There was a time when, had it not been for a microwave and people in paper hats handing me bags out of windows, I would pretty much have starved to death. It’s probably not uncommon for a young man, out on his own for the first time to subsist on McRibs and Hot Pockets, I don’t guess. After a while, though, I started to take an interest in, you know, eating things other than Hot Pockets. Once I started to cook for myself I found that I actually enjoyed doing it. I liked eating better food, but I also got some satisfaction out of trying something a little more difficult and having it pay off…and even more for cooking and having other people enjoy it. I particularly love cooking things on my grill and in my smoker, partly because (in my opinion) it imparts more flavor but also maybe because it adds an exciting danger factor to the experience that I nice, clean stove doesn’t. Or maybe I just like playing with fire…I should really move on. My interest was boosted even more when “BBQ Pitmasters” hit the airwaves. I’m not given much to watching reality TV…unless it involves people cooking whole hogs in cinderblock smokers and a bearded Georgian judge saying stuff like “We ain’t judging on appearance you silly sumbeech.” Again, I digress… Once I became a bit more skilled and adept, I started to experiment. Once I’d mastered smoking baby back ribs using store-bought rub and sauce, the next step was to concoct my own spice rub and make my own barbecue sauce. Then I tried my hand at beef ribs. Once I’d gotten to where I could consistently produce good barbecue, I started smoking whole turkeys and brisket. There’s some trial and error involved and occasionally some inedible meat, but every time I’ve tackled something new, I’ve eventually gotten to the point where I can cook it and people will eat it without vomiting or making sour faces. In most all cases, what comes out of my smoker or off my grill has actually been good. One of the foods I’ve been particularly experimental with is steak. I started off grilling ribeyes, using a fairly standard mix of salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder on them. After a while, I wanted to change things up a bit, so I’d experiment with different seasonings, then I got especially daring and started buying cheap, off-brand cuts of meat (blade steaks, bottom round, shoulder roasts etc.) just to see if I could make them tender and tasty. I once saw steaks on sale at a Dollar Store and almost pulled the trigger…then I really started thinking about “steaks” that cost a dollar. Seriously, that has to be hooves and no-no parts doesn’t it? I’m adventurous, but I don’t know if Bobby Flippin’ Flay could make one dollar steaks edible. Anyway, I figured out that, unlike strips and ribeyes, marination was a key. I soaked those things in everything imaginable, including whiskey (that usually cost more than the meat), broth and salad dressing. I actually hit gold once, marinating some really cheap bottom round in a mix of whiskey, hot sauce, garlic and brown sugar. I also learned that just because it looks like a steak, doesn’t mean you can cook it like one. A little lower and a little slower goes a long way in some cases. I’ve mostly gotten away from buying really cheap steak cuts and doctoring them up for a couple of reasons. For one, it requires a lot more effort than just buying a little better steak and now I’ve kind of proven to myself I can make good food from discount cuts. Mostly though, when I want a steak, I want to taste steak with a little seasoning, not Jack Daniels with a little beef taste…much as I like the flavor of Jack Daniels. That changed a few weeks ago, though, when I made a Friday morning run to the grocery store and found sirloin on sale. Now, sirloin is not hooves and no-nos, Dollar Store tough, but it isn’t as tender or well-marbled as ribeyes or filets. To me, though, it actually may have more natural flavor than some better cuts. So I bought what was billed as a “steak,” though I would more aptly describe it as “a ginormous slab of cow.” It weighed over 1.5 pounds and only cost me about $10. I decided with a piece of meat this big and with this little bit of marbling, I needed to go the low, slow route. However, I didn’t really feel like getting out my smoker to cook one steak. So I turned to my kettle, charcoal grill. I do have a gas grill, but I rarely use it, both because it’s old and doesn’t work great and because I just much prefer the flavor or meat grilled over charcoal. I decided I’d just offset the charcoal to one side to grill on indirect heat. I also decided the charcoal I’d be using would be hickory briquettes that give off a lot of smoke. I’ve found that putting wood in my grill just makes the meat a bit sooty, I guess because even when you open all the vents, there isn’t enough airflow for a clean burn. You could wet some wood chips, wrap them in foil and punch some holes to put a little smoke in your grill, but I have found that doesn’t give me enough smoke, so I went with the hickory briquettes. I decided not to over-season the meat, since I wanted to taste mainly meat and smoke. I just gave it a good coating of salt and pepper and threw on it on the grill. The only challenge with a piece of meat that is not very well marbled is that even cooking lower and slower, it can dry out. So, I whipped up some melted garlic butter and brushed it on often. You could also use squeeze butter, which I sometimes do, but I thought a little garlic would set it off nicely. It took a while to get the steak to medium, since I was using not a lot of charcoal and it was offset, but man the wait was worth it. After I let it rest, I cut into it. I was so impressed with the results that I took a picture and sent it to a fellow grilling enthusiast. “How the (naughty word) did you get a smoke ring on a steak?” he texted back.
Cooking like I did, it was as tender a steak as most any steak I’ve ever cooked. It was juicy and the smoke, butter and light seasoning all just enhanced the steak flavor. It mas made into INCREDIBLY DELICIOUS sandwiches. If you’re willing to put in a little extra effort, cheap steak doesn’t taste like cheap steak at all…and it’s much better than a Hot Pocket. Have any magical steak grilling techniques to share? Leave them in the comment section.
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November 2021
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