Feef remains the boss in the backyard. When Americans started grilling outside a half century ago, it was always the meat of choice, in the form of steaks when we could afford them, on other days ground into burgers. We’ve slacked since then in our devotion to beef, but it’s still at the top of the priority list when we head outdoors to cook and eat As real smoked barbecue, it challenges pork in popularity, and for flame-kissed grilling, beef knows no rivals among meats.
If you want to stake a claim on a specialty of your own, on something you can do as well as or better than any chef in town, make it steak. You need a hot fire to grill a steak well and a good source of meat, but the rest is a breeze. For special occasions, make a date with one of the superlative cuts from the rib (rib-eyes and prime ribs) or the short loin (porterhouse, T-bone, strip, and tenderloin). If you’re cooking for a crowd at a party, surprise your friends with the deep, brawny flavor of more affordable steaks such as the hanger, skirt, and tri-tip. However you slice it, nothing fires up better than beef.
A bone-in rib-eye, cut from the prime rib, is the king of grilling steaks. The hefty bone contributes a significant nuance of flavor and on the plate makes the elegant cut look like the epitome of elemental ruggedness. We season the meat simply before cooking, but serve it with a rich red wine and butter emulsion sauce, called a beurre rouge in France.
COOKING METHOD | GRILLING
Serves 6 or more
Serious Salt-and-Pepper Rub
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon coarse salt, either kosher or sea salt
2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper, preferably Tellicherry
Six 1- to 1¼-pound bone-in rib-eye steaks, 1¼ inches thick
Red Wine and Butter Sauce
½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-tablespoon pats and chilled
¼ cup minced shallot
2 fresh thyme sprigs, about 4 inches long
2 cups hearty dry red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Bordeaux
1 cup ruby port or more of the dry red wine
Coarse salt, either kosher or sea salt
Stir together the rub ingredients in a small bowl. Rub over all surfaces of the steaks. Let the steaks sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
Begin the sauce, first melting 1 tablespoon of the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallot and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes, then add the thyme. Pour in the wine and port, turn the heat to medium-high, and reduce, really reduce, to ⅓ cup. Remove from the heat.
Fire up the grill for a two-level fire capable of cooking first on high heart (1 to 2 seconds with the hand test) and then on medium (4 to 5 seconds with the hand test).
Grill the steaks uncovered over high heat for 2½ minutes per side. Move the steaks to medium heat, turning them again, and continue grilling for 2½ to 3 minutes per side for medium-rare. Turn the steaks at least 3 times, but more often if juice begins to pool on the surface. Rotate them a half turn each time for crisscross grill marks. Remove the steaks from the grill and cover them loosely with foil while you quickly finish the sauce. Reheat the sauce base just to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low and begin to whisk in the remaining butter, one chilled pat at a time. Add another pat just as you finish incorporating the one before it. This will take just a couple of minutes. Season with salt and remove the thyme stems.
Plate the steaks immediately and serve with the sauce.
Knockout Rib-Eye Border Steaks While the pronounced beefy savor of a rib-eye needs little embellishment, it can handle a bolder dry rub. For example, replace the rub with a mixture of 1 tablespoon ground dried mild red chile, such as New Mexican, 1 tablespoon ground dried ancho chile, 2 teaspoons coarse salt, and 1 teaspoon ground cumin. Skip the fancy butter sauce and instead top sparingly with a few rings of Pickled Red Onions (page 71).
a Knock-Your-Socks-Off Celebration
Basil-Cured Smoked Salmon (page 91)
Knockout Rib-Eye Steaks or Peppered Rib-Eye Steaks with Truffle Vinaigrette (page 355 or 356)
Celery Root Rémoulade (page 478)
Black olive bread from a bakery
Cherry Jam and Almond Cream Turnover Tart (page 524)
A knockout red wine
Here we start with boneless rib-eyes cut especially thick for an impressive presentation. We slice them at the table into serving portions and then dress them with a truffle vinaigrette. Truffle oil loses its distinctive aroma and flavor quickly, so buy it in small bottles. If you can’t find any, you can still dazzle guests by substituting a simple pat of butter or a splash of balsamic vinegar.
COOKING METHOD | GRILLING
Serves 6 or more
2 tablespoons black peppercorns
2 tablespoons coarse salt, either kosher or sea salt
Two l½-pound boneless rib-eye steaks, 2 to 2½ inches thick
Truffle Vinaigrette
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons mild extra virgin olive oil
2 to 3 tablespoons truffle oil
1 tablespoon Banyuls vinegar or red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon minced shallot
If your pepper mill won’t crack pepper coarsely, place the peppercorns in a plastic sandwich bag and smack a few times with a mallet or rolling pin for the desired crunchy texture. Stir together the pepper and salt and rub evenly over the steaks. They will be coated heavily. Let the steaks sit at room temperature for 30 to 40 minutes.
Prepare the truffle vinaigrette, whisking together the oils and vinegar. Use enough of the truffle oil to have a full-bodied truffle taste. Stir in the shallot, cover, and reserve at room temperature.
Fire up the grill for a two-level fire capable of cooking first on high heat (1 to 2 seconds with the hand test) and then on medium (4 to 5 seconds with the hand test).
Grill the steaks over high heat for 4 minutes per side. Move the steaks to medium heat, turning them again, and continue grilling for 2½ to 3 minutes per side for medium-rare. Add an extra minute per side over medium heat if the steaks are closer to 2½ inches thick. Turn the steaks at least 3 times, but more often if juice begins to form on the surface. The steaks should get very dark and crusty on the surface.
Inspectors grade beef on characteristics such as marbling, the interior distribution of fat, to anticipate its flavor, juiciness, and tenderness. The tastiest beef, at least theoretically, should have the highest grade designation. Unlike safety inspections, though, grading is voluntary, done at the behest of the meat packer, and typically requested for meat expected to be one of the top two grades, prime and choice. Very little meat makes prime grade, and most of it goes to restaurants, though savvy meat markets often get some cuts. There’s a fair bit of difference between a steak that just squeaks by as choice and one that’s on the top end of that scale, so take a good look at your options and choose those with the most fine, smooth intramuscular fat marbling. Grading makes a bigger difference in loin and rib cuts for top-quality steaks than for skirt steaks or other less expensive cuts.
Remove the steaks from the grill and let them sit covered for 5 minutes, then slice into portions about ½ inch wide. Give the vinaigrette a good whisk and serve the steaks with about 1 tablespoon of the vinaigrette lavished over each serving.
Peppered Rib-Eye Steaks with Truffle Butter We prefer truffle vinaigrette on this indulgent steak because the vinegar helps to cut the steak’s richness. Plenty of other folks love the luxurious silkiness of truffle butter as a topping. For the butter, melt 6 tablespoons with 1 tablespoon minced shallot As soon as the shallot is softened, about 3 minutes, remove the butter from the heat and stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons truffle oil and about ½ teaspoon red wine vinegar. Salt as you wish. Serve over the warm steaks.
If you have the ability to grill over wood alone, this is the time to do it. Cooking over logs or big hardwood chunks, burned down to coals, elevates even the most special steaks to a higher realm The wood fire also becomes a natural gathering spot for guests.
Prime rib, the apotheosis of roast beef, makes a magnificent smoked centerpiece for a special party. We usually ask our meat market for the first cut, the ribs (generally four) closest to the loin, but the opposite end of the roast can be magnificent, too. Go with your butcher’s opinion on what will be best among the choices available. Given the opulence of the smoked meat, we like to accompany it with a tangy steak sauce that’s a Louisville classic, a mix of other sauces concocted at a tony club by the namesake waiter. You might want to add or substitute Horseradish Rapture (page 62), Béarnaise Cream (page 62), or Red Wine and Butter Sauce (page 355). If you have a choice of woods for smoking, avoid mesquite or hickory in favor of oak or fruitwood.
COOKING METHOD | SMOKING
Serves 8 or more
Serious Salt-and-Pepper Rub
3 tablespoons coarse salt, either kosher or sea salt
1½ tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper, preferably Tellicherry
One 4-rib rib roast (prime rib), about 8 pounds
Henry Bain Sauce
Half 17-ounce jar mango chutney
Half 14-ounce bottle ketchup
Half 12-ounce bottle chili sauce (the ketchup-style condiment)
Half 10-ounce bottle A.1. Original Steak Sauce
Half 10-ounce bottle Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce, or more to taste
Prime Rib Mop, optional
Half 10-ounce bottle A.1. Original Steak Sauce
Half 10-ounce bottle Worcestershire sauce 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Preferably the night before you plan to smoke the rib roast, prepare the rub, mixing it together in a small bowl. Massage the meat well with the mixture, then place in a large zippered plastic bag, seal, and refrigerate.
About 1 hour before you plan to smoke, take the roast from the refrigerator, unwrap, and let it sit at room temperature.
Prepare the sauce, mixing the ingredients together in a bowl. Reserve at room temperature.
