well...for steak, i like to stay away from the marinade and get a really good flavorful steak like ribeye. i'll leave the steak out to come up in temp a little whilst i ready the grill. once the coals are ready (ash gray), i either move them to one half of the grill or spread them out in a layer - this move depends on how many coals you have going, the distance from your coals to your grate, how thick your steak is, etc. then, i salt and pepper both sides of the steak well (people are always surprised at the amount of salt and pepper i use). if the steak doesn't kind of sizzle when you put it on the grill, your grill isn't hot enough yet - take your steak off and adjust. :D