With Labor Day barbecues looming, we decided it was the right time to ask chef Greg Cole for a few pointers on grilling great steaks.

Cole, the owner of Cole’s Chop House and Celadon restaurants in Napa, was just back from New York, where he was invited to prepare a meal at the prestigious James Beard House, and was ready to get back to casual summer cooking.

Going one step further than just telling us how to do it, he and his wife Beth Fairbairn invited the Register to their Napa home, where, assisted by their charming daughter, Sophia, and lively son, Larsen, Cole gave us a demonstration and dinner, too.

A great steak begins with the meat, Cole said. “The most important part of cooking a great steak is choosing high quality meat,” he said. “It isn’t always easy. Try to find a good butcher that you can talk to who can make recommendations.”

Among his favorite local butchers are Jim Andrews at Browns Valley Market and John Fitzpatrick at the Clay Street Safeway.

“The Internet is another source for high quality meats,” he said.

Before he opened Cole’s Chop House in 2000, Cole and his wife held blind meat tastings to decide on their sources. “We work with Allen Brothers of Chicago,” he noted. “They’ve been one of the best sources for high-quality cuts of meat since 1893.” The company sells products online. Their corn-fed beef is premium, but pricey. Four 20-ounce dry-aged porterhouse steaks, for example, run $179.95; it’s $214.95 for 24-ounce steaks.

At this point, some of us might opt to make a reservation at Cole’s, but if you want to persevere and cook your $50 steak, Cole said the next important point is to let the meat come to room temperature before you grill it. “If you have a place to let the steaks sit out for 30 minutes, it really simplifies cooking a good steak.”

He had a selection of thick New York steaks, filet mignon and a flat iron steak to cook. Preference varies he noted; many prefer the New York, which is more marbled with fat; others prefer the leaner filet mignon.

The flat iron is a relatively new cut (this is where knowing a good butcher comes in) that comes from the shoulder of a cow. Previously that part of the cow was just ground up into chuck, but researchers at the University of Nebraska discovered that extracting the thin, flat iron steak from the shoulder turned out to provide the second most tender cut of beef, after the tenderloin. The flat iron steak, which is increasingly showing up on restaurant menus, is also from the part of the cow that is considered kosher, Cole noted.

For the method of cooking, Cole pointed out “there are lots of variables: gas or charcoal, inside, in a pan or in the broiler of the oven. I like grilling outside the best. At home and Cole’s we cook over gas. I do like charcoal, but for my busy lifestyle, gas is just easier … when we go camping I use charcoal.”

As for seasonings, he advises, “Do what you like, but if you have a great steak, why hide the flavor with seasonings, rubs or spices?”

At Cole’s, he said, “We use a little olive oil, salt and coarse cracked black pepper. Nothing else.”

While Sophia was firing up the outdoor grill, Cole drizzled olive oil on a baking sheet, sprinkled on salt (“Diamond Crystal Kosher is the best,” he said. “I take it with me when I travel.”) and put the meat on top of it. Then he put more olive oil, salt and pepper on top of the steaks and they were off to the grill.

The question of timing

One of the biggest questions that plagues grillers is how to tell when something is done without doing what many of us do: cutting the meat open to see how red it looks, and watching all those juices drain out and send up flames.

“I’ll share with you the $20,000 culinary school secret,” Cole said. Here it is: You do it by pressing the steak and matching the feel against your own hand.

To do it, make a ring with your thumb and forefinger on the opposite hand from the one you generally use, and with your other hand, press the pad of skin below your thumb. That’s how a rare steak will feel if you press it.

Now, shift and make a ring of your thumb and middle finger. That same pad below your thumb will be slightly stiffer. That’s the feel of a medium rare steak.

Your thumb and ring finger will approximate the feel of a medium steak, and the pad will be firmest when you make a ring of your little finger and thumb: That’s a well-done steak.

“You may feel a little silly poking your hand and poking the steak,” Cole said, “but it works.”

He also said that because the filet mignon cut is so tender, rather than pressing the top of the meat, he presses the sides — a finger on each side — to test the doneness.

The final question I had was how many times he turns a steak in the process of cooking. His answer: four. This is how you get those impressive crisscross grill marks. Roughly estimate the time the steak will cook — about 12-15 minutes for the thick steaks — and divide it by four.

Let it rest

“The biggest mistake people make is cutting into a freshly grilled steak too quickly,” Cole said. “If you cut right into it when it’s hot, the juices will run out all over.” Letting it rest a few minutes, however, allows it to reabsorb those flavorful juices. After it comes off the grill, let it rest in a warm place for at least four-five minutes, depending on the size. For a steak that’s more than 16 ounces, let it rest for about 10 minutes.

And onto the table

Cole sliced the steaks on an angle and served them with sides of pasta, Caesar salad with fresh asparagus, and excellent bruschetta prepared by Sophia, who is a fifth-grader at Napa Valley Language Academy. The wine he paired with the meat was a 2005 Carneros syrah from Hudson Vineyards — very nice. And for dessert, he brought out Double Chocolate Brownies which are a reason even a vegetarian will enjoy a trip to his renowned Chop House. (Actually, by the way, a vegetarian friend of ours names Cole’s as her favorite restaurant because she can make a meal of the satisfying side dishes.)

Sophia, perhaps, summed up the excellent meal best. “Daddy,” she said, “can you put some of this (filet mignon) in my lunch tomorrow?”

Ah, the joys of having a dad who can cook a great steak.