Summer Grilling

Bone-in Rib Eye Steak

Grilling is very primal, yet sheer genius! I can imagine how our ancestors must have felt when they first bit into that grilled meat... must have been same time they came up with the word orgasmic! Everything tastes better grilled, and these days, just about anything can be grilled.

For this post, I've decided to bring in a guest blogger -- the man behind all the awesome pictures in this blog -- Grill Master Bill. Well, Grill Apprentice Bill. He manned the grill for this wonderful meal, and so, without further a do, I give you (drum roll, please), Bill!

Grilled Bone-in Rib Eye Steak

(Grass-fed beef, Riverview Farms)

2 2-inches Bone-in Rib Eye Steak

1 1/2 T Himalayan Salt

2 T olive oil

Freshly ground black pepper

There is no short cut to the perfectly grilled steak-- you have to start with the perfect cut of beef or the result will be, well, less than perfect. On occasions like this, a visit to Riverview Farms at the Morningside Farmers Market is a necessity.

Cover the outer fat on the steak with Himalayan salt. Let sit for at least an hour but preferably overnight in the reefer. I said, preferably overnight in the reefer :)

The next day (I really did mean overnight), prepare the grill. Create a graduated distribution of the coals. Make one side of the grill a high heat and the other side medium. I recommend you find and use hardwood lump charcoal. Master grillers everywhere extol the virtues of this ever more popular wonder fuel for its ability to produce high even heat. Oil your grill. Fold a paper towel several times over, down to about 2" wide. It should look like a fat tiny book. Using tongs, dip the "spine" of the paper towel in cooking oil and rub across the grill. Repeat for the entire grill.

Remove the steak from the reefer and rub generously with olive oil. Pepper to taste (with freshly ground black pepper). Mash the pepper into the steak with your hands. Place the steak on the hottest part of the grill. Grill until steak has a nice sear and grill marks - about 1 minute. Turn steak 45° and grill until you achieve a nice criss-cross pattern in the steak. Flip and repeat.

Move the steak to the medium part of the grill. Cover and let cook for 7-10 minutes. Flip the steak and let cook for another 7-10 minutes.

Remove from the grill and tent with aluminum foil. Let it rest for 7-10 minutes.

Filipino-Style Chicken B-B-Q

Whole fryer, cut to serving pieces

juice of 1 lemon

5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 t ginger juice

1/4 cup light soy sauce

3 T tomato paste

2 T oyster sauce

2 T canola oil

1 t freshly ground black pepper

2 T muscovado sugar

Mix everything in a ziploc bag and marinate in the reefer overnight. Cook over the medium heat side, which allows the heat to penetrate the center without burning and drying out the outer tissue. Wait until the internal temperature is close to 165 F (chicken is done when the internal temperature reaches 165 F) before placing it over the high heat to brown/sear it.

Grilled King Salmon en Papilotte

2 6-oz Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon Fillet

2 segments lemon confit, thinly sliced

fresh chives, chopped

Brine:

1 cup kosher salt

1 cup hot water

4 cups cold water

Line a small baking sheet with paper towels. Combine 1 cup salt with the hot water in a large bowl, stirring to dissolve the salt. Add the cold water. Add the salmon to the brine and let stand for 15 minutes. Drain the salmon, rinse under cold water, and dab dry with paper towel.

Line an aluminum foil with parchment paper. Place brined salmon in the center and top with lemon confit and chives. Seal pouch by carefully folding the parchment. Crimp the aluminum foil at the bottom to protect the paper from burning in the grill. Place the packet on the grill over medium high heat for 10 minutes.

Grilled Summer Vegetables

with Garlic-Paprika Shrimps

Garlic Paprika Shrimps

1 lb 16/20 shrimps, shelled and deveined

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 t smoked Spanish paprika

2 T olive oil

sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Mix everything in a ziploc bag and let it marinate for an hour. Grill shrimp until pink, about one minute on each side. Set aside.