Fire up the smoker, bringing the temperature to 200°F to 250°F.
If you plan to use the mop, combine the ingredients with 1 cup water in a saucepan. Keep warm over low heat.
Transfer the prime rib to the smoker, fattier side up. Take the internal temperature of the meat, deep in the roast’s center, with an instant-read thermometer. The temperature should be nearing 40°F, considered the high end of the safe range for beef to sit out unrefrigerated. Cook the roast immediately. (If the temperature of the roast remains more than a couple of degrees under 40°F, plan to extend the cooking time by a few minutes.)
Plan on a total cooking time of about 2½ to 3 hours, mopping every 30 minutes or as appropriate for your style of smoker. Check the internal temperature, deep in the roast’s center, with an instant-read thermometer after about 2 hours, to gauge the rest of the cooking time. You don’t want to overcook a piece of meat this special. We prefer to take the roast off when it is in the rare to medium-rare range, 120°F to 130°F. We wouldn’t advise cooking it beyond 140°F, on the high side of medium.
Tent the roast with foil and let sit for at least 20 minutes. Carve into thick slices, cutting down between the ribs. Pass the sauce separately, using it sparingly.
time of about 1½ hours. After 30 minutes, check to see whether the surface is well seared. If not, continue cooking for several more minutes at 450°F. Rotate the roast a half turn for even cooking. Reduce the heat to keep it between 325°F and 350°F. (On a gas grill, simply turn down the heat; on a charcoal grill, close the vents and spread out the charcoal as necessary.) Continue cooking for another hour, then check the internal temperature. Cook for a few minutes longer, as needed to reach the rare to medium-rare range, 120°F to 130°F.
Grill-Roasted Prime Rib with Henry Bain Sauce Eliminate the mop. Prepare the grill for covered grill roasting, creating a hot fire on about one half of the grill and leaving the other half unheated. Place an inexpensive portable oven thermometer (available from any kitchen supply store) on the unheated portion of the cooking grate, close enough to the front of the grill so you will be able to read it. Don’t rely on your grill’s built-in lid thermometer, because you want to measure the temperature only on the unheated side. Close the grill and bring the temperature to approximately 450°F. (If you have a low-powered gas grill that won’t reach the ideal 450°F roasting temperature, you can still cook the meat in standard oven fashion, adding extra time to the cooking process.) Transfer the roast to the 450°F portion of the grill and close the cover. Plan on a total cooking cooking time of about 1½ hours. After 30 minutes, check to see whether the surface is well seared. If not, continue cooking for several more minutes at 450°F. Rotate the roast a half turn for even cooking. Reduce the heat to keep it between 325°F and 350°F. (On a gas grill, simply turn down the heat; on a charcoal grill, close the vents and spread out the charcoal as necessary.) Continue cooking for another hour, then check the internal temperature. Cook for a few minutes longer, as needed to reach the rare to medium-rare range, i20°F to i30°F.
With most prime cuts of beef, pork, or game that go into the smoker, we recommend searing in a skillet or over a hot grill before cooking them with smoke. We don’t bother in the case of a large rib roast. Because of the size of the cut, it stays in the smoker long enough to brown and crisp on the surface, unlike small steaks or chops, which otherwise can come out rather gray and uncrusted in their more limited exposure to heat and smoke.
Dad’s Birthday Dinner
Caesar salad
Strip Steaks with Caramelized Shallot Butter
Buffalo Rings (page 433)
Stuffed Spicy Bell Peppers (page 414)
Pineapple upside-down cake
Fine steaks from the short loin, such as wonderfully marbled strip steaks, also need little advance seasoning. Sometimes labeled Kansas City, New York, or Delmonico, strips are both tender and hearty in flavor. We finish these at the end with a flourish of butter loaded with caramelized shallots.
COOKING METHOD | GRILLING
Beef improves over a few weeks of aging as enzymes in the meat break down the muscle tissue. The common technique is wet aging, accomplished with the steak vacuum-packed in plastic The process keeps the meat from shrinking in size and weight and produces mild, tender steaks. Dry aging is preferred by many connoisseurs for its deeper, more complex taste, which some detractors describe as too strong or even gamy. In dry aging, the meat is hung uncovered, surrounded by cold air, so that it dehydrates a little and turns browner in color.
Serves 6 or more
1 tablespoon coarse salt, either kosher or sea salt, or more to taste Six
14- to 16-ounce boneless strip steaks, about 1 to 1¼ inches thick
Caramelized Shallot Butter
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
¾ cup chopped shallot
½ teaspoon sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons snipped fresh chives
Rub the salt over all surfaces of the steaks. Let the steaks sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
Prepare the butter. Warm the oil in a small sauté pan over medium-low heat. Stir in the shallot and sauté for 5 minutes. Sprinkle in the sugar and continue cooking for about 10 more minutes, until the shallot is very soft and toasty brown. Add the butter and stir occasionally until melted. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce. Keep warm.
Fire up the grill for a two-level fire capable of cooking first on high heart (1 to 2 seconds with the hand test) and then on medium (4 to 5 seconds with the hand test).
Grill the steaks over high heat for 2½ minutes per side. Move the steaks to medium heat, turning them again, and continue grilling for 2½ to 3 minutes per side for medium-rare. Turn the steaks at least 3 times, more often if juice begins to form on the surface. Rotate a half turn each time for crisscross grill marks.
Plate the steaks. Mix the chives into the melted butter, spoon it over the steaks, and serve.
Strip Steaks with Anchovy Butter Eliminate the shallot butter. Melt 1 tablespoon unsalted butter in a skillet and sauté 1 minced large shallot until limp, about 3 minutes. Add 7 tablespoons softened butter and stir until melted. Mix in 4 to 6 finely chopped (nearly mashed) anchovy fillets and 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley.
It’s important to sear a steak well for maximum flavor, but don’t leave it too long on a blistering fire. If you burn the surface rather than crusting it, your meat and your investment go up in flames. Keep track of the timing and, most critical of all, watch your steaks and anything else you put on a hot fire.
Strip Steaks with Peppery Garlic Butter Eliminate the shallot butter. Sauté 2 teaspoons minced garlic in 1 tablespoon unsalted butter just until soft and very lightly colored, about 3 minutes. Add 7 tablespoons softened butter and stir until melted. Mix in at least 1½ teaspoons cracked black pepper or more to taste.
Strip Steaks with Herb Butter Eliminate the shallot butter. Mince ¼ cup of a single fresh herb or a compatible combo and mix into 8 tablespoons (1 stick) melted unsalted butter. Good choices include chives, thyme, cilantro, tarragon, dill, lovage, and parsley.
The late Rosalea Murphy, a great restaurateur, created this steak at Santa Fe’s Pink Adobe, naming it for a frequent patron. Her family still serves the magnificent strip the same way, rubbing it with Char Crust seasoning (charcrust.com, 800-311-9884), then grilling it expertly and topping it with a green chile sauce and mushrooms. This is our take on Rosalea’s creation and our tribute to her indomitable spirit
COOKING METHOD | GRILLING
Serves 6 or more
Six 14- to 16-ounce boneless strip steaks, about 1 to 1¼ inches thick
3 tablespoons Char Crust Original Rub, Smoked Salt (page 34), or commercial smoked salt, or more to taste
Green Chile Sauce
3 tablespoons flavorful olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 cups chopped roasted mild to medium green chile, preferably New Mexican or Anaheim
¾ cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro, optional
1 teaspoon salt, either kosher or sea salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
12 large button mushrooms, thinly sliced
Rub the steaks with the Char Crust and let them sit at room temperature.
Prepare the sauce. Warm the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and cook for about 10 minutes, to blend the flavors and reduce the liquid so that the sauce is not watery. Keep the sauce warm.
Warm the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the mushrooms. Cover and sweat for about 5 minutes. Uncover and sauté until the liquid has pretty well evaporated and the mushrooms are quite soft, about 5 minutes more. Keep the mushroom mixture warm.
Fire up the grill for a two-level fire capable of cooking first on high heat (1 to 2 seconds with the hand test) and then on medium (4 to 5 seconds with the hand test).
Grill the steaks over high heat for 2½ minutes per side. Move the steaks to medium heat turning them again, and continue grilling for 2½ to 3 minutes per side for medium-rare. Turn the steaks at least 3 times, but more often if juice begins to form on the surface. Rotate a half turn each time for crisscross grill marks.
Transfer each steak to a plate and top with a portion of the mushrooms and butter, then with a portion of the green chile sauce. Serve immediately.
Starting with extra-thick steaks, such as this porterhouse, gives you an optimum combination of heavily crusted surface and tender, juicy interior. Slice them into serving portions at the table, using a cutting board with some heft and a good carving knife. Start by slicing the strip section away from the bone, as close to the bone as you can get. Then cut the tenderloin section away from the bone. To serve, carve the meat across the grain into thick portions about ½ inch in width. You’ll want a fork to hold the meat in place while you cut, but it doesn’t need to be anything special or matching.
