Grilling

Italian Steakhouse Wine and Herb Marinated Grass Fed Steak with Onions and Mushrooms

Italian steakhouses are all over the US. The food is delicious, the atmosphere varies from white table cloth to the little Mom and Pops that are cozy, friendly and just down to earth. As I was preparing to teach an Italian Steakhouse cooking class I decided to do a little more extensive research than just throw together another “insert Steakhouse house name here” knockoff.

From my research there is a steak in Italy called bistecca alla fiorentina, or literally steak florentine. It is a large porterhouse to be accurate the exact beef is Chianina beef from the Chiana Valley, cut 2 1/2 to 3 inches thick. It is dry aged then prepared simply with salt and olive oil, then seared over a very hot wood fire to rare.

A little background on me…I completely gave up eating commercial beef 20 years ago. Let’s just say whenever I ate some I ended up feeling pretty yucky. Several years later through work related travel and a couple personal trips, I was able to visit several countries in Europe. I seem to be able to tolerate their meat so much better than the beef in the US. I am assuming this is in part due to what the animals are fed and of course not fed. So when I discovered grass-fed/grass finished beef it changed my life. Do your own research into grass-fed beef I was actually surprised at some of the added health benefits to including it in your diet. (yes I know my vegan friends won’t agree but to each their own). For me I can digest it, allowing me to enjoy beef once again.

So back to this recipe. I decided to incorporate the cooking method used to prepare the steak florentine by searing my meat on a grill, only flipping it once, then covering it and allowing it to rest for 15 minutes to finish cooking just slightly and let the juices redistribute. I secured a beautiful steak from New Life Coffeehouse , Kim has a nice health food store attached to her coffee house offering her own grass-fed beef and a lot of other great items. If you live in the Sheboygan, WI area it is worth your time to stop in and check it out!

Since I don’t know how to leave well enough alone I decided to marinate my steak in some wine, herbs and garlic like I would picture them doing at one the fancy steakhouses I have visited. So for the marinade it’s as simple as 1 cup of good red wine (don’t use some crap you wouldn’t drink), a tablespoon of olive oil, a few crushed garlic cloves, a large sprig of rosemary and several sprigs of thyme. Season your steak with salt and pepper then drop it in the marinade. I prefer to do this in a zip top bag so you can cover your entire steak. I allowed my steak to marinate for several hours in the refrigerator, if you don’t have that kind of time, let it marinate on the counter for an hour so it marinates as it comes to room temperature.

If you do marinate the steak in the refrigerator be sure to pull it out an hour before grilling. Trying to get a good char on a cold steak does not work very well, and it will mess with your cooking time.

The recommended cut for this steak is a porterhouse, but use what you have access to. I made this with a grass-fed sirloin and a porterhouse and both were tender and juicy.

While your meat is coming to room temperature I recommend you prepare the onions and mushrooms. Heat a pan over medium to medium high heat. Drizzle your warm pan with olive oil. Add your onions, mushrooms, garlic and anchovy fillets to the pan and sauté until onions begin to soften. Add the garlic and cook for another minute until fragrant. Splash your wine in and allow to reduce a bit. Remove pan from heat and stir in butter. Keep warm while you cook your steak.

Remove steak from the marinade and pat dry. Prepare your grill by building a nice hot fire. For the fuel source charcoal or wood is best. If you don’t have a charcoal grill but have a gas grill, hey go for it! Just a pan, that’s totally fine too. Cooking is an art, you can change up things to fit you, don’t stress about little things, just relax and enjoy yourself. Whatever your heat source is make sure it is nice and hot before slapping that steak down to sear.

Now sear your lovely marinated steak on each side for 4 minutes. I did not have a 3 inch steak, mine was about an inch to an inch and a half. Once you have seared both sides, remove it from the heat, top with the butter pat and cover tightly with foil, allowing your meat to rest 10-15 minutes. If you are feeling extra spunky today go ahead and mash a few of the leftover anchovy filets into that pat of butter before dropping it on top of your steak.

