“A steak is a steak is a steak,” goes the saying. Well, if you’ve ever thought of steak as the plain-Jane of grilling, this chapter will give you a whole new perspective. In the following pages you’ll learn how to grill one directly on the embers, in a sugar crust, and even in flaming hay. You’ll master the art of roasting a brisket in the coals, a technique that dates from the American Civil War. You’ll even find new twists on those barbecue standbys—hot dogs and hamburgers. The franks are stuffed with pickles and cheese and grilled in strips of bacon; the burgers are molded in the shape of a doughnut to maximize crusting. Hot dogs may be a ballpark classic, but when it comes to cooking meat on the grill, it’s a whole new ball game.
Innovative grill masters Johanne Killeen and George Germon, the owners of Al Forno restaurant in Providence, Rhode Island, are always pushing the limits of what can go on the grill (after all, they invented grilled pizza) or, in the case of the following recipe, what can be grilled without a grill. Dirty steak is nothing more than a strip steak cooked on the glowing coals. George has all sorts of theories about why the result is so tasty, including the intense but irregular charring that results from bringing the meat in direct contact with the embers. Al Forno’s owners remain mum on the contents of their steak sauce, so I’ve paired their steak with a tangy Mushroom-Mustard Sauce of my own.
4 boneless strip or sirloin steaks (each about 1 inch thick and 8 to 10 ounces)
Plenty of coarse salt (kosher or sea) and coarsely ground black pepper
1 piece (2 tablespoons) butter, chilled (optional)
Mushroom-Mustard Sauce (recipe follows)
YOU’LL ALSO NEED:
A charcoal grill Natural lump charcoal
1. Light the charcoal in a chimney starter (see page 15). When the coals glow red, dump them into the bottom of the grill and rake them into a pile on one side. Let the coals burn until they begin to ash over, 5 to 10 minutes, then fan the coals with a fan or hair drier to blow off the loose ash.
2. Generously season the steaks on both sides with salt and pepper. Lay the steaks directly on the glowing embers. Grill until done to taste, turning once with tongs, 4 to 6 minutes per side for medium-rare.
3. Use tongs to hold the steaks over the grill and brush off any loose ash with a pastry brush. Transfer the steaks to plates or a platter and rub the top of the steaks with butter, if desired. If grilling sirloin steaks, slice them on the diagonal. Serve with the Mushroom-Mustard Sauce on the side.
SERVES 4
Beef and mushrooms—they’re perfect together, which explains why mushrooms are a traditional accompaniment for steak. And while you don’t normally think of combining mushrooms and mustard, they work well in the presence of beef—especially the gutsy Dirty Steaks.
12 ounces button or other mushrooms, cleaned and trimmed (see Note)
3 tablespoons butter
2 shallots, minced (about 1/3 cup)
Coarse salt (kosher or sea) and freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons flour
¼ cup Cognac
1½ cups veal, beef, or homemade chicken stock (page 52)
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
½ cup heavy (whipping) cream
1. Working in several batches, place the mushrooms in a food processor and mince, running the machine in short bursts. Don’t overprocess or the mushrooms will become watery.
2. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook until soft and translucent, but not brown, about 3 minutes. Raise the heat to high, add the mushrooms and a little salt and pepper, and cook until all the liquid has evaporated, 5 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook to blend, about 1 minute. Add the Cognac and bring to a boil. Add the stock, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and cream and let the sauce simmer until reduced to about 1½ cups, 5 to 8 minutes.
3. Coarsely purée the sauce in a blender, running the machine in short bursts. Don’t over-blend or the cream may separate. Return the sauce to a saucepan to keep warm. Taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper as necessary; the sauce should be highly seasoned.
MAKES about 1½ cups
NOTE: The easiest way to clean mushrooms is by wiping them with a damp cloth or paper towel.
I’ve eaten a lot of steak, but this one startled even me. It is based on a recipe from two of my Kansas City barbecue buddies, Ardie “Remus Powers” Davis and Judith Fertig. Ardie first tasted it, or something like it, in Tuscany; Judith penned a recipe in her fine book, Prairie Home Cooking. Hay flavors the steak in two ways, first imparting a mild, gentle sweetness to the uncooked meat, then creating a delicate smoke flavor when the hay is tossed on the coals. Above all, there’s the novelty factor—after all, how often do you get to see beef cooked on hay?
ADVANCE PREPARATION: 1 to 2 hours for flavoring the steaks
4 generous handfuls of hay (4 to 6 cups)
4 boneless strip steaks (each about 2 inches thick and 12 to 14 ounces)
Coarse salt (kosher or sea)
3 to 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground or cracked peppercorns
Lemon wedges, for serving
YOU’LL ALSO NEED:
3 to 4 chunks oak, unsoaked
1. Spread the hay on a platter and arrange the steaks on top. Season the steaks on both sides with 1 tablespoon of salt. Let the steaks come to room temperature, 1 to 2 hours, turning them twice.