At Peter Luger’s in Brooklyn, perhaps the planet’s finest steakhouse, you order porterhouse or you go hungry. The only question is how many portions of the colossal steak you want for the table. Our blue cheese sauce is optional here, just a little frosting on this flashy beefcake.
COOKING METHOD | GRILLING
Serves 6 or more
Coarse salt, either kosher or sea salt
2 porterhouse steaks, cut at least
2 inches and preferably 2½ inches thick
Blue Cheese and Ale Sauce
One 12-ounce bottle pale ale or other ale-style beer
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ pound creamy blue cheese, such as Maytag blue, Gorgonzola, or Roquefort, crumbled
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Pinch of coarse salt, either kosher or sea salt
Salt the steaks and let them sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
Fire up the grill for a two-level fire capable of cooking first on high heat (1 to 2 seconds with the hand test) and then on medium (4 to 5 seconds with the hand test).
Prepare the sauce, heating the beer in a saucepan until just simmering. Stir in the butter and blue cheese until melted. If the cheese doesn’t melt evenly, puree the sauce with a blender (an immersion blender, if you have it, will save pouring it out of the pan and back in). Stir in the lemon juice and salt, then keep the sauce warm over low heat.
Arrange the steaks on the grill so that the smaller, more tender section of each steak is angled away from the hottest part of the fire. Grill the steaks over high heat for 4 minutes per side. Move the steaks to medium heat, turning them again, and continue grilling for 2½ to 3 minutes per side for medium-rare. Add an extra minute per side over medium heat if the steaks are closer to 2½ inches thick. Turn the steaks at least 3 times, more often if juice begins to form on the surface. The steaks should get very dark and crusty on the surface.
Let the steaks sit covered loosely with foil for 5 minutes, then slice into portions about ½ inch wide. Serve with the sauce over or under the slices of porterhouse.
Porterhouse Steaks with Porcini Butter If blue cheese is not what you had in mind today, top the steak with rich, deeply flavored Porcini Butter (page 65) in place of the blue cheese and ale sauce.
A Tuscan culinary treasure, bistecca alla fiorentina is usually a giant T-bone grilled over wood, topped with extra virgin olive oil, and served on a bed of fresh, peppery arugula. We like to add an Italian salsa on the side, and we often substitute a thicker porterhouse for the T-bone, but just ignore those suggestions if you’re tight on tradition.
COOKING METHOD | GRILLING
Serves 6
Coarse salt, either kosher or sea salt
2 porterhouse steaks, cut at least 2 inches thick, or 4 T-bone steaks, cut at least 1¼ inches thick
Salsa Cruda, optional
2 large red-ripe tomatoes, chopped
About 1 tablespoon flavorful olive oil
1 to 2 tablespoons drained and rinsed capers, chopped if large
Coarse salt, either kosher or sea salt
Balsamic vinegar, optional
3 tablespoons torn fresh basil
6 to 8 cups lightly packed arugula, gangly stems discarded
12 lemon wedges
Your very best extra virgin olive oil, one that’s a bit astringent and green if available
Flaky salt, such as Maldon or French fleur de sel
Freshly cracked black pepper
If you’ve ever eaten beef in Mexico or South America and thought it tasted somehow different, it likely fed on grass in a field rather finishing its life in a feed lot eating corn. The taste is less sweet, more natural, and beefy, and it seems to be returning to the United States as concerns increase over mad-cow disease and the survival of small-scale sustainable agriculture. Grass-fed animals graze on pastureland, don’t eat manufactured feed containing animal parts, and usually aren’t pumped with antibiotics or growth hormones. If you want to try it, check first at your farmers’ market or stores that specialize in natural foods. If you can’t find the beef locally, it can be ordered from Heritage Foods (heritagefoodsusa.com, 212-980-6603).
Generously salt the steaks, then cover loosely and let sit at room temperature for 30 to 45 minutes.
Prepare the salsa if you’re serving it, Halve the tomatoes and squeeze out the watery liquid. Chop the tomatoes and place them into a medium bowl. Stir in enough oil just to make them glisten. Stir in the capers, taste, and add salt as needed. If the tomatoes don’t have much acid, a dribble or two of vinegar may be in order. Stir in the basil and reserve at room temperature.
Fire up the grill for a two-level fire capable of cooking first on high heat (1 to 2 seconds with the hand test) and then on medium (4 to 5 seconds with the hand test).
Arrange the steaks on the grill so that the smaller, more tender section of each steak is angled away from the hottest part of the fire. For porterhouses, grill the steaks over high heat for 4 minutes per side. Move the steaks to medium heat, turning them again, and continue grilling for 2½ to 3 minutes per side for medium-rare. Add an extra minute per side over medium heat if the steaks are closer to 2½ inches thick. For smaller T-bones, grill uncovered over high heat for 2½ to 3 minutes per side. Move the steaks to medium heat, turning them again, and continue grilling for 2½ to 3 minutes per side for medium-rare. In either case, turn the steaks at least 3 times, more often if juice begins to form on the surface. The steaks should get very dark and crusty on the surface.
Let the steaks sit covered loosely with foil for 5 minutes, then slice into portions about ½ inch wide. Arrange a bed of arugula on a platter, place the steak slices over it, and ring with the lemons. After passing the steak platter, let guests dress their own portion of meat and arugula with a drizzle of oil and a scattering of flaky salt and pepper. Serve the salsa on the side.
Chateaubriand, or filet mignon roast, is cut from the thickest portion of beef tenderloin, a section generally a good 3 inches in diameter. Noted more for its extraordinary tenderness than its inherent flavor, the large steak gets new dimensions of taste from plank roasting. The wood contributes a light smoke tang, and the stationary cooking method provides maximum retention of a hearty dry rub. Because of the relatively long time on the grill, use a hefty plank at least ½ inch thick, soak it for a full 2 hours before starting, and spray it with water a couple of times while cooking to make sure it doesn’t go up in flames.
COOKING METHOD | PLANK ROASTING
1 plank, preferably cedar or maple, ½ to 1 inch thick and long enough for the beef but short enough to fit inside your grill
Mexican Coffee Rub
2 tablespoons coarsely ground coffee
2 tablespoons finely chopped nuts, such as hazelnuts or pecans
1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1½teaspoons coarse salt, either kosher or sea salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
One 3-pound chateaubriand beef tenderloin roast, about 3 inches in diameter
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
Soak the plank in water for about 2 hours. Weight it down if it wants to float. Fill a spray bottle with water and place it beside the grill.
Prepare the rub, combining the ingredients in a small bowl.
Coat the surface of the chateaubriand with oil and then pat it generously with as much rub as will stick. Let the beef sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
Fire up the grill, bringing the temperature to high (1 to 2 seconds with the hand test).
Transfer the beef to the plank. Place the plank in the center of the grill and close the grill cover, to hold in the smoke from the wood. Plan on a total cooking time of about 25 to 30 minutes. Cook for 14 to 16 minutes over high heat, opening after 5 and 10 minutes to spray the plank lightly with water (try to avoid spraying the meat), then closing the grill quickly again. You should see a light plume of smoke emitted during the whole cooking process. If you see a billowing dark cloud emerging, or any other sign that the board is burning instead of smoldering, open the grill carefully and douse any flames with the spray bottle.
Turn off or shut down the heat and let the beef sit in the covered grill about 10 to 15 minutes longer, so it can cook further from the residual heat. The plank helps shield the beef from the heat, making the cooking time longer than if you were cooking it directly. The smoke will darken the surface further, and the high heat will crisp it nicely, an effect enhanced by the coarse spices. You don’t want to overcook a piece of meat this special. We prefer to take the chateaubriand off when it is in the rare to medium-rare range, 120°F to 130°F, checked with an instant-read thermometer stuck deep in the meat.
Use a pair of washable heatproof mitts to remove the plank with the beef from the grill. Transfer the plank to an upside-down baking sheet placed on the work surface nearest the grill. Spray the plank again lightly to help it cool. The bottom of the plank will be sooty, so be careful where you place it, even after it’s cooled.
Definitely show off your chateaubriand on the plank before dividing it up. The easiest way to serve is to bring the plates to the plank. If you want to serve the beef at the table, cover the baking sheet with a washable large cloth napkin or other fabric that can be cleaned easily. Place the beef-topped plank over the napkin and arrange the whole thing in the middle of the table to serve.
Cool the plank thoroughly and rinse it off before you store it or toss it away.
Plank-Roasted Chateaubriand with Lemon Pepper Replace the Mexican Coffee Rub with Vibrant Lemon Pepper (page 23), a homemade version of a spice rack favorite. Use a bit lighter coat of the lemon pepper, about ⅓ cup.
A heavy dose of barbecue smoke gives a meek tenderloin a sassy new attitude. A healthy amount of garlic aids the transformation.
