It's Wednesday and I've got some serious Words of Wisdom for you. I grilled one of my best steaks last night and it made me think. Why do people continually ruin steak? I'm talking putting A.1. or a house steak sauce on it. I know they are called steak sauces but they have no business on a correctly cooked piece of meat. So my Words of Wisdom for today are this; learn how to properly season and grill a steak and leave the steak sauce on the shelf.
When it comes to steak you really need to take pride in it. Don't just buy it at the supermarket, open it up and throw it on the grill. Take care of it a little. Get a dry rub or a marinade together and let it sit for a day. Whatever you like, don't be afraid to experiment. I'll tell you what I used last night. Salt, fresh ground pepper, a little paprika, some garlic powder and a pinch of chili powder. I put what I figured would be a good amount of each and let it sit in the fridge overnight. You can use a liquid marinade if you'd like, but I would poke a couple holes in the meat to help the juices get in there. Either way you do it, you have to treat your meat with some respect and spice it up.
Another big part of grilling a great steak is knowing your limits. Don't be shy about going online and getting some grilling tips from the pros. You'd listen to Ray Allen if you wanted advice on shooting a three pointer right? Well there are some serious professionals out there when it comes to grilling meats. So put your pride on hold for a second and get some advice. I listen to Bobby Flay when it comes to anything on the grill but there are others out there, you just have to get your search on. One of the tips I'd like to pass on is to take the meat out of the fridge about an hour before you cook it to let it get down to room temperature. It'll make for better grilling and ensure the inside is just the way you like it.
The time and temperature you use depends on the cut of meat and the thickness. So you'll have to do some experimenting to figure it out. When you're not quite sure, cut into the thickest part and see what it looks like in there. You only want to do this once or twice, don't check it every minute and have slices all over your steak. I've been cooking steaks about an inch thick on medium high heat. Maybe seven or eight minutes on one side and five or six on the other. This will all vary depending on the grill you have and the amount of propane or coals you're using. The important thing is to grill it 60% on one side and 40% on the other. Only flip ONCE! Every time you flip it over all that flavorful juice gets wasted on the burners below. So make sure you only turn it over once.
Finally, sit back and enjoy it. Get a nice big steak knife, cut off a generous chunk and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Don't you dare get steak sauce and drown out all that natural steak flavor. A.1. is good, don't get me wrong. Maybe use some of it in a marinade or put it on another part of the dinner you fucked up. Just don't put it on the steak! If you go to a real steak house, they don't even have steak sauce there. If you try and ask for some, the chef will get pretty offended. Why? Because he made a great steak and you'd be an asshole if you ruined it with that shit. Again, learn how to season and grill a steak and leave the sauce on the shelf.
Now, I'm not a professional by any means. But I'm not afraid to toot my horn on this one. I'm pretty damn good at grilling meat. So let these Words sink in and next time you're going to eat a steak, you'll thank me. I once knew a guy that used steak sauce all the time. I actually saw him last week behind the mini-mart. And wouldn't you know it, he put A.1. sauce on the Ham Sandwich I gave him. It was a damn shame.
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