Serve topped with mushrooms and onions and a good glass of wine and enjoy!

Jamaican Jerk Chicken

Many of my friends have been subject to my Grilled Jamaican Jerk Chicken recipe. Some have cried over a bowl of it they loved it so much, as the sweat poured off their faces… (you know who you are.) Others have begged for the recipe and added it to their regular meal rotation.

Challenged with teaching a class on batch cooking, I have taken it a step farther. In the past I have marinated my chicken in this tangy, sweet and spicy sauce, then grilled them, but for my class I used the sauce as a way to bring back life to some leftover chicken thighs and roasted vegetables.

I prefer to double the marinade recipe so I have extra sauce and marinate bone-in chicken thighs or legs for at least an hour, overnight is better. Then grill them using the indirect cooking method for 45 minutes.

Still awesome is this Jerk sauce with roasted vegetables over rice, prepared with coconut milk instead of water.

You can also use this sauce on fish, pork or turkey. Your day after Thanksgiving turkey sandwich will be amazing if you mix a spoonful of this sauce with some mayo and spread it on your sandwich, or drizzle it over whatever leftovers you have. Make a delicious Jerk Chicken pizza, pasta, quesadillas …the options are endless.

To prepare for use as a sauce over cooked chicken and vegetables heat pan over medium heat. Swirl in olive oil and begin to cook the diced onions. Sauté onions for about 5 minutes until they begin to become translucent. Add garlic and other spices and continue to sauté for an additional 2 minutes. Add balance of ingredients and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes to allow all the flavors to marry. Toss with your chicken and vegetables and serve over rice.

To use as a marinade, add all ingredients to a large zip top bag. Mix well. Add chicken and allow to marinate for at least an hour, preferably overnight. Remove meat from marinade and fully cook on the grill or in the oven. While chicken cooks, bring marinade to a boil, then allow to simmer for about 10 minutes. Top chicken with extra sauce and/or serve on the side.

Either way you choose to go with it, enjoy!

This recipe was originally adapted from a post from literally over 10 years ago I found here

http://classic-recipes.com/page/poultry/jerkchk.htm

Use organic non-gmo ingredients whenever possible.

Grill smokey sweet and tangy chicken legs

Welcome fall! Today I grabbed some beautiful chicken legs and soaked them in a sweet tangy marinade for the day. I had some apple cider hanging out in my refrigerator that needed to be consumed and decided to use this as the base for my marinade. The chicken hung out in this marinade in a zip top bag for several hours while we went about our other business. I came back to flip it a couple of times to make sure the chicken was soaking up all the yummy juices.

Making the marinade is super simple, mix all ingredients together in a zip top bag and add chicken. Seal bag and flip it over a bunch of times to coat the chicken. Place on a plate and put it back in the refrigerator for the day.

After about 8 hours (if you only have a couple that is fine too, I don’t always plan so well in advance either), prepare your grill. First I grabbed a large handful of maple chips and gave them a quick soak in some water to amplify the smoke flavor. My plan is to use the leftover chicken in my smoked chicken carbonara recipe, but that is another post. I am a charcoal purist as many of you know, so I am preparing my charcoal and setting up the grill for the indirect cooking method. To do this, start your coals via chimney starter, electric starter or lighter fluid. When the coals are glowing and ready to cook on, push them all to one side of your grill leaving the other side open with no charcoal. If you use gas, only light half of your grill leaving the other half of your burners off. The indirect cooking method gives you the opportunity to slow cook something, or to basically use your grill like an oven while imparting the smokey grill flavors into your food.

Once your grill is ready to go, add the handful of soaked maple chips and choke down the heat to about 225 degrees fahrenheit. Place your marinated legs on the indirect side (charcoal-less or the side that is turned off if using gas). Cover your grill and walk away. Come back periodically in the next two hours to make sure the temperature isn’t swinging up or down too much. Approximately two hours later (all grills cook differently so please use a thermometer to temp your meat), your chicken should be at 180 degrees. Pull the meat from your grill and let it rest for 10 minutes to let all the juices redistribute.