COOKING METHOD | BARBECUE SMOKING
Garlic Rub
2 tablespoons minced roasted garlic
1 tablespoon coarse salt, either kosher or sea salt
2 teaspoons flavorful olive oil
One 2- to 2¼-pound piece beef
Tenderloin Mop, optional
1½ cups beef stock
2 tablespoons flavorful olive oil
1 tablespoon flavorful olive oil
Combine the rub ingredients in a small bowl and massage it all over the tenderloin, shoving it into every little nook. Loosely cover the tenderloin and let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
Fire up the smoker, bringing the temperature to 180°F to 220°F.
If you plan to baste the tenderloin, combine the mop ingredients in a saucepan and warm over low heat.
Warm a large heavy skillet over high heat. When very hot, pour in the tablespoon of oil and swirl it around. Add the tenderloin and sear quickly on all sides.
Transfer the tenderloin to the smoker and cook for about 1¼ to 1½ hours. Mop the meat every 20 minutes in a wood-burning pit or as appropriate for your style of smoker. The tenderloin is ready when rare to medium-rare, 120°F to 130°F. Let the meat sit for about 10 minutes, slice thin, and serve.
Drunk and Dirty Tenderloin When we created this flippantly named steak a dozen years ago, we had no idea it would become one of our signature dishes. If you have a copy of our Smoke & Spice (revised edition, 2003), you’ve already got the recipe, but we’ll repeat for the less fortunate. Drunk in the name comes from a boozy marinade made of cup bourbon, 1 cup low-sodium soy sauce, ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, and 4 minced garlic cloves. Let the tenderloin sit in this for at least 4 hours and up to overnight. Drain off the marinade into a saucepan and boil vigorously for several minutes. If you plan to baste the meat, pour out half of the liquid and mix it with ½ cup water and 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, keeping the mixture warm. Continue boiling down the rest of the marinade until reduced by about one-fourth and save it for a sauce. Next comes Dirty, the dry rub of 2 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper and 1 teaspoon white pepper. Cook and mop as in the main recipe. Then serve with a bit of the reduced marinade sauce on individual slices.
This makes a splendid dinner but can be put together quickly after a workday. Wasabi, the pungent Japanese horseradish, works as well with beef as it does with sushi.
COOKING METHOD | GRILLING
Serves 6
Wasabi-Scallion Mayonnaise
1 cup mayonnaise
3 to 4 tablespoons minced scallion
2 to 3 teaspoons wasabi paste, or more to taste
Six 7- to 8-ounce beef tenderloin medallions (filets mignons), about 1¼ inches thick
About 1 cup store-bought teriyaki sauce
Prepare the mayonnaise, combining the ingredients in a small bowl. Refrigerate until serving time.
Let the medallions sit at room temperature for 20 to 25 minutes. If one or more is misshapen, tie kitchen twine around the “waist” of the medallion’s circumference, to coax it into a more attractive round. Cook with the twine in place, removing it before serving.
Fire up the grill for a two-level fire capable of cooking first on high heat (1 to 2 seconds with the hand test) and then on medium heat (4 to 5 seconds with the hand test).
Grill the medallions uncovered over high heat for 1 to 1½ minutes per side. Begin basting them with the teriyaki sauce right away. Move the steaks to medium heat, turning them again, and continue grilling for 3½ to 4 minutes more per side for medium-rare doneness. Turn at least 3 times while over medium heat, basting regularly with the teriyaki sauce and turning more often if juice begins to form on the surface. Serve immediately, with a dollop of mayonnaise on top of or beside each medallion.
Here’s something no one else will be serving. An American classic, but now rarely seen, a carpetbagger steak bulges with a stuffing of briny oysters. In this skewered variation on the theme, we add bacon to the mix as well, and to keep it from burning, we cut back slightly on the normal cooking temperature for steak. The kebabs are a little on the brown side, so serve them with something bright, like tomatoes or a bed of tricolored orzo.
COOKING METHOD | GRILLING
a Special Weeknight Dinner Party
Salmon-Caviar Dip (page 95) with cucumber rounds
Teriyaki Tenderloin with Wasabi-Scallion Mayonnaise
Grilled Eggplant Steaks (page 427)
Asian Rice Salad (page 482)
Berries with Champagne Syrup (page 517)
an Old New Orleans Dinner Party
Sazeracs
Steamed artichokes and drawn butter with a sprinkle of Cajun seasoning
Grilled Tenderloin and Oyster Kebabs
Sliced tomatoes
Creamed Spinach (page 497)
Praline Bars (page 521) or bananas Foster
Serves 6
2 pounds beef tenderloin, cut into 1- to l¼-inch cubes
18 medium to large shucked oysters
1 to 2 tablespoons New Orleans Rub and Boil (page 30), Cajun Zydeco Rub and Boil (page 29), or other Cajun seasoning blend
9 thin strips bacon, halved, cooked until limp with a few brown spots, drippings reserved
About 6 metal skewers, 12 inches long
2 to 3 tablespoons butter, preferably unsalted
Fire up the grill, bringing the temperature to medium-high (3 seconds with the hand test).
Toss the tenderloin cubes and the oysters with the dry rub. Thread a cube of tenderloin onto a skewer. Wrap an oyster with a piece of bacon and thread it on the skewer, securing the bacon as you spear it, Add a pair of beef cubes, another wrapped oyster, and so on until the ingredients are used. Using 12-inch skewers, we end up with approximately 6 tenderloin cubes and 3 wrapped oysters per kebab.
In the same skillet that the bacon was cooked, add the butter to the drippings and melt over the side of the grill or on the stovetop.
Grill the kebabs uncovered for 5 to 8 minutes, turning on all sides, until the tenderloin cubes are brown, the oysters cooked, and the bacon crisp. Brush or drizzle with butter as the kebabs come off the grill. Serve right away.
Sirloin comes from the section just behind the short loin, a serious step back in tenderness and price but a good value for everyday eating. Treated right to compensate for its minor shortcomings, it makes a good party cut when you want to entertain without going for broke. If you like more zip, opt for the Spicy Korean Barbecue Sauce (page 57).
COOKING METHOD | GRILLING
Serves 6 or more
Korean Marinade
¾ cup soy sauce, Korean if available
¼ cup dry sherry or sake
2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
Six 1- to 1¼-inch-thick boneless top sirloin steaks, about 1 pound each
Korean Barbecue Sauce
¾ cup soy sauce, Korean if available
¾ cup packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
¼ cup minced scallion
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
Sesame seeds, toasted, optional
Mix the marinade ingredients together. You’ll end up with a rather soupy mixture, something of a cross between a marinade and a paste. Smear it over the steaks, seal the steaks in plastic bags, and refrigerate for at least an hour and up to 8 hours.
Prepare the sauce. Combine the soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, and ginger in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir occasionally, until the sugar dissolves, then mix in the scallion and remove from the heat. Stir in the sesame oil. Use warm or at room temperature.
Fire up the grill for a two-level fire capable of cooking first on high heat (1 to 2 seconds with the hand test) and then on medium heat (4 to 5 seconds with the hand test).
Drain the steaks and let them sit at room temperature about 20 minutes. Blot the surfaces dry with paper towels before cooking.
Grill the steaks uncovered over high heat for 2½ to 5 minutes per side. Move the steaks to medium heat, then turn them again and continue grilling for about 2½ minutes per side for medium-rare. The steaks should be turned at least 3 times, more often if juice begins to form on the surface. Arrange on plates, then scatter with the sesame seeds if desired and serve with the sauce on the side. Cut into thin slices across the grain for greatest tenderness.
Korean Beef and Lettuce Rolls Prepare just 4 steaks. Slice the steaks thinly across the grain before serving, then arrange on a platter with red leaf or butter lettuce leaves and julienned scallion. Accompany with the barbecue sauce, Spicy Korean Barbecue Sauce (page 57), or Korean Smearing Sauce (page 57). Spread the lettuce with sauce, add a couple of slices of beef and a couple of scallion threads, and fold up to eat.
The Santa Maria Valley on California’s central coast is so renowned for this steak specialty that the chamber of commerce has copyrighted the dish and the barbecue menu that features it. The origins probably date back two centuries to vaquero cookouts on the Spanish colonial ranchos of the area. Since locals cook their tri-tip over the red oak that grows there, we like to use oak chunks or chips in our home version. If you haven’t grilled tri-tip before, see the sidebar about it on page 165 for some tips.
COOKING METHOD | GRILLING AND COVERED GRILL SMOKE ROASTING
Serves 6 or more
1 tri-tip steak or other bottom sirloin, about 2 to 2¼ pounds, 2 inches thick
Salt and freshly ground black pepper Garlic salt
2 to 3 cups wood chunks or chips, soaked
Santa Maria Salsa
Two 14- to 15-ounce cans diced tomatoes (one with green chiles if you wish), one drained
½ cup chopped roasted mild green chiles
2 medium celery ribs, minced
1 small onion, minced
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 to 2 teaspoons white vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Garlic salt
Splash or 2 of Tabasco or other hot sauce, optional
About 30 minutes before you plan to grill, sprinkle the tri-tip lightly with salt and pepper and then sprinkle on a little garlic salt, enough so you know it’s there. Let the meat sit uncovered at room temperature.
