Quick Update

I had an incredibly busy weekend. Be sure to check back for news on my wife's surprise birthday party, the 3rd Annual Pirate Festival, and more. I posted a review on The Dark Knight. Check it out on my blog, Surfer J's Reviews. I posted a new Guinness Tri-Tip Marinade Recipe at Surfer J's Grub & Stuff. Be sure to check it out.

Great Tri-Tip Marinade

We grilled a tri-tip steak for dinner tonight and it was pretty good. It is probably among the best of all the steaks we have made recently. We found a recipe from AllRecipes.com, and made some modifications. The modified version follows:

• 1 bottle Guinness
• 4 tbsp crushed Garlic
• 5 tbsp Brown Sugar
• 1 tbsp pepper
• 1 tbsp Soy Sauce
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
• Emeril's Essence seasoning

This time we weren't grilling on a whim, so we spent some time to do it right. We made the marinade this morning. Before marinading, we sprinkled the Emeril seasoning. The meat soaked in the marinade for about 8 hours. Once the meat was on the grill, my wife boiled the marinade to burn off any meat contaminants, and we used it to baste the meat as it grilled. The meat had a lot of fat on one side, and my wife trimmed most of it off. What was left, added to the brown sugar in the marinade, was enough to cause some serious flame-ups. I had to monitor the meat closely.

The meat was grilled for an hour, rotated and moved from time to time to prevent the flame-ups from charring the meat. Eventually I moved the coals off to the side and slow cooked the meat for the final half hour. The meat was so tender from the marinade that the charred sections slid right off. This was a very tasty steak. Add some grilled corn and my family's baked beans recipe, and we had a great meal.

I think next time we will grill for 45 minutes instead of the hour, but otherwise it came out exactly as we wanted. Be sure to give this one a try.

Nice Steak Dinner

My wife surprised me tonight when I got home from work. When I got to the door I could smell something good. I walked in to find my wife sautéeing mushrooms and onions. She had some sirloin steaks sitting in some Montreal Steak Seasoning, and had the coals already lit. This was a nice thing to come home to and she knew that.

We had a salad...I know, I know...men shouldn't eat salad, but it was pretty good. She used some alternative types of lettuce, dried cranberries, and she made croutons. She tried to find a healthier dressing than blue cheese, and she did. It was a blue cheese vinaigrette, which tasted heavily of apple, which I thought was pretty good. This was due to the cider vinegar being a main ingredient. I thought the apple and cranberry went really well with the mushrooms.

I grilled the steaks about 5 minutes per side, and it came out really nice. The meat was a little stringy, probably the reason it was on sale. We both thought it was pretty good though. As I said in my post " The Art of Grilling", the McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning really makes a good steak great. The only thing we were missing was a good red wine. My wife being pregnant, I try not to open a bottle for every steak dinner. Even without the wine, I would suggest you try this dinner.

The Art of Grilling

When it comes to grilling, you will probably hear a different recommendation from each person you talk to. Some will tell you to use a gas grill only, others will tell you that the briquette is the only way to go. Some grill with wood chips, others use smokers. One thing we tend to agree on though, is that fire makes a piece of meat taste so much better than an oven or microwave can.

Grilling takes a lot of finesse. You usually won't get it right the first time you try. It is a process, and you will always try to perfect it. There are two main types of the "right way" of grilling. Charcoal (bricks or briquettes) and wood (Hickory or other choice wood). I am not covering gas grilling, as I am of the school of thought that frowns upon gas grills. I am most experienced with briquettes, so this will be the method discussed here.

The process begins with clearing excess ash from the bottom of the grill. This will allow better air flow. The next step is to put the briquettes on the grill. Note that there are two grills. The smaller one is at the bottom of the grill, and holds the coals. The top one holds the food. Some grills, like mine, have a smaller veggie grill that connects to the lid and sits above the main grill. The various grill plates should be apparent. The ideal amount of briquettes will cover the entire surface of the bottom grill in one layer, with some overlap okay/needed. Once you have enough coals on the grill, you need to stack them. Make sure the vents are open on the bottom of the grill.

