When people ask me if I'm ever afraid of running out of recipes to film, I usually joke that new recipes aren't the problem, it's running out of things to call them that's the real fear. Take this horribly named Spanish mustard beef for example. Least poetic name, ever.
Despite the awkward name, this fast and user-friendly wet rub did a fine job flavoring some carne asada I grilled recently (yes, that was redundant). I'm calling it Spanish mustard since I spiked the Dijon with a couple of my favorite ingredients of all time – smoked paprika and sherry vinegar.
Be sure to go find the real stuff (that it comes from Spain is one clue). If your marinade is only going to have a couple ingredients, you better make sure you're using top shelf stuff. The other two keys to this recipe are as follows: only let the meat marinate for about an hour, otherwise it may start to "cook" in the acid; and be sure to build a very hot fire.
Since this is a wet rub, we need the meat to sear and caramelize, not to steam in its own juices. After successfully grilling and slicing thin, against the grain, this can be eaten in hundreds of ways; all delicious. You'll see my tortilla delivery system, but everything from paper-thin rice paper wrappers to thick slices of grilled bread would be perfect.
This is also a fantastic marinade for thin-cut pork shoulder chops, or any of your favorite chicken parts. By the way, while you're grilling, sipping on a cold beer, or sangria, try and think of a better name. Enjoy!
Ingredients: 2 pounds thin sliced beef (any thin flap meat, skirt steak, flank steak, round steak, etc. 2 tablespoons Dijon 2 tablespoons smoked paprika 4 cloves minced, crushed garlic, optional 1/4 cup sherry vinegar 1/4 cup light olive oil salt and freshly ground black pepper to tastes
I've received what I consider to be an inordinate number of emails requesting sandwich videos. A sandwich video? Why would anyone want to watch a sandwich video?" Since the bread for my sandwiches is earned in large part from video views, these things have to be considered.
Well, a few things have changed my attitude towards doing a sandwich video. One would be the shocking success of the inside-out grilled cheese sandwich video (done mostly as a goof), which showed me that these things could put butts in the seats.
Secondly, I received a panini press from IMUSA that I really wanted to try out. I decided to create a sandwich worthy of such a test, and what you see here is the delicious result – a ham, cheese and peach panini, or as I now call it, my new favorite sandwich.
The lightly smoked ham, sharp white cheddar, and sweet/tart peach preserves pressed between the crunchy, buttery bread was an absolutely stunning combination. I know I say this all the time, but I really hope you give this a try. Enjoy!
About the IMUSA Panini Press Grill
You know I don't do a lot of product endorsements, but once in a while I get to test something that I really like, and when that happens I like to share the info. For the record, IMUSA sent me this press free of charge, so you can take that for what it's worth. By the way, the letters going around the grill don't relate to anything, I just thought they looked cool.
This grill heats up quickly. It was ready to go in just a few minutes. There are no controls. It's on or off, so there's no guesswork with temperatures. Just put in the sandwich and check back in 5 minutes. That was it.
I also like that it's a flat, not grooved grill. You can argue the grooves make for a better appearance, but this model is clearly easier to clean (I just used a paper towel).
I don't like to look at product reviews until I've formed my own opinion, so after I finished the video I popped over to Amazon and saw that this model was very well received. That's what I expected, but it's nice to have my findings corroborated. For more info, here's a link to the product page.
In addition to some very funny anecdotes, and grilling war stories (including oil shot roulette, video below), Love mixed in quite a few valuable tips and techniques, which I'd love to share.
Those Fourth of July cookouts are just around the corner, so the timing is right for a little advice from Texas' top chef.
Don't use olive oil on steaks before grilling. Love says the oil burns easily and gets bitter. He suggests using peanut oil or other vegetable oil with a high smoke point. Love was wearing a bright orange shirt during the demo, which he joked was a tribute to his friend, and lover of olive oil, Mario Batali.
The meat should not be ice cold. Allow your steaks to sit out at room temperature to take the chill off. This allows for even cooking.
Love says to always salt the meat before grilling to create a flavorful crust. His rule of thumb for home cooks is to salt the meat twice as much as you think is needed.
When cooking for a larger group, Love suggests grilling the steaks ahead of time. Once they're cooked medium-rare, they can be held on trays at room temperature for several hours. When needed, simply reheat on the upper rack of the grill, or in a 400 degrees F. oven until hot.
Once the steaks are ready to serve, Love suggests a little bit of acid, like a drizzle of lemon or splash of vinegar, which combines with the melted fat in the grilled meat to create a sort of vinaigrette effect, or as the chef called it, a "meat salad."
Carefully check the marbling of steaks in the meat case, since its grade may not necessarily be accurate. Love explained that just because a steak is labeled "Prime," doesn't mean it is. When inspectors grade beef, they only evaluate the rib eye between the 12th and 13th rib. Whatever grade that section gets, every other cut on the steer get.
For a change of pace, try skirt steak. Love says, if not over-cooked, it's easily the juiciest and most flavorful cut on the steer.
And, of course, it wouldn't be a grilling tips list without the obligatory, "Never cut into a steak unless it has rested." Five to ten minutes seems to be the accepted standard for patience.
Like the Chef in the Clip Says, "There Ain't No Party Like a Tim Love Party!"
Below you'll see a brief video I shot at the end of the demo. If you don't know the story already, you can read a detailed account here, but long story short, last year Tim Love was accidentally served a shot glass of canola oil.
