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1
Gently crush the peppercorns using a heavy mortar and pestle, or place them in a zipper-lock bag, press out the air, seal, and coarsely crush with the bottom of a heavy skillet or a flat meat pounder.
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2
Pat the steak dry with paper towels and rub all over with the olive oil.
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3
Press the crushed pepper into both sides of the meat.
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4
Set aside to rest.
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5
Preheat the grill for high to medium-low bilevel grilling.
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6
If you are using a charcoal grill this means banking your coal bed so that one side is about three times as thick as the other side.
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7
The thicker side should be blazing hot.
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8
If you can hold your hand a foot above the fire for more than 4 seconds, the fire needs stoking.
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9
If you have a gas grill, turn half the burners to high and the other half to medium-low (if you have a thermostat in the hood of your grill it will register 375 to 425F).
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10
Brush the grill grate thoroughly with a wire brush to clean it and coat lightly with oil.
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11
Sprinkle each side of the steak with a three-finger pinch of salt.
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12
Put the steak on the grill over high heat and cook until darkly crusted, 4 to 6 minutes per side.
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13
Move over the low fire and grill for another 10 to 15 minutes for medium-rare to medium doneness (135 to 140F).
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14
Transfer to a platter and let rest for 5 to 8 minutes.
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15
Cut the steak on the diagonal into 3/4-inch-thick slices and serve the slices with additional salt, making sure that each person gets some of the larger muscle (the strip loin) and the smaller muscle (the tenderloin).