Serve with a side of grilled potatoes, and a side salad and enjoy the season. Cheers!

Grilled Braised Beef Chuck Roast

Super excited for todays post! After I made a stop at my local grocery store and grabbed a gorgeous 2# grass-fed beef chuck roast, I stashed it in my refrigerator and began to toss around the possibilities. I could take the easy way out and just throw it in the crock pot, but it is a beautiful weekend and the grill is calling my name. Not to mention as I am super pregnant, the less dishes the better!

So grilling it is! As a side not this can totally be made inside with a stovetop and an oven if you are not into grilling or the weather is not cooperating.

The assembly is super simple. Remove meat from refrigerator and allow to warm up to room temperature or as close to that as you are comfortable with. Trying to sear a super cold piece of meat can be a bit trying. Salt and pepper both sides of meat, sprinkle with some fresh or dried thyme, rub with some extra virgin olive oil and let it sit.

To prepare your grill you are going to need a direct and indirect cooking area. I am a grill purist so I prefer charcoal, but if gas is your choice, hey I am not judging! For charcoal you will need to start your coals and when they are glowing push them all to one side of your grill. For gas, light the outer two regions of your grill leaving the middle one off. (if you only have 2 regions, just light one).

While you are waiting for your grill to heat up, slice up a yellow onion and crush some garlic. Place them into the bottom of a grill safe pan. Disposable aluminum pans work great to avoid the dreaded dishes, but if you don’t like aluminum go for whichever pan you like. Next add in 1 cup of dry red wine, and 1/2 cup of water. For the wine I used petit syrah today, but any red on the dryer side will work. Set this pan aside close to your grill so you can add the meat to the pan once it is seared.

Once your grill is smoking hot and ready, sear your roast for about 3-4 minutes per side, getting a nice sear but not burning your roast. Once both sides have been seared, place meat on top of onions and garlic then top with a fresh rosemary sprig and cover with foil or lid.

Place the pan on the indirect heat area in your grill and turn your grill down by choking the air down a lot on your charcoal. Alternately with gas, just turn it down…You want to maintain a steady temperature around 275-300 degrees fahrenheit, so make sure to keep an eye on your thermometer. Braise roast for 2 hours.

Remove roast from pan and allow to rest for 10-15 minutes. While your meat is resting add 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar to the pan juices and simmer mixture in a shallow pan on the stove to reduce it a little to thicken, this should take about 10 minutes. Add a cup of milk, the fuller fat the creamier your sauce will be, and simmer an additional 2 minutes. (I used coconut milk as we have some lactose issues in our home so feel free to mix it up!).

Slice your beautiful roast and serve with some fresh steamed veggies and roasted potatoes and you will be a hero!

Cheers!

Always choose organic or locally pastured meats whenever possible.

Stuffed Grilled Mini Meatloaves

As I am staring at this package of organic ground beef I have visions of spaghetti or burgers yet again. Yet there is a nagging voice in my head saying, come on you can do better…voila! Stuffed mini meatloaves! Truth be told I got my inspiration from several stuffed meatloaf recipes I had seen floating around in pinterest land. I promise you this mini meatloaf recipe will blow your mind! If you take the extra steps to throw it on the grill instead of in the oven you will enjoy that amazing burger char that can only be achieved by putting your meatloaf over a nice hot bed of coals, achieving the perfect sear. Yummy!

This couldn’t be easier! (well unless someone showed up and cleaned up my kitchen and heck the rest of my house while they are at it). First you prepare the meat. Chop the onions, crush the garlic, finely chop the kale so your kids don’t see it, chop the herbs, grate your cheese, and toast the bread then tear it into pieces. Now put EVERYTHING together in a large bowl except the cheese you are stuffing these sweet babies with. Then roll them into 6 individual football like shapes. Flatten them a bit making a small indent in the middle. Add your cheese, then carefully seal them by bring the meat up and around the cheese from the sides. Make sure there are no holes as you do not want your cheese sneaking out before you get to enjoy it!

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