I landed on a really good method for grilling steaks last fall. It won’t be long until Spring is here and everyone will be firing up the ol’ grill, and hopefully this will just add to the anticipation. We had an unusually warm day in Edwardsville today, and so just to keep in practice I made dinner this evening. Here's how it's done.
I start with a good cut of beef. I like New York strip, Lisa tends to like sirloin, and we both love filet mignon but almost always go with the cheaper cuts. Using the right seasoning can turn a good steak into a great steak. There are any number of steak seasoning rubs on the market, but I have my own homemade mix that I like best. You can vary this to suit your own taste, but the basic ingredients are 8 parts onion powder, 4 parts garlic powder, 2 parts celery salt, and 1 part Hungarian paprika, plus salt and pepper to taste. Just mix them up and sprinkle on the steak at least 10 minutes prior to grilling.
After seasoning the meat, get the grill hot--really hot! I shoot for 500° F, and keep it at that temperature for at least 10 minutes to get the grate evenly heated. Toss the steaks on and keep the heat up for two minutes per side, then turn down the heat to about 325° F and keep an eye on things. Good steaks have enough marbelling to flavor the meat, but melting fat dripping onto the burners can cause a flame-up, so stay nearby and be ready to move the steaks to a different part of the grill at the first sign of lapping flames. Cooking at such a low temperature can take a while, so once you’re sure the risk of flame-up is past, there’s no need to stand at the grill. It is at this point I often go inside to make sure the veggies and salads and fresh-baked garlic bread are coming along so that everything is ready to serve at the same time.
If you've followed directions perfectly, you have now burned your steaks on the bottom to the consistency of Illinois coal; here are my favorite tips for removing the carbon layer (yes, you’ll be very tempted to just serve them burned-side down, but don’t do it. I have found much less humiliation by just running inside with the meat and muttering epitaphs under my breath about the man who would design a grill with such uneven temperature distribution. If you think it will help, throw in a comment about how no one should be expected to grill in the dark since you can't really see what's going on with the meat.)
Lisa likes to cut her steak into bite-sized pieces, and then, using her best sewing scissors (the ones only she is allowed to use), she cuts off the bottom of each bite. Me, I like to vigorously scrape the meat like a piece of burned toast over the trash can (a serrated knife works best), returning the intact steak to my plate, where the top side still looks simply marvelous, with those spices adding a wonderful color. Oh, and Lisa always fully dips each bite into her favorite béarnaise sauce, hiding any hint of remaining black stuff. This little trick totally masks the flavor of the meat.
Happy grilling!
3 comments:
oh this really made me laugh toward the end there. thanks for the chuckle :)
My dad always burned stuff when he grilled, especially chicken. He always told us, "It's the sugar's in the chicken! Sugar burns quickly, and there's just a ton of sugar in chicken!" I never knew beef had as much sugar in it as chicken. When are you coming out with your awesome grill design? You'd make millions.
I use a cheese grater to grate off the burnt part from steaks, toast and anything else. I'm glad to be blague visitor #1910. You have so many visitors that you should sign up advertisers.
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