Stacking the coals is an art. One wants to maximize the heat channeling through the stack in order to get an even light. You want to build a tall pyramid in the center of the grill. This will maximize efficiency. Next, you douse the coals with lighter fluid. Some men, myself included, enjoy watching the initial burst of fire upon lighting the coals, so we coat them especially well with the lighter fluid. The idea of the fluid is to encourage even an light around the base of your pyramid. Make sure you squirt some of the fluid inside the pyramid. This helps get the most flame onto the coals.

Once you have put the desired amount of lighter fluid, it is time to light it. Keep in mind you are building a fire, so you want to start from the bottom on the opposite side from where you are standing. This keeps you from burning your arm. Light around the base of the pyramid, stand back, and enjoy the fire.

Back in the day, coals took 45 minutes or longer to light. Kingsford, among others, has come up with new ways of making the coals so they light faster and heat more evenly. 25-35 minutes is a reasonable wait for the coals to light. Keep in mind that the flame will burn itself out in moments. This does not mean the coals did not light. The idea of charcoal is to let the embers smolder. If you look at the coals, you should see them turn white as they burn. You may even see a red glow from inside your pyramid. This is good. Once most of the coals are white, it is time to spread them out.

Spread the coals over the entire surface of the grill. You want an even heat, and no flame-ups if possible. By evenly dispersing the coals, you will get a more even cooking. At this point it is time to sterilize the top grill. Assuming it has been used at least once, this helps burn off any remaining bacteria from the last grill session. To sterilize the grill, place it over the coals and close the lid. You should allow about 10 minutes for the grill to heat up. Use a grill brush to get rid of excess ash from the grill. You are now ready to put the meat/food on.

Steaks should be at room temperature before going on the grill. A cold steak will not cook as well as one at room temperature. There are a variety of marinades out there, both wet and dry. I am pretty fond of McCormick's Montreal Steak Seasoning. I am fond of both the original and the spicy versions. I have been adding a basic Cajun seasoning as an alternative lately, and have been pretty pleased with the results.

Once the meat is on the grill, let it stay on the grill. Different steaks or cuts of meat will require different cooking times, so you should probably look your meat up on the web for a guideline. Constant agitating of the steak will result in a poorly cooked steak. Put the meat on, the lid down, and walk away. Try not to position the meat directly over a flame, but rather over an ember. You want a slow, even cook. The flame will char the meat and the inside won't cook all the way.

Try to limit flipping the steaks/burgers to no more than two flips. You want as much of the juices to remain in the meat as possible. Don't press hamburger patties down. You lose the flavor and dry the meat out.

One thing that many people forget to do is let the meat rest once it is cooked. Cutting into it too soon will result in a drier, tougher meat. Let the juices settle back into the meat and you will agree it is worth the wait. A few minutes is sufficient. Keep in mind as well that the meat will continue to cook somewhat once removed from the grill. If you want it medium rare, make sure you allow for some post-grill cooking.

This has been a basic tutorial on grilling. I plan to post more techniques and recipes as I begin my summer grilling season. As for disclosure, I am not being reimbursed in any way from the endorsements made above. Feel free to send me recipes or links to grilling sites. Happy grilling.

Mother's Day Weekend

Mother's Day started a little early this year. I knew we were going to be with my mom all weekend, so I surprised my wife and actually let her open her gift early. She had been dealing with my defiant two year old so much that I planned to take my son to dinner to give her a break. She happened to let slip that she wanted a stand mixer, so to Craig's List did I go. I found some guy in Ojai and decided to kill two birds with one stone. I would take my son off my wife's hands and get her a present at the same time.

This stand mixer came with a ton of accessories. I think I got a pretty good deal. These things start at $300, so for the low price of $125 I got one. My wife and I don't mind scratched paint if it means saving 1-200 bucks. Not only did I save the money, I got two extra bowls ($40ish each), a meat grinder ($50), two whisks and a dough hook ($30-$40ish?). I think we got a pretty sweet deal on it. My wife emphasized the sweet deal by making a batch of banana bread. Money well spent. :)

Fast forward to Friday night, the last night we were supposed to be home for the weekend. My son got back into his tantrum phase, so we chose to leave at night so he could sleep it off in the car. We made great time - just over 2 hours. This time my son was not so friendly to grandma. She got to see his tantrums. The difference is that she can usually snap him out of the tantrum better than we can, so she still thinks he is pretty innocent. We know grandma is wrapped around his little finger.