2. Meanwhile, set up the grill for direct grilling (see page 8 for both charcoal and gas) and preheat to medium-high (ideally, you’ll be cooking on a charcoal grill). About 5 minutes before you plan to put the steaks on the grill, add the wood chunks to the fire. If using a gas grill, position the wood chunks under the grate on the hottest part of the grill, over one of the burners and preheat until you see smoke.
3. Once you see smoke, brush and oil the grill grate. Lift the steaks off the hay, reserving the latter. Arrange the steaks on the hot grate and grill for 3 minutes per side. Using tongs, carefully remove the steaks and grate from the grill. If using a charcoal grill, toss the reserved hay on the fire. If using a gas grill, place the hay under the grate over one of the burners. The hay will catch fire and put out lots of smoke. This is good. Return the grate and steaks to the grill and cover it. If using a gas grill, position the steaks so they are not directly above the hay.
4. Continue grilling the steaks until cooked to taste, 4 to 7 minutes more per side for medium-rare. Turn the steaks several times as they cook to expose both sides to the smoke from the hay.
5. Transfer the steaks to a platter and drizzle with olive oil, turning the meat to coat both sides. Season with pepper and more salt, if desired. Let rest for 3 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges.
SERVES 4 to 8
Strip steaks crusted with sugar—this seems like the sort of heresy dreamed up after drinking too much beer. I’d heard about it, and eventually my curiosity got the best of me, so I tried “sugar grilling” a steak. I was amazed at just how tasty this unlikely combination could be. You’re probably envisioning candied beef, but in fact the sugar creates an unusual crust. The whisper of sweetness goes surprisingly well with the meat.
4 boneless strip steaks (each about ¾ inch thick and 8 ounces)
Plenty of coarse salt (kosher or sea) and freshly ground black pepper
3 to 4 tablespoons granulated sugar or light brown sugar
1. Place the steaks on a large platter and season generously with salt and pepper on both sides. Spread about ½ tablespoon of sugar on the top of each steak and rub it into the meat with the back of a spoon. Turn the steaks over and repeat.
2. Set up the grill for direct grilling (see page 8 for both charcoal and gas) and preheat to high. It’s a good idea to light the fire in such a way as to have a cooler section on the grill (see page 9); that way, if the sugar starts to burn over high heat, you can move the steaks to a section that is less hot.
3. When ready to cook, brush and oil the grill grate. Arrange the steaks on the hot grate at a 45-degree angle to the bars of the grate so that they all face the same way. Grill the steaks until cooked to taste, 4 to 6 minutes per side for medium-rare, rotating them 90 degrees after 3 minutes to create a handsome crosshatch of grill marks. Check the underside of the steaks as they cook by lifting one edge; if the crusts start to burn, move the steaks to a cooler part of the grill.
4. Transfer the grilled steaks to a platter and reseason with salt and pepper. Let the steaks rest for 2 minutes before serving.
SERVES 4
The sharp-tongued, backwoods drifter in Charles Frazier’s National Book Award-winning Civil War period novel, Cold Mountain, Ruby Stobrod is a pragmatic country girl who seems to know how to do everything—from butchering livestock to roasting meat in the embers. Such are the evocative powers of Frazier’s writing that, simply by reading about them, you can almost taste the dishes his characters prepare. Consider the following brisket, which Ruby seasons with a simple rub and cooks in the glowing coals of a campfire. (The only thing I’ve changed is to wrap the brisket in aluminum foil instead of paper.) This gives you a very different sort of brisket from what you’d get by the more conventional method of smoking. It’s also great for campers.
6 slices of thick-sliced smoked bacon (the smokier, the better)
4 to 6 teaspoons All-Purpose Barbecue Rub (page 37)
1 center-cut piece of brisket (2½ to 3 pounds)
Your choice of barbecue sauce (optional), for serving
YOU’LL ALSO NEED:
A charcoal grill
4 pieces of heavy-duty aluminum foil (24 by 18 inches each)
1. Place a piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil shiny side down on a work surface. Place 3 slices of bacon about 1 inch apart on top of the foil. Sprinkle the rub over the brisket on all sides and rub it onto the meat with your fingers. Lay the brisket on top of the bacon. Lay the remaining bacon on top of the brisket. Bring the ends of the aluminum foil up over the brisket, folding over the edges several times and crimping them to make a tight seal. Tightly wrap the brisket in 3 more layers of aluminum foil, shiny side out (so it will reflect the heat), to make a sturdy packet.
2. Light charcoal or wood chunks in a chimney starter (see page 15). When the coals glow red, dump them into the bottom of the grill and rake into a pile on one side. Let the coals burn until they begin to ash over, 5 to 10 minutes.
3. When ready to cook, lay the wrapped brisket next to the coals. Using a small shovel, long-handled spatula, or tongs, shovel 6 or so glowing embers on top of the brisket.