Fire up the grill for a two-level fire capable of cooking first on high heat (1 to 2 seconds with the hand test) and then on medium heat (4 to 5 seconds with the hand test).
On a charcoal grill, toss the wood chips directly over the coals. If your gas grill has a smoking box, place the chips in it. If not, seal the chips loosely in a foil package, poking about a dozen small holes in it, and place on the grill.
Grill the steak uncovered over high heat for about 6 minutes, starting fat side down and turning at least 3 times. Move the steak or adjust the fire to medium heat. Close the grill and cook for about 12 to 15 minutes more, turning the steak once about midway. The tri-tip should be darkly crusty on the surface. Cover loosely with foil and let sit for 15 minutes for the juices to redistribute.
While the meat sits, mix up the salsa in a medium bowl. Combine everything, adding enough salt, pepper, and garlic salt to season it rather assertively. Splash in a bit of hot sauce to brighten the salsa if you like, but you’re not really adding it for heat.
Slice off the layer of fat from the top of the tri-tip. Cut the meat diagonally across the grain into thin slices. Serve hot with a generous amount of salsa.
a Classic and Official Santa Maria Barbecue
Santa Maria Tri-Tip
Mixed salad greens tossed with vinaigrette
Pinquitos, Santa Maria Style (page 495)
Macaroni and cheese
Garlic-butter-dipped supermarket French bread, toasted lightly
Strawberry shortcake
Cruise through the center of Santa Maria on almost any Saturday and sniff the air. You can follow your nose to the closest spot to get a plate of the local specialty. The bottom sirloin or tri-tip is considered de rigueur for home cookouts, but restaurants, caterers, and hosts of big barbecues will often use much larger sections of the more tender top sirloin, referred to locally as top block. Early Spanish settlers brought cattle to the area initially, but the valley later saw influxes of Portuguese, Japanese, Swiss, and Basques, any of whom might be found cooking the traditional barbecue today. Billy Ruiz, a striking fellow with a gargantuan mustache, caters many events and even takes the tradition overseas on request (cowboyflavor.com, 805-344-3210). Like other professional local cooks, Billy grills his prime sirloin over red oak in a specially crafted pit, with a crank and pulley raising and lowering the grate to control the cooking temperature.
Three flat and somewhat tough muscles from the breast excel in beefy taste: the common flank steak, the less common skirt steak, and the rather rare hanger steak. All come out quite tender and richly flavorful if you grill them quickly over a blazing fire to no further than medium-rare, then cut them across the grain. The cuts used to be dirt cheap, but as savvy shoppers have discovered them and demand has risen, so has the price. We still think they’re a good value, ounce for ounce in satisfaction. Hanger steak, sometimes called hanging tender, is a single strip of meat that comes from near the diaphragm and the loin ribs. It’s a popular French bistro cut, called onglet, and we developed this version for the culinary-adventure groups that we lead in southwestern France. Olive tapenade from that area frequently includes walnuts, a good complement to the robust flavor of the steak.
COOKING METHOD | GRILLING
Serves 6 or more
Olive and Walnut Tapenade
¾ cup chopped toasted walnuts
¾ cup pitted green olives
¼ cup pitted black olives
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 to 2 teaspoons Armagnac or brandy
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 to 2 anchovy fillets
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 beef hanger steaks, about 1 pound each
2 tablespoons flavorful olive oil
Flaky salt, such as Maldon or French fleur de sel
Freshly ground black pepper
To prepare the tapenade, combine the walnuts, both olives, butter, Armagnac, mustard, and anchovy in a food processor. Chop well. With the processor running, pour in the oil in a steady stream until you have a thick but spoonable mixture. (The tapenade can be made a day or two ahead if you wish. Refrigerate and bring back to room temperature before serving.)
Fire up the grill, bringing the heat to high (1 to 2 seconds with the hand test).
With a sharp knife, butterfly each steak along one of its longer edges and open it like a book. Press down along the seam to flatten it to about Mi-inch thickness. Massage the steaks with the oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Grill over high heat for about 2 minutes per side, until medium-rare. Carve the steaks across the grain. Serve immediately with tablespoons of the tapenade.
Grilled Hanger Steak with Banyuls Brown Butter Omit the tapenade. For the brown butter, melt 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook until the butter turns a nutty brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons of French Banyuls vinegar and salt to taste. Serve over the steaks when done.
Treat your wallet to affordable steaks, several of which seldom reached meat markets until recent years. The hanger is still sometimes called a butcher’s cut, because butchers took home the one-per-cow steak for themselves. Ranchers in the Southwest used to give away the skirt to their cowhands. The flat iron is one of the newer cuts, from the chuck top blade. Unlike other steaks from the same section, they’re cut vertically, eliminating the strip of gristle common to that meat. Flap meat is another newcomer, sometimes marketed under the more appealing French term bavette. If you’re not seeing these cuts in your stores, let the meat department know you’re interested.
Grilled Hanger Steak with Rich Mayonnaise Substitute dollops of the olive oil-enhanced Rich Mayonnaise (page 65) for the tapenade.
Hanger steak may be our favorite fast food, on and off the grill quicker than you can say “a Quarter Pounder with cheese.” Here we sear it with commercially available Moroccan chile paste, sold in small jars or tubes.
COOKING METHOD | GRILLING
Serves 6 or more
2 beef hanger steaks, about 1 pound each
2 tablespoons flavorful olive oil
About ½ cup store-bought harissa
Coarse salt, either kosher or sea salt
Fire up the grill, bringing the heat to high (1 to 2 seconds with the hand test).
With a sharp knife, butterfly each steak along one of its longer edges and open it like a book. Press down along the seam to flatten it to about ½ inch. Massage the steaks with the oil, then with about 2 tablespoons of the harissa. Sprinkle with salt.
Grill over high heat for about 2 minutes per side, until medium-rare. Carve the steak across the grain. Serve immediately, spooning at least a couple of teaspoons of harissa over or beside each portion of steak.
The broad surfaces of flank steak provide ample opportunity for adding flavor, paprika in this case. Because the seasoning is so integral to the dish, make sure you’re using fresh, sweet (rather than hot) smoked paprika.
COOKING METHOD | GRILLING
Serves 8
Paprika Salt-and-Pepper Rub
1 tablespoon smoked sweet paprika
1 tablespoon coarse salt, either kosher or sea salt
1½ teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper, preferably Tellicherry
Two 1¼-pound flank steaks
Paprika Butter
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 teaspoons smoked sweet paprika
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon sherry vinegar or fresh lemon juice
Prepare the dry rub, combining the ingredients in a small bowl. Massage the rub over the steaks and let the steaks sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
To prepare the paprika butter, melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat, stir in the paprika and garlic, and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the vinegar, and keep warm.
Fire up the grill for a two-level fire capable of cooking first on high heat (1 to 2 seconds with the hand test) and then on medium heat (4 to 5 seconds with the hand test).
Consider hosting a salsa-tasting party. You provide chips, warm tortillas, and simply seasoned grilled flank or skirt steaks. Ask guests to bring one or two of their favorite salsas, perhaps a handmade and a store-bought version. Serve a side or two, one cooling, like a salad, another creamy, like corn pudding, and then a dessert of your choice. If you want, set up a festive election, letting your guests vote on the best salsa, or the most creative, or whatever strikes your fancy.
Grill the steaks uncovered over high heat for 2½ to 3 minutes per side. Move the steak to medium heat, turning it again, and continue grilling for 2½ to 3 minutes per side for medium-rare. The steaks should be turned at least 3 times, more often if juice begins to form on the surface.
Let the steaks sit loosely covered with foil for about 5 minutes, then slice thinly across the grain and serve with butter dripped over the slices.
Grilled Flank Steak with Pickapeppa Mayonnaise Skip the dry rub and instead coat the steaks with about 2 tablespoons commercial Pickapeppa sauce. Grill as directed. Skip the butter and instead serve hot or chilled with ¾ cup mayonnaise stirred together with 2 tablespoons or more of Pickapeppa sauce. Scatter some scallion rings on top for a little color.
If we make one dish for entertaining more often than any other, it’s these fajitas, which we usually cook over a wood fire on our Tuscan grill. Try diligently to find skirt steak for the preparation, because it’s the original, authentic meat for both fajitas and their Mexican forerunner, a cowboy dish called arracheras. Since you grill everything together, the trimmings as well as the steak, the cooking is a party in itself.