My sister and her family arrived too late for much visiting, so we all went to bed. In the morning I was awakened by a three-way dog pile which my son started. He and his two cousins (18ish months and 4 years) jumped on my head while I was sleeping. I think my son had a pillow, as the blow was cushioned. I didn't mind waking up to that, though it was pretty dang early.

My niece has definitely gone the vocal route while my son has gone the motor skills route. I tried to get her to teach my son some words, like "Please, Thank You, I love You, etc." He chose not to learn, at least at the time. He showed her how he can climb a ladder and slide on the big boy's slide (with parental assistance of course). Later that morning my son and nephew wanted to watch Return of the Jedi, so we sat down to watch it. Star Wars movies are always fun to watch, especially with my nephew who is well on his way to Star Wars nerd-dom. See my post, "Curious Kid" for the story of watching Star Wars with my nephew. He was cracking me up all weekend. He kept calling me just "Uncle", without attaching my name. "Uncle, why...?" "Uncle, what...?" "Uncle, can I ...?" It was pretty funny.

For lunch on Sunday we had steak salads. A typical female-inspired meal if ever there was one. ;) My mom, wife and sister sat on the sidelines (with some exceptions) while my dad, brother-in-law and I cooked the food. We had two Tri-Tip steaks from Costco, premarinaded by Morton's Steakhouse. These things were huge. I was in charge of the grill, and my dad and brother-in-law prepared most of the rest of the food. The meal turned out really well. The meat was really tender, and was cooked a little more rare than I would have liked had we not been in a hurry, but it was still pretty good. Everyone liked it, so I guess that worked out. My sister wanted to hit the road before nap-time, so her kids would sleep for part of her 4 hour drive home. I didn't think that I would enjoy a steak salad, but I was proven wrong.

I mentioned the Tri-Tip. The rest of the toppings included avocados, black beans, corn, fried corn tortilla strips, and dressing. My wife had made some pico de gallo that was really good, so I put that on my salad too. I was the only blue cheese guy among a group of ranch dressing fans. All in all this salad was pretty good. I had two plates, and lots of meat. I got to bring home a big chunk of the second steak too, so that worked out well.

Mother's Day weekend was also blended with my mom's birthday, which always falls near or on Mother's Day. We got to do two parties this way. I think the weekend went pretty well. Now we have to look forward to Father's Day. I am not sure what we will do yet, but I am sure it will be just as fun.

Wine, Food, and Friends

Tonight we had some friends over for dinner. We grilled some steaks on my charcoal grill, and I had a chance to open a bottle of wine for the first time in a couple of months. My wife is not much of a wine drinker to begin with, so add the fact that she is pregnant, and I have no wine buddies. I have found that though my buddy rarely touches wine, his wife is usually a pretty good sport. She, like most women I know, is a bigger fan of white wines, while I am a fan of reds. My wife can stand a red wine if it is fruity, so I have tasted quite a few wines in order to find something she will enjoy. This helps when we have company, as I have a red to present to a non-red audience.

For dinner we had grilled steak, seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic. I added some Montreal Steak Seasoning to my buddy's and my steak. I also grilled corn, and ultimately a loaf of garlic bread. My wife made a wilted spinach salad, which is always a winner with me. It involves balsamic vinegar, bacon, fresh spinach, and dried cranberries, among other things I may not be aware of. I normally go for a hearty red when I have a steak as thick as these were. Tonight I had to go for a lighter one, so I went for an Argentine selection. I chose the 2004 Tapiz Malbec.

It turned out that I made a good call. I have found that I am pretty happy with just about anything out of Argentina, and this was no exception. This Malbec was light and had some distinct fruity flavors. I read a review that mentioned blackcurrant. I am not sure what blackcurrant tastes like, but if it tastes something like blackberries, I agree. My buddy's wife liked it too, so it turned out to be a good pick. I will make a red oenophile of her yet. :)

After dinner my son decided to ham it up, which kept us entertained well past his bed time. I have a feeling he planned it that way. He figured if he could keep us laughing he wouldn't have to go to bed. He was right, for a time. He is finally starting to warm up to this set of friends, so we tried to encourage it.

All in all the evening turned out pretty well. We had good friends over, had some good wine (at least two of us did), and had a good dinner. When it comes to grilling, my wife and I make a pretty good team. She preps it, and I grill it. It tends to work out well that way. I am looking forward to seeing what we can come up with this summer. The grill has been primed...this should be a good summer.