Marinade and Dressing--

3 T molasses

4 T olive oil

5-6 kalamata olives, chopped

2-3 pieces anchovies, chopped

3 T capers, plus 2 T caper juice

sea salt and pepper to taste

Veggies--

Green and Red Peppers, seeded and quartered

Zucchini, quartered lengthwise

Torpedo Onions, peeled and trimmed

Crimini mushrooms, cut in half

Italian Eggplant, peeled and quartered lengthwise

1 T fresh rosemary, chopped, for garnish

Toss half of the marinade/dressing with the vegetables before grilling, and toss them with the remaining before serving. Garnish with chopped rosemary.

The cooking time for a vegetable is related to its density. For two vegetable pieces of the same size, the heaver piece will take longer to cook. So separate your vegetables according to density. Start grilling the densest vegetables first and continue to the lightest vegetables. Place the vegetable on the grill. Wait for the skin to char then turn. Do not let the vegetable burn. You, and your guests, will know the difference when you sit down to eat.

Chicken Tenderloin Skewers

On one of those happy occasions where I was dragged out the door to play my role as cart-bitch, we ran into a spice purveyor. He gave us his spiel-- a unique blend of herbs and spices GUARANTEED to bring a smile to your taste buds. Just to prove it, he gave us a sample of chicken tenderloin dry-rubbed with his product. And he was right. It tasted a little bit smokey, a little bit sweet, a bit tangy and a little bit I cannot describe. Needless to say, we were sold and brought home a small jar of the 3 Beer BBQ Rub.

1 lb chicken tenderloin

3 Beer BBQ Rub

olive oil

Shake on generously 3 Beer BBQ Rub onto chicken tenderloin. Drizzle with Olive Oil. Marinate for 2 hours. Skewer the chicken (if using wooden skewer, soak in water 30 minutes prior to grilling ti keep it from burning then wrap exposed wood with foil). Grill each side for 5 to 7 minutes.

Filipino-Style Pork Satay

1 lb boston butt, sliced thinly
1 cup Lemon-lime soda
1 head of garlic, crushed
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup light soy sauce
1/4 tomato ketchup
1 T Worcestershire saucefresh ground pepper
1 T salt
1 T muscovado sugar
3 T canola oil

Mix all ingredients in a ziploc bag and marinate pork for 8 hours or overnight. Skewer pork, then set aside. Place marinade in a saucepan and reduce until thicken-- this will be used for basting. Place the skewers on the grill over medium-high heat. Grill for 2 to 3 minutes per side until cooked to well-done, basting every so often.

Side Items

When you grill out, not everything in the meal needs to be grilled. Classically, you might have a potato salad or coleslaw to go along side to go with your meal. Our favorites includes Creamed Summer Corn and Saffron Rice, both Thomas Keller recipes.

Creamed Summer Corn
(Ad Hoc at Home, Thomas Keller)

6 ears white corn, shucked
1 large lime
3 T unsalted butter
Kosher salt
3/4 to 1 cup heavy cream
1/8 t cayenne pepper
1 1/2 T finely chopped chives

With a sharp chef's knife, cut vertically down each ear of corn to slice off the kernels. Put kernels in a large bowl, then hold each cob over the bowl and use a spoon or the back of a knife to scrape any remaining corn and the milk from the cob. Grate the zest of the lime, preferably with a Microplane grater; set aside. Cut the lime in half.
Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the corn, squeeze about 1 T lime juice over the corn and season with salt. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook until all the liquids evaporated, concentrating the flavor, and the corn beginning to sizzle, 15-17 minutes.
Stir in 3/4 cup of the cream, the cayenne and lime zest. Continue to cook for 6-8 minutes, until the cream is absorbed in the corn. Add up to 1/4 cup more cream if desired for a creamier texture. Add salt to taste and stir in the chives.

Saffron Rice
(Ad Hoc at Home, Thomas Keller)

1/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion
Kosher salt
1 t saffron threads
2 cups short grain rice
3 cups chicken stock

Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium heat until hot. Add the onion and season with a sprinkling of salt. Reduce the heat and cook gently for 3 minutes. Add the saffron. Reduce the heat to very low, and cook for another 2 minutes. DO NOT brown the onion and saffron. Add the rice and cook over medium heat, stirring often, to toast the rice for 1 to 2 minutes.

Add the stock, season with salt and cover partially. Bring to boil, lower heat and simmer for about 8 minutes, until most of the stock has been absorbed. Turn the heat to low and allow the rice to absorb the remaining liquid, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.