COOKING METHOD | GRILLING
Serves 6 or more
2 skirt steaks, 1 to 1¼ pounds each, trimmed of membranes and excessive fat
Fajita Marinade
One 12-ounce bottle or can beer, preferably medium-bodied
Juice of 3 large limes
Juice of 1 large orange
1 tablespoon Tabasco or other chipotle hot sauce
Fajita Dry Rub
1½ tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon coarse salt, either kosher or sea salt
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons packed brown sugar
1 large red onion, cut into 6 to 8 thick wedges
2 red bell peppers
2 poblano chiles or other fresh mild to medium green chiles
Vegetable oil
Coarse salt, either kosher or sea salt
Guacamole
Roasted Tomatillo Salsa (page 66), Chilean Tomato Salsa (page 68), or other salsa or salsas
1 dozen flour tortillas, warmed
Cut each steak in half to create 2 shorter, more manageable sections of sashlike meat, Place in a large zippered plastic bag. Combine the marinade ingredients and pour over the steaks. Seal and toss back and forth to coat evenly. Refrigerate for 30 to 60 minutes, then drain and discard the marinade.
* Outside of the Southwest you don’t find skirt steak in every supermarket Many towns across the country, however, now have Mexican or Latin American carnicerías, which could turn out to be your best source for the meat
* Skirt is much longer, thinner, looser grained, and well marbled than flank steak, the commonly suggested substitute in fajitas.
* If you’ve developed a relationship with a good butcher or meat cutter who has a regular supply of skirt ask for the outside skirt, a touch more substantial than the inside counterpart
* Season skirt assertively, though don’t let it marinate for hours.
* Grill skirt a little differently than a strip or rib-eye, just on high heat, because of its thinness.
* Dont cook past medium, and preferably less, then slice across the grain and on the diagonal to serve.
Let the steaks sit uncovered at room temperature while you prepare the grill. Dab any moisture from the surface with a paper towel. Stir together the dry rub ingredients and massage them into the meat.
Fire up the grill for a two-level fire capable of cooking on high (1 to 2 seconds with the hand test) and medium heat (4 to 5 seconds with the hand test) at the same time.
Run a toothpick through each onion wedge to hold it together. Coat the bell peppers, chiles, and onion wedges with oil. Arrange them over medium heat and grill until tender, 8 to 12 minutes for the chiles, 12 to 15 minutes for the bell peppers and onion wedges. Turn on all sides and take them off as they are done. Transfer the peppers and chiles to a plastic bag and close to let them steam, loosening the skin. When cool enough to handle, pull off any loose charred skin. Slice the peppers and chiles into thin strips and trim the onion stems and roots and remove the toothpicks. Toss the vegetables together. Sprinkle with salt and keep warm.
Once the vegetables have had a few minutes on the grill, start cooking the steaks. Grill the steaks over high heat for 3 to 4 minutes per side if under ½ inch in thickness, 4 to 5 minutes per side for ½ inch or more in thickness, until medium-rare. Turn the steaks once but more often if juice pools on the surface. Let the steaks rest, covered loosely with foil, for about 5 minutes before slicing, so that the juices are redistributed.
With a knife at a slight diagonal, cut the steaks across the grain into thin finger-length strips. To serve, pile the steak strips and vegetables on a large platter and offer bowls of guacamole and salsa and a napkin-lined basket of tortillas. Spoon portions of the steak and vegetables into the tortillas, top with guacamole and salsa, fold up, and feast.
Classic Vaquero Arracheras Stripped-down fajitas. Eliminate the dry rub, red bell peppers, poblano chiles, guacamole, and salsa. Add to the red onion one large yellow onion, cut and grilled the same way. When the meat and onions are grilled, pile high on a platter and serve with tortillas on the side.
Grilled Skirt with Jalapeño Pesto In the marinade, substitute green Tabasco jalapeño sauce for the chipotle variety. In the dry rub, reduce the chili powder to 2 teaspoons. Make a favorite pesto recipe out of parsley instead of basil, adding 1 minced jalapeño as you blend it together. Grill only the red onion and bell pepper to serve alongside the steaks. Serve with or without the tortillas, as you prefer.
The loose grain of skirt steak makes it perfect for absorbing dry rubs, marinades, and pastes. In south Texas, where this preparation originated, some people refer to the dish as Vietnamese fajitas, especially when it’s served with rice paper wrappers or thin flatbreads instead of the lettuce leaves we prefer. The flavor, as you might expect, is distinctly different.
COOKING METHOD | GRILLING
Lemongrass Paste
4 fresh lemongrass stalks, fibrous outer layers removed, coarsely chopped
¼ cup chopped shallot
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon peanut oil
2 skirt steaks, 1¼ pounds each and no more than ½ inch thick, trimmed of membranes and excessive fat
Dipping Sauce
½ cup soy sauce
¼ cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
6 or more Bibb or butter lettuce leaves
About 1 hour before you plan to grill, puree the paste ingredients in a food processor.
Cut each steak in half to create 2 shorter, more manageable sections of sashlike meat. Smear the paste evenly over the steaks. Place in a large zippered plastic bag, seal, and refrigerate for about 45 minutes.
Prepare the dipping sauce. Combine the ingredients with ½ cup water in a bowl. Pour into 6 small ramekins.
Blot the surface of the steaks, discarding the paste that doesn’t cling to them. Let sit at room temperature about 15 minutes.
Fire up the grill, bringing the temperature to high (1 to 2 seconds with the hand test).
Grill the meat over high heat for 3 to 4 minutes per side if under ½ inch in thickness, 4 to 5 minutes per side for ½ inch or more in thickness, until medium-rare. Turn on each side at least twice, more often if juice begins to form on the surface. Let the meat rest for about 5 minutes, covered loosely with foil, so that the prodigious juices are redistributed.
With the knife at a slight diagonal, cut the steaks into thin strips. Arrange one or more lettuce leaves on each plate and arrange steak strips over each. Serve with the dipping sauce.
Vietnamese Lemongrass Beef Salad Arrange the sliced steak over a bed of sliced Napa cabbage mixed with basil, cilantro, and mint. Make up a lime dressing with about ½ cup vegetable oil and 2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice with salt and pepper to taste. Scatter with chopped peanuts and serve.
These bold, hunky brochettes come off the grill looking a little like the sword-shaped “servers” used in Brazilian steakhouses to display the carnivorous offerings. We use the thinly sliced cut of beefy bottom sirloin called flap meat. If you can’t find it, substitute skirt steak.
COOKING METHOD | GRILLING
Serves 6
2¼ to 2½ pounds sirloin flap meat (bavette) or 2 skirt steaks, 1¼ pounds each and no more than ½ inch thick, trimmed of membranes and excessive fat
½ cup Dijon mustard
Coarse salt, either kosher or sea salt
4 or more long metal skewers
1 large bunch of fresh rosemary
Additional fresh rosemary, optional
If using flap meat, cut it lengthwise if the pieces are any wider than about 5 inches, so that you have two narrower pieces from each cut. If using skirt steak, cut each in half to create two shorter, more manageable sections of sashlike meat, Smear the mustard evenly over the steaks, then sprinkle with salt.
Fire up the grill, bringing the temperature to high (1 to 2 seconds with the hand test).
Thread a section of meat on a skewer, washboard style. Fold it back and forth in accordion pleats as you run the length of the skewer up through it, Tear or cut the rosemary into pieces about the width of the meat and tuck in throughout the folds.
Grill the meat over high heat for 6 to 9 minutes total, turning on all sides to brown the surfaces. The rosemary will singe, releasing its aroma. Let the meat rest on the skewers, covered loosely with foil, for about 5 minutes, so that the prodigious juices are redistributed. After showing off your hunky brochettes, slide the meat off the skewers. With the knife at a slight diagonal, cut the meat into thin strips across the grain. Discard the burned rosemary, keeping a few of the only slightly charred pieces for their character. Serve piled high and garnished if you wish with more fresh rosemary.
Carne asada (next page), on its own, won’t win any beauty contests. For entertaining, dress it up as the centerpiece for a vibrant Tampiqueña plate, another traditional dish in Mexico. Accompany the steak with an enchilada, usually a simple cheese version. Sometimes the grilled cebollitas will be the only green vegetable, but you may also find slices of grilled mild chiles, such as poblanos. Fill out plates with rice and refried beans, made perhaps from Pintos with Black Pepper and Beer (page 494). Drain some of the beans and mash them, then fry with lots of garlic in vegetable oil or, for a more authentic touch, lard. Garnish it all with some diced ripe tomato bits or maybe some cilantro leaves. Don’t forget the margaritas or a pitcher of sangria.
This popular Mexican dish can be made with various cuts of beef, but we prefer either center-cut (eye of) chuck or the newer chuck cut, flat iron steak. A whole eye of chuck is long and tubular, so should be cut across the grain into slices resembling thin medallions. Flat iron steaks are basically flat and iron shaped. Small ones will likely be thin enough to use as they are, and larger ones can be cut on the diagonal across the grain to yield thinner slices perfect for carne asada. We grill these thin-cut and pounded pieces of chuck as Mexicans usually do, over moderate heat. Done to medium, they remain juicy. Serve the steaks Mexican style with limes and cebollitas, which are scallions or other small onions.
