… and a lagniappe of Drunken Steak…

On the EGG, the big ol’ steak is the yin to the halibut yang… or is it the other way? No matter.

We don’t eat much steak anymore. What you can get outside of a steakhouse is generally low grade, not marbled, and just tough and tasteless. That said… I find it hard to pass up a porterhouse when I see a good looking one in the meat case.

So, how to cook a perfect porterhouse on the EGG?

Build the fire the same way. as for all things EGG.

I generally do a Cooks Illustrated recipe for marinade called “Drunken Steak,” [below] but this time was in a bourbon mood, so I looked up a recipe on line from the Certified Angus Beef folks. Their recipe made 1 1/2 cups and went in the refrigerator for 8 hours. Too much and too long for my taste. I like to marinate on a plate. If the meat’s any good, an hour to add a little flavor is just fine.

So I got out a rimmed plate big enough to hold the steak and

measured 1 ounce each of bourbon and soy sauce. Added 1 Tbsp of brown sugar and a little bit of Worcestershire Sauce, Dijon mustard, minced garlic, olive oil, red wine vinegar, and a few grinds of black pepper. I swirled that around with the back of a fork and carefully laid the steak in the mix on the plate — this is often where I splatter marinade all over me and my counter. Turn the steak a couple times while the fire gets going.

About 20 minutes BC (before cooking) I checked the fire, cleaned my cast iron grill grate and put it over the fire.

At cooktime, I closed the top and took the top vent clean off, patted the steak dry and slathered with some oil and put the puppy on the grill. Closed the top and started timer.

What we want is 2 minutes at 500 – 600 degrees, flip and two more minutes. Shut all vents and flip at 1 minute intervals until the internal temperature hits 115°F — about 2 flips. Remove the steak to a cutting board and let it rest. Oh baby, that is one fine looking steak.

For flipping, I used my new steak flipper I bought at the Silver Legacy Wings Cook-off on Virginia Street, July 6. Brian said it was way overpriced, and I agree, but it’s a handsome devil, perfect for flipping steaks and I also use it to pick up my grill grates and lift the insides in and out of my egg poacher. A multi-tasker.

We served the steak with Carol’s cold tomato soup, kind of like a Gazpacho.

YUM.

So, here’s the Drunken Steak story from March 2010 in SF…

Just a Steak
3.10.10
Carol’s brother, Alan, called about 6:15. “Yo Alan, what’s up?”

“You cookin’ dinner?”

“Yep.”

“What’s for dinner?”

“Drunken Steak. A beautiful boneless New York Strip.”

“What’s a Drunken Steak? You gonna grill it?”

“It’s marinated in a cup of light rum, half-cup of soy sauce, some brown sugar, chopped garlic, ginger, scallion… that’s about it… then dry it and grill it. It’s a beautiful evening for grilling.”

“Sounds good, I’ll have to try it sometime. Is the Mrs. home yet?”

“Just walked in the door. Heeeerrrrrre’s Carol.”

I went on to light the fire and get to grilling. I threw on a sliced potato, as well, tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper. When I returned, Carol had set the table, opened a nice bottle of 2006 Cline Ancient Vines Mourvedre and made a salad of sliced Cherokee Purple tomato and fresh mozzarella.

“Why are you taking a picture of that? It’s just a steak.”

“Never know when I might need a picture of a steak.”

“Well, I’m hungry and you’re holding up dinner.”

“Besides, its not ‘just a steak.’ Its a grass fed, Marin Sun Farms boneless New York steak… and the first grilled steak of the year.”

“You grilled a flank steak when Tom was here.”

“OK, the first grilled steak of the Spring, in the twilight, not the dark… warm, not cold out. Besides I grilled this lovely asparagus, definitely the first grilled asparagus of the year.”

Dinner was served.

“This is really good steak,” said Carol.