Season your steak at least an hour before grilling. This lets osmosis pull the flavors deep into the meat.

🔥 Step 4: Prepping the Grill

• Never Use lighter fluid—it leaves off-flavors.
• Use GrillGrates for even temps and beautiful crosshatch grill marks. They run about 100°F hotter than the grate surface and can be flipped for flat-top cooking.
• Target heat: 575-610°F surface temperature for searing. Check the GRILLGRATES temp to be in that range before putting on your steaks.

🥩 Step 5: Preheating the Steak

One of the biggest secrets? Don’t throw a cold steak on the grill.

Bring your ribeye up to 90-100°F internally before searing. This creates more even cooking and helps you nail the target internal temp.

Ways to preheat:

• Low oven (around 180°F)
• Smoker set low (without smoke exposure)
• Or even Sunny’s fun hack: leave it in a covered pan on your car dashboard on a hot day.

🌡️ Step 6: Grill Set up and Equipment

• Grill Set Up: Set your PK or charcoal grill of choice for two zone grilling
• Charcoal: Use Briquettes for even cooking
• Use a chimney starter to get your coals going, they are ready when the charcoal is ashed over at the top
• Use a Thermapen for checking your internal temps and a phone and or timer for timing your steak cook
• Use a grill rack or inverted aluminum pan for letting the steaks come to temp after sear marks have been achieved.

🔥 Step 7: Grilling the SCA Steak, Temps to Look For

• Grill Temp: The target temp for the charcoal should be 450-500 degrees, using GRILLGRATES which add an additional 100 degrees.
• Fat of choice: Swipe duck fat on your GrillGrates with a paper towel before searing (don’t spray directly—fire hazard).
• Grill the Steaks to form a cross hatch: Grill the steaks for one minute and ten seconds before rotating to the other side to form a cross hatch. Method: You want to lay the steaks down on the GRILLGRATES, rotate for marks, flip, and repeat. Consistency counts.
• Clean the GrillGrates in between flipping you want to clean the grill grate with your grill brush to ensure it is clean and will not stick and mess your char marks. Repeat this process 4 times so that each side of the steak has a perfect cross hatch. Watch the attached video to see this method.
• Let the grill come to temp: After grilling to form cross-hatch marks, if your steak is still not to 135, let it continue to come to temp on indirect heat using an inverted foil pan or a grill raise insert on the indirect side. This simulates oven cooking coming to temp but without being directly over the fire.
• Internal temp goals:
  • Competition turn-in: Pull at 135°F (perfect medium).
  • Backyard medium-rare fans: Pull at 123-125°F, rest, and slice.

🧈 Step 8: Butter Finish and Resting

As soon as the steak comes off the grill, top it with plain butter (or compound butter at home). Let it rest for at least 10 minutes. This locks in juices and adds a velvety finish.

🏆 Championship Takeaways

Cooking an SCA-worthy steak is all about precision and consistency. From the way you trim and tie, to seasoning layers, to preheating and searing temps—every detail matters.

• Competition steak = showpiece: perfect shape, grill marks, medium doneness, clean bite.
• Backyard steak = personal touch: more freedom with rubs, temps, and butter flavors.

Whether you’re turning in to a panel of judges or serving family at the picnic table, these steps will take your ribeye game from good to championship-level.

🛒 Shoppable List of Supplies Needed

• Charcoal Grill: PK is the gold standard in SCA comps, however you can also get started on a basic charcoal grill like a Weber Smokey Joe or a Weber Kettle as you get started
• Charcoal Briquettes: B&B, Kingsford and Royal Oak make charcoal briquettes
• Chimney Starter: for starting your charcoal grill
• Tumbleweeds / Firestarters: optional (you could also just use an oiled paper towel in your chimeney starter but these are nice to have)
• Recommended BBQ Rubs:
  • Pigrit Steakhouse (savory base)
  • Kosmos Q Dirty Bird (sweet + color)
  • Kosmos Q Cow Cover Hot (heat + cumin)
  • Kosmos Q Texas Beef (classic SPG profile)
• Butcher’s Twine
• Steak Pins
• Thermapen
• GrillGrates
• Weber Steak Rack or inverted aluminum pan

Follow Sunny for more Championships tips @sunnymoody_grilledfit. And if you are serious about winning on the SCA circuit, I recommend taking the judging class so you know exaclty what the judges are looking for. This will also give you the opportunity to judge SCA steak comps in the future, which is a steak lovers dream!! 🥩

Did this article help you cook a winning SCA Steak? Leave a comment below!

The post How to Cook a Winning SCA Steak: Pro Tips from 2X World Champion Sunny Moody appeared first on Grill Girl.