Several weeks back I enjoyed a perfectly prepared pork chop served on a bed of saute’d spinach, tomato, mushrooms and garlic.  Ahem.  I made it in my kitchen. I’d intended to prepare some chops on the grill – but it was raining so hard I just couldn’t make myself head out to cook so I worked out some ideas with a sauté pan on the stove-top.

Pan-seared boneless pork loin chop with sauté of mushrooms, spinach, garlic and tomatoes with sauce of reduced balsamic vinegar.

This is the result:

It was tasty and I’m really glad I made it. Today I wanted to translate this idea to the grill and show you what I did in hopes that it will inspire you to comment and give me suggestions as well as take a shot at translating some of your favorite recipes to preparation on the grill.

Here is a pictorial that explains what steps I took to prepare this lean cut of meat for a very tasty meal.

CB’s EZ Seared Boneless Pork Loin Chops with a pan saute of spinach, mushrooms, garlic and chopped tomatoes.

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CB's "Local Boy" Grilled Short Ribs

When I purchased these short ribs the butcher said: “Hey you gonna fix those Hawaiian-Style? I gotta great recipe!”  and he forced handed me a 3 x 5 card with the recipe printed on it.  The two main ingredients besides brown sugar were pineapple and teriyaki sauce. I smiled.

Having spent a bit of time over the past 30 years visiting for work and pleasure – I’m not sure that it’s appropriate to call a dish “Hawaiian-style” because it’s made with pineapple and teriyaki sauce; too many recipes and cookbooks I’ve read seem to do that.  Not to say that both of those ingredients don’t show up in a lot of island food – but if you are from Hawai’i or have visited  – then you certainly know that island food is influenced by many cultures and offers more complexity of textures and flavors than just those two ingredients.  I’d say the food I’ve enjoyed in Hawaii has influenced my belief in freshness and local ingredients more than visiting my neighborhood farmer’s markets. Some of the best food I’ve ever eaten has been in island restaurants like Indigo, Roy’s and Sam Choy’s just to name a few.  And absolutely my preferred first stop when I land in Honolulu is to head to Rainbow Drive in for a mixed plate lunch of mahi-mahi, teriyaki beef and chicken with two scoops rice and macaroni salad. (more…)

For several years I’ve referred to a technique I call, for want of anything better – “Sear & Hold.” This uses the grill to sear steaks, chops, burgers, fish and even chicken over direct high heat – and then finish on low indirect heat to produce a tasty and perfectly cooked meal for your guests. Using this technique on just about any grill, pair of tongs, a thermometer and a little practice you will consistently serve food your guests enjoy and of which you are proud.

Because there are so many questions about how to do this I thought it might be helpful to show the technique on several different grills over the course of the spring and summer in hopes that I’ll inspire you to try it and, if you like it, adapt it to suit your own style of cooking. Each grill design has specific features that require you to understand as the head chef at your house. This month I’ve been using the Big Easy Smoker-Roaster-Grill for various cooks and for this post it’s set up for grilling.

Trim away the excessive fat from the lip. It's not needed for flavor "in" the meat and it will only add to smoke & fat fire flare-ups. Note the RED cutting board? Color code for raw meat.

If you happen to read the post from February 16th called “Some tips on grilling great steaks.” – one of the first steps I recommend is to trim away excess fat from the individual steaks as it only adds to the fat dripping into your fire and doesn’t add to flavor in the meat. Yes, of course you can eat the cooked fat with bites of meat – but I’m trying to be more conscientious in my eating habits these days!  Cutting away excess fat will reduce the amount of smoke when searing steak at the high heat range of 450F – 650F degrees and your doctor will appreciate the effort as well.

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I truly enjoy the flavor of slow cooked pork ribs, grilled whole pork tenderloin sliced into medallions, pork loin roasted and smoked a bit, a smokey pulled pork  sandwich with lotsa ‘bark’ on the surface to kinda chew on and taste the smoke. When it comes to beef – well gimmie a sirloin, a ribeye beef steak, porterhouse, tenderloin, standing rib, flat iron, hanger steak, slow cooked brisket (Texas style if you please) and just about anything else grilled, slow cooked or roasted and barbequed with some smoke. And do I even have to mention chicken, turkey, duck, pheasant, quail, goat, wild boar, veal and a couple other sublime tasty meats that are oh-so-DEE-LISH-US when grilled, roasted, smoked or barbequed?.

Yep – I love it all!

But maybe, just maybe. At least for today maybe – a lightly seasoned and grilled-roasted rack of lamb is one of my top favorite meats to enjoy. Tonight I prepared a smallish 1 lb rack of New Zealand lamb on the Big Easy Smoker-Roaster-Grill as part of my shake-down experience with this new product from Char-Broil.  I gotta tell you I  just couldn’t be happier with the result.

Individual chops sliced from a rack of lamb grilled-roasted to RARE please! Lightly seasoned to compliment the natural flavor of the meat.

The methods to prepare many different cuts of meat on the grill are nearly identical. Once you get the method or technique mastered – you can feel confident approaching the variety of meat available to you and expand your meal time enjoyment. (more…)

Grilled ribeye steak served medium-rare with side of grilled gulf prawns.

Depending upon your level of overall confidence and outdoor cooking skills – you may aspire to preparing steaks that rival those served in expensive steak houses. There are really only a couple of secrets to grilling great steaks.