As he retold the story, without embellishment (this story needs none), he explained that the show would end with a round of oil shot roulette. In the fridge he had five shots of Patron tequila, and one shot of oil. Six volunteers were to be selected, blindfolded, and "randomly" handed the glasses. On the count of three, they would have to drink the shots.
After Love delicately explained the possible side effects of such a contest, he also revealed the "loser" would get a swag bag. Every loves a nice swag bag, and six contestants were soon assembled in front of the buzzing crowd.
Here are the results. You'll have to pardon the shaky camera, as I find it very hard to hold it still while belly laughing. Enjoy!
This red curry flank steak recipe represents a departure from my usual game plan regarding marinating meat for the grill.
I normally don't try to make the meat taste like something specific, rather just use whatever vinegar is nearby, some garlic, herbs, and whatever spices strike my fancy at that moment.
This time I actually had an idea. I love Thai food, and in particular red curry beef. If you've never had this amazing dish, it's basically chunks of beef stew meat cooked slowly in a spicy, aromatic red curry sauce until fork tender. It's clearly one of the top 50 recipes in the history of the world.
So, inspired by this classic Thai recipe, I decided to see if the same sort of flavors could be turned into some sort of marinade for flank steak. I'm so glad I did. The results knocked my socks off.
I made a point to use only ingredients found in your typical higher-end grocery store (like Whole Foods). I really hope you make the effort to find these items, since there really aren’t suitable substitutions.
One note about doneness – as I mention in the video, I like to cook the flank steak to about 132 on the grill which goes up another 5 or so degrees while it rests. This will give you something between medium rare and medium. Rare flank steak is very chewy, and I believe cooking it closer to medium gives a much better texture to the meat.
Having said that, it may look like the meat is a little rarer than that in the video. That's because I started cutting from the thick end, which is going to be rarer – but as you slice towards the thinner end, it will turn medium, and you'll even get a few slice of medium well towards the end.
For this reason flank steak is a perfect choice for a group, since the same piece of meat will provide a range of different doneness'. So, go find those not-so-exotic Asian ingredients and give this delicious beef flank steak recipe a try. Enjoy!
Ingredients: 1 whole beef flank steak, trimmed 3 tablespoon fish sauce 1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar 3-4 cloves crushed garlic 1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger 1 teaspoon hot sauce 1 teaspoon red curry powder 1/2 teaspoon red curry paste
This is about as primitive as it gets. Take some garlic, capers, anchovy, and parsley, and smash it up in a molcajete, or other mortar and pestle type grinding device. Add a little oil and vinegar, possibly a pinch of salt and pepper, and you have maybe the world's greatest grilled meat condiment.
The sharpness of the sauce, and the brightness of the flavors makes for a perfect marriage with the smoky meat and its subtly bitter grill marks. As I say in the video, the secret here isn't the ingredients, as you can really use any kind of green herbs you want, but it's the grinding and smashing.
Certain things happen to hand-ground food that just don't occur in a food processor. You can check a site like Cooking for Engineers for the scientific reason, but tasting is believing.
So remember, it's a long grilling season, and you're going to need to switch things up now and again. When you do, this simple, raw, green sauce will not disappoint. Enjoy!
Ingredients: (warning: I guessed at these amounts, as this is not a recipe that requires precise measurements – do everything "to taste") 2 large cloves garlic pinch of salt 2 teaspoon capers 1 teaspoon anchovy paste 1/4 cup packed Italian parsley leaves 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar (or any vinegar or lemon juice) 2 tablespoon olive oil
Of course they're not called game hens because they're so great for pre-game tailgate cookouts, but they could be. I'm not exactly sure when it will happen, but sometime this summer you will reach your grilled chicken limit, and when you do, this simple marinated game hen recipe will be there for you.
The idea here is borrowed from the highly successful Cornell chicken experiments, and uses a similar acid/salt/oil/egg concoction, only this time the part of egg is played by mayo. Needless to say you can season this a million ways, and use any combination of hot chilies, but the little kick the habanero adds is really nice.
You can, and so many of you probably will, use regular old chicken halves for this recipe, but the smaller, sweeter hens are a nice change of pace, and a half of one makes for a perfect picnic-sized portion per person. I hope you give it a try. Enjoy!
I shot this grill marks tutorial before rushing off to New York in anticipation of the Memorial Day weekend, and all the grilling that traditionally goes along with it.
Now, I'm not saying that unattractive grill mark anxiety (UGMA) has ever prevented anyone from grabbing a pair of tongs and heading out to the grill, but it is a nice technique to know.
Invariably, if you're grilling in front of a group of people, and turn over a chicken breast sporting a nice set of diamond-shaped grill marks, someone will say, "Man, I wish I knew how to get those." Well, here's how.
Whether you’re doing the cooking, or are in charge of "quality control," I wish you all a delicious and wonderful long weekend. Enjoy!
When people ask me if I'm ever afraid of running out of recipes to film, I usually joke that new recipes aren't the problem, it's running out of things to call them that's the real fear. Take this horribly named Spanish mustard beef for example. Least poetic name, ever.
Be sure to go find the real stuff (that it comes from Spain is one clue). If your marinade is only going to have a couple ingredients, you better make sure you're using top shelf stuff. The other two keys to this recipe are as follows: only let the meat marinate for about an hour, otherwise it may start to "cook" in the acid; and be sure to build a very hot fire.
