September, 2008

Well, Sarah isn't using her cooking area so I will. This has been a great summer for eating at the Erickson household. We have had some delicious food. I just wanted to share a few of our summertime (or anytime you grill) favorites.

Cut BBQ Corn

This delicious treat is a pretty simple adaptation of your basic corn from the grill. I will not include quanities as this more of a "however much it takes" recipe.

Ingredients:

• Corn (Uncut)
• Olive oil
• Paprika
• Salt
• Sour Cream (between 1 and 2 tablespoons typically)

Instructions:

Shuck the corn and remove all silk. Lightly coat each ear of corn with olive oil. Sprinkle each ear with Paprika until lightly coated. Add salt in a similar manner to your preference. Place on the grill at Medium or Medium Low, rotating ever few minutes to avoid any significant burning or drying out, some grill lines are ok and add to the taste. Remove Corn from the grill. Carefully cut the corn away from the cobs, (the corn as well as the cobs are very hot, I recommend a hot pad to hold the corn while cutting). Put the corn into a serving dish and add sour cream until it is all just moistened with sour cream.

For the three of us in our home we make 4 ears of corn and use about a tablespoon of Sour Cream. This is a delicious variation of corn on the cob.

Carne Asada

This recipe came as something of a surprise to both Sarah and me. Who would have thought soy sauce would have a place in Mexican food. Well it does in this delicious recipe. Only make sure you have time to Marinate for an hour or you will miss out on the full splendor of this recipe. Remember: when grilling steak it is best to let the meat reach room temperature before cooking, however, take care not to let it sit out for too long.

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds flank steak
• 1/3 cup white vinegar
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 limes, juiced
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika

Instructions:

In a small mixing bowl add: vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, olive oil and juice of two limes. Mix thoroughly. Add all dry seasoning and mix again. Place the flank steak in a shallow dish (the dish should be about as large as the steak). Cover with plastic and let marinate in the refridgerator at least 1 hour, more for thicker steaks). Bring steak to room temperature before grilling. Place on medium high to high heat and follow the table below for doneness. Slice the across the grain at a shallow angle creating thin sliced strips twice to three times the steaks thickness.

This meat is delicious as a main dish with peppers and onions, tradition taco meat, or burritos.

For excellent traditional tacos lightly butter one side of each corn torilla. Place buttery side down on a medium skillet until very lightly browned (or just very hot) then flip. Add a garnish of chopped onion, cilantro and lime juice.

One more trick if you want to cook everything on the grill you can lay down a doubled sheet of aluminum on the grill and use it as a cooking surface. Through a little oil on it and viola, Fajitas.

Steak Grilling Times

Here are some recommended grilling times for steaks. These are kind of go to rules for steaks but they require tuning on your grill. You should only flip the steak one time during cooking at the halfway point and should not open the lid of the grill unless there is a  a flare up of fire. In case of a flare up move the steak to another part of the grill or extinguish the flames with a spritze of water from a spray bottle (make sure it is safe water). Be careful with thin steaks, they cook very quickly!

Resting Time: After the steaks are cooked they should be removed from the grill and placed on a warm plate (set it by the grill while grilling) and covered with aluminum foil. Leave covered for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. The steak will continue to cook and the meat temperature will rise between 1/2 and 1 degree F for each minute during the first ten minutes after cooking. This step is critical in a good grilled steak and will increase juiciness and taste. However, be aware a steak that looks medium rare will often cook to medium while resting, consider this if you like a rare steak.

One additional note for winter grilling. Grilling times tend to increase significantly during colder weather. Be especially conscious to minimize time with the grill lid up when it is colder outside. Every time you open the grill all the hot air rushes out.