Who’s Eating Over?

I just purchased my second Weber Charcoal 22.5” Gold Grill. This grill is a beast and is very versatile, no other cooking surface comes close to the taste that you get when cooking on it. The main reason I got this grill is http://smokenator.com/ . Yes people, you can turn your Weber in to a smoking machine. This product costs far less and is MUCH better then most smokers, which average about $400. Keep an eye out on future blogs about my smoking adventures (sometime after Fathers Day, hint, hint). It should be a great summer by which the end of I plan to have mastered Ribs.

Being a man I decided to christen her with beef, a filet to be exact (the most loved and hated steak). I normally would go with a well marbled rib eye but I wanted to make one cut of meat for both my wife and me. While filet is the healthiest cut of meat (we all know I’m all about health) but not necessarily the most flavorful, I found a way to kick up the flavor and make it unhealthy. Three words, Blue Cheese Butter! Just take a hand full of blue cheese and a stick of butter, plop it in the food processor and put a huge dollop on the finished product. This was a great touch, thank you Mr. Flay (not for the recipe, but for the idea).

In addition to the steaks I whipped up a quick potato recipe, which consisted of grilled new potatoes, onion, pesto and Grana Padano cheese. If you like regular grated parmesan or Romano cheese you must try Grana. It has a nuttier rich taste. It costs a little more but lights up any dish. When grilling for best results use new potatoes, they are waxy and thin skinned. Cut the potatoes in half and boil until tender, put them in a bowl with EVOO, salt and pepper add slices of raw onion. Put the potatoes and onion on the grill; get them nice and charred and crispy. When finished toss together with more EVOO, pesto and a generous helping of grated cheese. This great/easy side dish.

The only thing bad about this meal was that it was prepared under an umbrella in the pouring rain, which I can’t complain about because I was able to dry off with a delicious meal accompanied by an ice cold Stella and finished off with Maine Blueberry ice cream…

Stay tuned folks, because I plan on smoking everything from a whole turkey to beef brisket this summer. I will also start messing with my own BBQ sauce and pickles. Please post any questions, I will answer all.

A Few quick steak tips:

 When you get a good cut of steak Do Not marinade, there is NO need. If something is already good, there is no need to cover the taste.

 Take the steak out of the fridge 30-40 mins ahead of cooking time. It grills best when it is room temperature.

 Pat the steak dry with a paper towel. You must take the moisture away in order to get a good sear.

 Coat the steak in oil, cracked pepper and coarse salt just prior to grilling. More salt equals better taste and will create a better sear.

 Get your coals/grill nice and hot!!! Put steak on grill and let the fire do the work. Do not mess with it, turn the steak three times and that’s it!

 Do not poke with a fork, you will just let the juices out.

 When your steak is finished let that bad boy sit for 3-4 minutes before serving.