4. Roast the brisket under the embers until cooked through and tender, about 2 hours. Every 30 minutes, turn and rotate the brisket so that a different side faces the mound of coals (take care not to puncture the foil packet when turning). Place a few fresh coals on top of the foil packet. You’ll need to replenish the coals after 45 minutes to 1 hour. Simply place fresh charcoal or wood chunks on top of the mound of coals. They’ll light in about 10 minutes. If you’ve wrapped your brisket well, there won’t be any leakage of bacon fat. If the fat does leak, you may get a flare-up in the bottom of the grill. Keep your eye on the grill for flare-ups and move the brisket to a flame-free section of the grill if you see one.
5. Test for doneness by using a long slender metal skewer: It should pierce the meat easily. Rake any coals off the foil packet and transfer it to an aluminum foil pan or roasting pan. Let cool for 10 minutes.
6. Present the brisket in its flame-darkened foil packet to your guests, then remove it to the kitchen for unwrapping and carving. Take care to avoid the escaping steam. Trim off any burnt parts from the brisket. Thinly slice the meat across the grain and serve. By way of an accompaniment, you could serve any of the barbecue sauces in this book or your favorite sauce.
SERVES 6 to 8
VARIATION: To use a gas grill, set it up for direct grilling (see page 8) and preheat to medium-low. Cook the brisket in its foil packet for about 1 hour per side, turning once.
John Willingham may need no introduction. Many visitors to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., have seen one of his custom-designed smokers on display in the National Museum of American History. Hundreds of thousands of ’que heads have bought his book, taken his seminars, and dined at his restaurant in Memphis. And this master of smoke and swine has some singular thoughts about hamburgers—he’s convinced we’ve been making them all wrong all these years. “What do people like best about a hamburger?” asks Willingham. “A flame-charred crust and juicy interior.” So Willingham has designed a burger that maximizes the crust. He forms the meat into patties with a hole in the center. These doughnut burgers cook quickly and evenly, giving you a perfect crust and moist center.
Best of all, they’ll make jaws drop at a cookout, ensuring your reputation as a cutting-edge grill meister.
2 pounds ground beef (chuck or round)
1 small onion, minced fine as dust
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 teaspoons coarse salt (kosher or sea)
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
8 hamburger buns
Melted butter (optional)
Sliced onion, sliced tomato, lettuce leaves, ketchup, mustard, relish, or any other topping you may fancy
1. Place the ground beef in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the onion, garlic, parsley, salt, and pepper using your hands, working as quickly as possible so as not to overwork the meat. Divide the beef into 8 even portions and shape each into a patty. Make a hole in the center and shape each burger like a doughnut. The burgers can be made up to 2 hours ahead: Refrigerate them, covered, on a plate lined with plastic wrap.
2. Set up the grill for direct grilling (see page 8 for both charcoal and gas) and preheat to high.
3. When ready to cook, brush and oil the grill grate. Place the burgers on the grill and grill until crusty and golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes per side. If you like, brush the buns with melted butter and grill as well. Put the burgers on the buns and serve them at once with your favorite toppings.
MAKES 8 burgers, SERVES 4 to 8
George Cusack of Eugene, Oregon, a visitor to my Web site, barbecuebible.com, describes these as “a cardiac nightmare.” And a tasty nightmare at that. Hot dogs, smoked cheese, pickles, peppered bacon, and barbecue sauce—all rolled up in one heart-stopping package! How can you go wrong?!
4 beef knockwurst or precooked bratwurst (you need a fat hot dog)
4 to 5 ounces smoked cheese, thinly sliced, cut into ½-inch-wide strips
12 thin dill pickle slices
4 strips bacon, preferably pepper bacon
¼ cup of your favorite barbecue sauce (I like a mustard-based sauce)
8 hot dog buns, lightly brushed with melted butter
Mustard, ketchup, relish, or your favorite condiments, for serving
YOU’LL ALSO NEED:
8 pieces butcher’s string (each about 4 inches long)
1. Make 2 lengthwise cuts in each hot dog to remove a slender V-shape strip from the center. The idea is to cut the hot dog almost in half lengthwise, but leave the halves attached at the bottom.
2. Insert cheese strips and pickle slices in the slit. Starting at one end and working on the diagonal, wrap a strip of bacon around each hot dog (the effect will look rather like a candy cane). Tie each hot dog crosswise in two places with butcher’s string, cutting off the ends of the string with scissors.
3. Set up the grill for direct grilling (see page 8 for both charcoal and gas) and preheat to medium-high.
4. When ready to cook, place the hot dogs on the hot grill, parallel to the bars of the grate, so the bars support them. Grill until the bacon and hot dogs are nicely browned on the bottom and sides, 8 to 10 minutes (use tongs to tilt the hot dogs to brown the sides). During the last few minutes of grilling, baste the dogs with barbecue sauce. Note: The dripping bacon fat may cause flare-ups: Simply move the dogs to another section of the grill, away from the fire. While the hot dogs are cooking, toast the buns on the grill for about 1 minute.
5. Transfer the hot dogs and buns to a platter. Snip off and discard the strings. Serve hot dogs on the buns with your choice of condiment(s).