COOKING METHOD | GRILLING
Serves 6
Salt and Cumin Rub
2 tablespoons coarse salt, either kosher or sea salt
1 tablespoon cumin seeds, toasted and ground
12 scallions or baby onions on the stem, trimmed of any limp ends
2 or more limes, cut lengthwise into 6 wedges each
2 pounds eye of chuck or two 1-pound flat iron steaks, four 7- to 8-ounce flatiron steaks, or other chuck, cut across the grain into ½-inch-thick steaks
Vegetable oil
Roasted Tomatillo Salsa (page 66) or other salsa
Prepare the rub, mixing the ingredients in a small bowl.
Fire up the grill, bringing the temperature to medium (4 to 5 seconds with the hand test).
Coat the scallions and lime wedges with oil.
Pound the meat lightly with the smooth side of a meat pounder to ¼- to ⅓-inch thickness. The steaks will be kind of tattered and unpromising looking.
Grill the meat uncovered over medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes. Tuck the scallions and limes around the meat and turn occasionally, taking them off the grill when they are soft with a bit of char in spots. Turn the meat at least 3 times, sprinkling it with the rub each time. Turn more often if juices pool on the surface. When done, the meat should be glistening and well browned (not gray-brown) on the surface with very little, if any, hint of pink at the center.
For each portion, pile several steak pieces on top of each other or at least overlapping. Top with a couple of grilled scallions and lime wedges and serve hot with salsa passed on the side.
Moving from Mexico to the Mediterranean for Greek souvlaki, we stick with the same cuts of beef we used for Carne Asada, center-cut chuck or flat iron steak. We also slice them the same way because the meat tastes best when cut thinner rather than cubed. Once blessed by the flames, the beef is piled over warm flatbread and dressed with a cooling yogurt sauce. Truly luscious.
COOKING METHOD | GRILLING
Serves 6
Greek Islands Paste
2 tablespoons crumbled dried oregano, preferably Greek
2 tablespoons coarse salt, either kosher or sea salt
1½ tablespoons dried dill
1½ tablespoons freshly cracked black pepper
2 garlic cloves, peeled
2½ tablespoons flavorful olive oil
1½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Two 1-pound or four 7- to 8-ounce flatiron steaks or 2 pounds eye of chuck, sliced ½ inch thick
Tzatziki
1 cup yogurt
¼ cup peeled, seeded, and diced cucumber
¼ cup diced red-ripe tomato
2 tablespoons minced onion
1 garlic clove, minced
Coarse salt, either kosher or sea salt, to taste
2 or more lemons, cut lengthwise into 6 wedges each
6 medium flatbreads or pita breads, warmed
Chopped onion and dill pickles, optional
Combine the oregano, salt, dill, pepper, and garlic in a food processor. With the processor running, pour in the oil and continue processing until a paste forms. Pour in the lemon juice and whir one more time to incorporate it, Place the steaks in a large shallow dish and smear them with the paste.
Stir the tzatziki ingredients together in a small bowl and refrigerate until serving time.
Fire up the grill, bringing the temperature to medium (4 to 5 seconds with the hand test).
Pound the meat lightly with the smooth side of a meat pounder to ¼- to ⅓-inch thickness. The steaks will be kind of tattered and unpromising looking.
Grill the meat uncovered over medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes. Tuck the lemons around the meat and turn occasionally, taking them off the grill when they are soft with a bit of char in spots. Turn the meat at least 3 times, more often if juices pool on the surface. When done, the meat should be glistening and well browned (not gray-brown) on the surface with very little, if any, hint of pink at the center.
Cut the meat into large bite-sized pieces. Place a flatbread on each plate and top each with portions of the meat, Add a spoonful of tzatziki to each one, along with a couple of lemon wedges. Serve with onion and pickles and the remaining tzatziki on the side. Roll upward and eat with your fingers, squeezing lemon juice over as you go. Alternatively, the meat and toppings can be stuffed inside pitas.
a Rousing Ranch Barbecue
Galvanized tub of beer on ice
Sweetened iced tea
Margaritas on the rocks
Lone Star Barbecued Brisket
Coffee-Rubbed Quail with Texas Ranch Barbecue Sauce (page 305)
Creamy Coleslaw (page 476)
Pintos with Black Pepper and Beer (page 494)
Corn bread (page 499)
Peach cobbler
An ugly, fatty, tough cut of meat, brisket becomes a thing of beauty through long, slow smoking. It should shed a lot of pounds during the cooking, which can be accomplished fully only in a wood-burning pit or similar homemade smoker (if you have another type of smoker, see the next recipe). Use oak if you have it or another nut wood such as pecan, but not mesquite, which, contrary to popular myth, adds an acrid taste to the meat over the extended cooking time. Be sure to start with a full packer-trimmed brisket, and be prepared for lots of patience followed by an overload of bliss.
COOKING METHOD | BARBECUE SMOKING
Serves 12 to 18
Wild Willy’s Number One-derful Rub
¾ cup paprika
¼ cup ground black pepper
¼ cup coarse salt, either kosher or sea salt
¼ cup sugar
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons onion powder
2 teaspoons cayenne
One 8- to 12-pound packer-trimmed beef brisket
Old-Faithful Beer Mop
One 12-ounce bottle or can beer, preferably medium-bodied
½ cup cider vinegar
2 to 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 to 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
½ medium onion, slivered, or 2 to 4 garlic cloves, minced
1 to 2 teaspoons coarsely ground pepper, optionala
Pickled jalapeño slices, fresh jalapeño slices, or Tabasco or other hot sauce, optional
Real Texas Brisket Sauce, optional
1½ cups barbecued brisket drippings, collected when the meat is sliced, or brisket drippings plus bacon drippings
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon cayenne
The night before you plan to barbecue, combine the rub ingredients in a small bowl. Set 1 tablespoon of the rub aside for the mop. Apply the rest of the rub evenly to the brisket, massaging it into every little crevice. Place the brisket in a large zippered plastic bag, seal, and refrigerate it overnight
Before you begin to barbecue, remove the brisket from the refrigerator. Let the brisket sit uncovered at room temperature for 45 minutes.
Fire up the smoker, bringing the temperature to 180°F to 220°F.
Prepare the mop. Mix the ingredients with ½ cup water in a saucepan and warm over low heat
Transfer the brisket to the smoker, fat side up, so the juices will help baste the meat. Cook the brisket until well done and tender, 1 to 1¼ hours per pound. Every hour or so, baste the blackening hunk with the mop.
* The best barbecued brisket is heavily smoked and significantly shrunk during the cooking process. Water smokers and most other kinds of common smokers won’t get the job done in the same way as a wood-burning pit
* If you have the right equipment, be sure to start with a packer-trimmed brisket, the whole cut with a thick layer of fat on one side. You may need to contact your butcher a few days ahead to get what you want. Do not cut it in half or into smaller pieces and expect to reduce the cooking time proportionately. The meat retains its density unless you slice off the fatty top section to get the “flat-cut” used in the Speedier Smoked Brisket
* Don’t trim the fat from the brisket before you barbecue it When you place the meat in the pit with the fat on top, it acts as a natural basting agent that helps to keep the brisket moist and flavorful. Much of the fat melts away in your smoker—just check the water pan or reservoir-and the rest can be trimmed before serving.
* Traditional barbecue meats are cooked well done (like 180°F and above). However rare you may like some naturally tender meat you’ll want your brisket thoroughly cooked. It’s almost impossible to get one too done.
* The layer of pink, or smoke ring, you find just under the surface of brisket and other slow-smoked meat is not an indication of undercooking. When the pink runs from the outside in, as it does in barbecue, it results from the smoking process and becomes more distinct as the meat gets well done. Barbecue authorities often judge smoked food initially by the depth of the smoke ring, hoping to find something heftier than a thin red line.
When the meat is cooked, remove it from the smoker and let it sit at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes. Then cut the fatty top section away from the leaner bottom portion. An easily identifiable layer of fat separates the two parts. Trim the excess fat from both pieces and slice them thinly against the grain. Watch as you work, though, because the grain changes direction. Collect all the meat drippings as you cut if you plan to make the sauce by combining the drippings in a bowl with the Worcestershire and cayenne. Use only a bit of sauce to moisten the meat if you’re using it at all. Serve right away.
Lone Star Barbecued Brisket That Bill Won’t Abide As a guardian of Texas tradition, Bill can’t stand any form of tomato-based barbecue sauce on his brisket. However, in the privacy of your home, he says you can do anything you please. You can serve the brisket with Texas Ranch Barbecue Sauce (page 51), Texas Ranchero Sauce (page 51), or other tomato-based barbecue sauce in place of Real Texas Brisket Sauce. Just don’t invite Bill to dinner. Cheryl will come happily, though.
