What makes meat overly juicey?
How do you control the level of liquid that comes out of a piece of meat when you bite it?


Did you rest the second steak, the one you liked better?

Resting meat after cooking is an influential variable in controlling juice release. This article discusses [I am not affiliated with the link].

From the article:


  ...as one surface of the meat hits the hot pan (or grill), the juices in that surface are forced away towards the center, increasing the concentration of moisture in the middle of the steak. Once the steak gets flipped over, the same thing happens on the other side. The center of the steak becomes supersaturated with liquid—there's more liquid in there than it can hold on to—so when you slice it open, all that extra liquid pours out. By resting the steaks, you allow all that liquid that was forced out of the edges and into the center time to migrate back out to the edges.


A picture from least rested to most rested steaks, from the article linked above. Cut at 2 1/2 minute intervals.


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Important distinction: The rested steak is not less juicy, it has the same moisture. It's just that it is better contained in the meat while you eat. I suspect that's what you liked about your second steak.

There could be other factors in your experience: seasoning, grill temps, starting temp of the the cut, etc. But resting is probably the most influential.

I rest my steaks for 7 to 10 minutes with a piece of aluminum foil lightly laying over the top.