1. Good quality meat cut thick enough to sear without overcooking

2. High heat & clean grates

OK – there is definitely a third…

3. Patience & Experience

Here’s a pictorial I made of a mixed grill cook I did just this past weekend on the Big Easy Smoker-Roaster-Grill set up for grilling.

After reading the post please leave a comment or question in the Comment section (first time users will experience a delay in the comment being posted while it is reviewed and approved to prevent spammers) or sign up on the Users Forums to post questions about cooking steaks on your specific type of grill.

Thanks and…

Happy Grilling!

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1. Choose the cut of meat that’s right for flavor and best for grilling – based upon your taste buds and your budget! Here’s some information about USDA Grades of Beef and here’s a Beef Chart to help you select meat best suited to preparation techniques. For this cook I happened upon a special deal on USDA Prime Ribeye steaks.

Here’s what the ribeyes I purchased looked like when I brought them home: (more…)

A very tasty grilled to Medium Rare ribeye steak and prawns for lunch.

Talking by phone to business associates on the east coast and southeast who are marveling or grouching about snow. Watching cable news videos of a foot or more of snow in Dallas, TX and a bit less than that in parts of Louisiana and Mississippi. Raining like crazy in southern California.

Gee. It’s a sunny spring afternoon in Seattle.

Ahem – clears throat and says out loud:

“Boy, it sure is nice to grill lunch on the Big Easy Smoker-Roaster-Grill.“

I seem to be on a mushroom kick of late. Each Sunday I visit the Ballard Farmer’s Market and head straight for the Foraged Edibles booth to scope out the offerings. From the big, firm lobster mushrooms to the delicate chanterelle mushroom – I’ve tasted and learned about flavor, texture and techniques for using these found fungi. Mushrooms come in a wide range of sizes, shapes, textures and flavors and have many uses in outdoor cooking recipes.  The ubiquitous  ‘white cap’ is most often found in your neighborhood grocery store and is widely used in prepared salads, pizzas, and soups. It’s mainly white with a firm texture and has a very mild flavor.  Even people who proclaim their dislike of mushrooms seem to eat this variety with nary a complaint. ..but I’m not so sure that’s a good thing to say about it!

The medium-size 3- or 4-inch portobello mushrooms are often packaged and ready to use. (Photo credit: Dole)

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Smoked lamb shanks plated with slow cooked red potatoes, Crimini mushrooms, cumin-spiced carrots drizzle with broth reduction.

If you enjoy lamb then there is a good chance you like lamb shanks. I prefer shanks from the front legs because there is less bone to mess with – and they are a bit easier to handle. But regardless of which you choose – a light touch of smoke and then slowly braising them with onions, garlic, herbs and tasty spiced stock is, in a word I like to use: DEE-LISH-US! (more…)

It’s 5pm and I’m on my way home from a meeting. I know there is a very hungry teen age boy waiting for me and I need to decide right now if I’m going to pick him up and we’ll eat out – or if I’ll fix dinner. Last week I was faced with nearly the identical situation and he persuaded me to take him to a new restaurant near our place that serves, in his words: “Gourmet Hamburgers Dad, c’mon – it’s research!”  I admit the burger menu was impressive and they grind the quality meat on premise. You can select about 3 dozen different combination of ingredients, sides, etc. And the burgers are big. Tasty too. But when the bill comes for two burgers, two milkshakes and one side of fries it’s just a tad short of $30. Holy Mackerel!

Two rib eye steaks lightly seasoned with sea salt, ready to spritz with canola oil and sear on the Big Easy Smoker Roaster Grill at 550F degrees.

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The use of that word in modern slang notwithstanding – I ask you quite seriously: “Ever cooked a cougar?”

This past Sunday I was at a great Christmas party (there were carols, silly sweaters, great food and an accordion player – yeah, I know how to live it up!)  where I just happened to casually ask a friend I hadn’t seen in a while about what he and his wife did for Thanksgiving. He reported they’d traveled to the remote Idaho location of his father’s new house. My friend is an architect and he wanted to show me some pictures of the home and location on his iPhone. The home his father built by hand is an elegant design and located in an amazingly glorious natural setting with incredible vistas. I was enchanted by the photos and, almost as an after thought, I asked about their dinner.

You know, something casual  like: “And what did you have for dinner?” I guess I kinda thought he might tell me about the wild duck, pheasant or maybe turkey  they had hunted – I believe these are all fairly plentiful within a few hours drive of the home. His reply stunned me.

“Cougar – two ways.”

I’ll admit to never having heard of anyone eating mountain lion. And because the mascot of the cross state college rivals is a cougar – I just assumed he was talking about a sporting event. uh-uh.

Then he flipped to the next picture on the iPhone and showed me this…

"That's cougar pan frying (l) & cougar braising in apple chutney (r)."

“Mountain lion (cougar) are very common in the area north of White Bird, Idaho and a local rancher shot it with a permit. My dad got some from him and suggested we prepare it in his new kitchen.  One batch we lightly dusted in flour and herbs, then pan seared. And the other was pretty much braised on the stove top in an apple chutney mixture.  Both were really quite good but I think the cougar in flour and herbs allowed the true flavor of the meat to come through a bit more. It was lighter in color than pork tenderloin.  The taste is very similar to pork but a little more gamy and, because it’s so lean, the meat dried out quickly like pork.”

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OK.  I got nothun.