Chef Greg Cole gave The Napa Valley Register some great tips for cooking the perfect steak.
1) The most important part of cooking a great steak is choosing high quality meat.
2) Let the meat come to room temperature before you grill it.
3) Don't hide the flavor of a great steak. Season only with a little olive oil, salt and coarse cracked black pepper.
4) * Cook Time
“I’ll share with you the $20,000 culinary school secret,” Cole said. Here it is: You do it by pressing the steak and matching the feel against your own hand.
To do it, make a ring with your thumb and forefinger on the opposite hand from the one you generally use, and with your other hand, press the pad of skin below your thumb. That’s how a rare steak will feel if you press it.
Now, shift and make a ring of your thumb and middle finger. That same pad below your thumb will be slightly stiffer. That’s the feel of a medium rare steak.
Your thumb and ring finger will approximate the feel of a medium steak, and the pad will be firmest when you make a ring of your little finger and thumb: That’s a well-done steak.
5) Turn the steak 4 times during the cooking time to get the nice looking crisscross grill marks. (Thick steaks - around 3 minutes between turns)
6) When it comes off the grill, let the steak rest for 5 minutes (10 for 16 oz+ steaks). This allows the juices to reabsorb back into the meat.
Cooking steak
Great Global Grilling
Check out Emeril Live on the Food Network this Saturday night at 9PM EST. They're airing an episode titled Great Global Grilling. It'll expand the vision of your outdoor grill beyond burgers and dogs. They're going to talking about grilled pork, leg of lamb, artichoke hearts, ham/provolone panini and fruit. Yum, Yum.
Tailgating Outdoor Grill
Football season is upon us once again. Freedom Grill has dubbed their FG-100 as "The Official Grill of Tailgating". At a retail price of $900, it had better be. This ingenious outdoor grill mounts on the back of your vehicle where you'd usually see bikes or a spare tire. All you have to do to set it up for cooking is swing it out from the hitch and set the leg.
Of course, it's also made for camping and other outdoor adventures. Still, you gotta love showing up with this thing before a game. It'll sure annoy the guy next to you swatting over his hibachi.
Grilled Caramelized Apples-and-Cheese
Yes, you can even grill dessert for your guest. Here's a yummy recipe courtest of JewishExponent.
Grilled Caramelized Apples-and-Cheese
1/4 cup honey
1 Tbsp. apple-cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. walnut oil
2 large Granny Smith apples
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
8 oz. cheddar, Camembert or Brie, cut in wedges
Mix the honey with the vinegar and oil in a bowl.
Core the apples and cut off the ends. Slice into 1/2 -inch-thick rounds and place in the honey mixture so that all the slices are completely coated. Allow the apples to rest in the honey mixture for 10 minutes.
Grease a rack over a moderately hot fire with the oil. Grill the apple slices for 4 to 5 minutes per side, turning frequently, until golden brown.
Serve with wedges of cheese.
Makes 4 servings.
Grilling Gadgets
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has got a nice list of outdoor grill accessories that will cause your neighbor to choke on his burger.
* Big Green Egg Baking Stone $24.95-$29.95
* BBQ Guru Power Draft Controls $145-$659
* ChickCan Rack for Beer Can Chicken $12.99
* Sharper Image LED Grill Light $49.95
* Motorized Grill Cleaning Brush $30
Serious Outdoor plan from Southern Living
Blueprints for a 704 sq. ft. covered structure.
This "Project Plan" can be purchased from Southern Living for $89.95
Building an Outdoor Kitchen
FoodandWine.com has some great tips to consider when designing your own outdoor grill.
Some good points to consider:
1) Think hard about position and orientation
2) Plumbing will drive you mad
3) Plant an herb garden nearby
4) Think about the sun.
5) Give your counter a backstop.
6) Beware of clever ideas