If you barbecue in a water smoker, kamado, charcoal grill, or anything other than a wood-burning pit, this is the brisket for you. It cooks more quickly because we start with the “flat-cut” portion of the meat instead of the whole brisket, but we still get ample smoked tang by using smoky seasonings. The method doesn’t produce a full measure of traditional barbecued brisket flavor, but it gives you enough of that to claim bragging rights, which may matter more than anything else in Texas.
COOKING METHOD | SMOKING
Serves 6 to 8
Speedy Brisket Rub
2 tablespoons Smoked Salt (page 34) or commercial smoked salt
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons smoked or sweet paprika
2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon ground dried chipotle chile or additional chili powder
Speedy Brisket Marinade
One 12-ounce bottle or can beer or 1½ cups beef stock
1 medium onion, cut into chunks ¼ cup cider vinegar
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce cup vegetable oil
2 canned chipotle chiles, plus
2 tablespoons adobo sauce from the can
2 tablespoons pure liquid smoke
One 4-pound fully trimmed brisket section (sometimes called the flat cut)
Texas Dr P. ‘Cue Sauce (page 51), Texas Ranch Barbecue Sauce (page 51), Texas Ranchero Sauce (page 51), or other tomato-based barbecue sauce, optional
The night before you plan to cook, stir together the dry rub ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside all but 2 tablespoons of the rub. Combine the marinade ingredients, including the 2 tablespoons of rub, in a blender and puree. Place the brisket in a large zippered plastic bag and pour the marinade over it Seal and refrigerate the brisket overnight
Before you begin to cook, take the brisket from the refrigerator. Drain and discard the marinade. Pat the brisket down with the remaining rub, coating the meat well. Let the brisket sit at room temperature for about 45 minutes.
Fire up the smoker, bringing the temperature to 200°F to 250°F.
Transfer the brisket to the smoker and cook for 3 hours. Place the meat on a sheet of heavy-duty foil and close the foil tightly. Cook for an additional 1½ to 2 hours, until well done and very tender.
Let the brisket sit at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes. Trim any excess fat and slice the brisket thinly against the grain, changing direction as the grain changes. If you wish, serve with sauce on the side.
A Kansas City specialty, burnt ends are the extra-crusty, extra-chewy blackened surface areas of a brisket Any pit-smoked brisket has some of these lusty bits, but we like to make more by slicing off the fatty top portion of the meat after it’s fully cooked and popping it back into the smoker for another few hours. If you don’t want to take the time for this on the same day, freeze the meat and put it back on the pit when you fire up again.
COOKING METHOD | BARBECUE SMOKING
Serves 6
1 fully cooked barbecued fatty top (point cut) section Lone Star Barbecued Brisket (page 382)
Genuine Kansas City Barbecue Sauce (page 50), Tangy Kansas City Barbecue Sauce (page 50), or other tomato-based barbecue sauce, optional
Fire up the smoker, bringing the temperature to 180°F to 220°F.
Transfer the brisket section to the smoker and cook it for 3 to 4 hours, depending on its size. Don’t mop it; don’t do anything. It’ll develop an ominous coallike crust.
Let the brisket sit at room temperature for at least 15 minutes. Break through the black crust and cut or pull the meat into succulent shreds with chewy, deep-flavored dark ends. Savor at once, with sauce if you like.
Corned beef and pastrami are two other venerable preparations for brisket This blends barbecue and deli traditions, introducing preparation techniques developed for pastrami in particular. As in the previous recipe, we start with a flat-cut brisket section, which can be smoked well in just about any kind of smoker. It’s rubbed with a garlicky spice mixture a day or three ahead of when you plan to cook. Smoke over oak or maple if you have a choice of woods. Serve in hand-cut micro-thin slices with dill pickles and mustard, mixed into scrambled eggs, or piled high on sandwiches slathered with prepared horseradish or Horseradish Rapture (page 62).
COOKING METHOD | SMOKING
Serves 6 to 8
Pastrami Paste
¼ cup fresh garlic cloves
3 tablespoons coarse salt, either kosher or sea salt
2 tablespoons freshly cracked black pepper
2 tablespoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground white pepper
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground allspice
One 4-pound fully trimmed brisket section (sometimes called the flat cut)
Deli Mop, optional
1 cup white vinegar
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
¼ cup white vinegar, optional
At least one night and preferably 3 nights before you plan to cook, combine the paste ingredients in a food processor and puree. The paste will be somewhat dry and mealy. Set aside 1 tablespoon of the paste if you are going to mop the meat and refrigerate it. Place the brisket in a large zippered plastic bag and rub the remaining paste well over the brisket. Seal the bag and refrigerate.
Before you begin to cook, take the brisket from the refrigerator. Let the brisket sit at room temperature for about 45 minutes.
Fire up the smoker, bringing the temperature to 200°F to 250°F.
If you are going to baste the meat, combine the mop ingredients, including the reserved paste, with 1 cup water in a saucepan and warm over low heat.
Transfer the brisket to the smoker and cook for 3 hours, mopping at 45-minute intervals in a wood-burning pit or as appropriate in your style of smoker. Place the meat on a sheet of heavy-duty foil. Mop the brisket again if you have been basting it. If you’ve not been mopping the meat, pour the vinegar over it and close the foil tightly. Cook for an additional 1½ to 2 hours, until well done and very tender.
Let the brisket sit at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes. Trim any excess fat and slice the brisket thinly against the grain, changing direction as the grain changes. Serve hot or cold. Any leftovers are good cold or reheated.
a Sweet Supper of Short Ribs with Friends
Green Goddess Dip (page 96) with crisp vegetables
Luscious Beef Short Ribs
Creamy polenta or grits
Corn and black bean salad
Heath Bar Cake (page 525) and Ice Crema (page 512)
Homely, homey short ribs have become the rage in restaurants, usually slow-simmered with liquid to fall-off-the-bone succulence. Barbecuing benefits them in a similar fashion and infuses them with yet another layer of flavor. Try to get chuck short ribs, rather than those from the plate or rib section, which can be too lean and too gristly respectively. Crosscut flanken-style ribs can work, but we prefer what are sometimes called English, sliced between the ribs and parallel to the rib bone. Here we paint and serve them with a sauce shot through with bits of onion smoked alongside the meat.
COOKING METHOD | BARBECUE SMOKING
Serves 6
Short Rib Rub
½ cup sweet paprika
3 tablespoons coarse salt, either kosher or sea salt
3 tablespoons ground black pepper
6 pounds bone-in beef short ribs,
preferably chuck ribs, cut between the ribs
2 medium onions
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
Simple Mop, optional
1 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
Smoked Onion Sauce
l tablespoon vegetable oil
One 14-ounce can finely diced tomatoes, with juice or sauce
¼ cup cider vinegar
¼ cup plus
2 tablespoons molasses
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon coarse salt, either kosher or sea salt
The night before you plan to barbecue, combine the rub ingredients in a bowl. Spread about half of the rub evenly on the ribs, reserving the rest. Place the ribs in a zippered plastic bag, seal, and refrigerate.
Remove the ribs from the refrigerator. Sprinkle them lightly but thoroughly with the remaining rub. Let the ribs sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Fire up the smoker for barbecuing, bringing the temperature to 180°F to 220°F.
If you plan to baste the meat, combine the mop ingredients with ½ cup water in a small saucepan and warm over low heat.
Transfer the ribs to the smoker, fatty side up. Coat the onions with the oil and place them in the smoker beside the ribs, where you can get to them easily. You want to take them out after they have cooked about 1½ hours and are somewhat soft and fragrant with smoke. Smoke the ribs for 4 to 5 hours, depending on the size of the ribs, until well done, with meat that nearly falls apart. Mop the meat once an hour until the last hour in a wood-burning pit or as appropriate for your type of smoker.
Meanwhile, once the onions are ready, prepare the sauce. Warm the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Mince the smoked onions and add them to the oil. Cook for several minutes, just to soften the onion a bit further. Mix in the remaining ingredients and ¾ cup water and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and cook until the mixture thickens, about 30 minutes. Stir frequently in the last few minutes of cooking. Brush the ribs with the sauce once or twice during the last hour of cooking.
Remove the ribs from the smoker and let them sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes. Trim the fat from the meat Serve with more sauce puddled over and around the ribs.
Smoked Beef Short Rib Sandwiches Pull meat from the bones and shred or chop. Mix with some of the smoked onion sauce. Smear sesame-seed-topped buns with Horseradish Rapture (page 62) or prepared horseradish and stack the rib meat high.
Korean Beef Short Ribs Instead of rubbing the ribs, marinate them overnight in 1 cup soy sauce, 1 cup rice vinegar, 3 tablespoons peanut oil, 2 tablespoons minced garlic, and about 2 teaspoons Korean red pepper paste or Asian chile paste. Drain before smoking, discarding the marinade. If basting, remove the Worcestershire sauce from the mop and use rice vinegar instead of cider vinegar. Instead of smoked onion sauce, substitute Korean Barbecue Sauce (page 56).