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…)

Download a free PDF version courtesy of the National Pork Board.

Our friends over at National Pork Board have produced a number of helpful publications with tips, tricks & good information about cooking pork.  One of my favorites is “The Pork Chop” aptly described as “Your Not-So-Secret Weapon for Solving Dinnertime Dilemmas – Pocket Guide to Pork.” Download a free PDF copy to your computer by clicking HERE.

Happy Grilling!

Mike is one of our favorite outdoor cooks and the first ‘Guest Chef’ here at Sizzle on the Grill. You can read the profiles of all our guest chefs by clicking on the link at the top of this page Writers & Chefs.  One of Mike’s calling cards is as the national spokesperson for “BBQ for our Troops” and another is being the Pit Boss of Pit Crew BBQ. But his original calling is as an accomplished competition BBQ contest team captain.

Mike is creative, fun-loving and enjoys cooking tasty food for folks.  I just about always learn something from his examples and mostly I just get a kick out of watching him get all excited about cooking.  Take a look at this video he made for his weekly online show called “Getcha Goin” to show you how he takes a basic recipe idea for a ‘Fatty’ and plays with it to make it his own. Don’t be intimidated because Mike is using his big catering and competition smoker rig for this cook. You can do this recipe on your gas or charcoal grill, smoker or other outdoor cooker.

Cooking instructions:

“The fatty with corned-beef hash and the cheese-stuffed egg was using meat or ’stuffing’ that was already cooked, so I just need to re-heat that part but cook the bacon  warp until is was all crisp. The “All Fowl Fatty” was using raw un-cooked meat so it needed to cook long enough for the chicken to reach the proper internal temperature. The USDA suggests that 165F degrees internal temp is good for poultry. The temperature inside the smoker was at 275F – 300F degrees.” ~Mike

Three variations on a theme: Fatty's by Mike Hedrick.

Here are some pictures of the cook: My take on Smoking a Fatty

Do you have a question for Mike or one of the other Guest Chefs or experienced outdoor cooks who contribute to Sizzle on the Grill? Just post it over on the Users Forums or in the comment section below or in the Just Ask CB section. We are all here to help you!

Thanks and…

Happy Grilling!

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Here’s a good basic recipe for a “Fatty” from our love birds, Ken & Patti of Date Night Doins:

Ken & Patti ‘Date Night” Fatty Recipe

The stainless steel emitter and grates used in the patented Char-Broil Quantum® cooking system need to be seasoned prior to the first use.  If you’ve already seasoned them and haven’t repeated the process or if you overlooked that step when you purchased your grill last year – now is a good time to give your grill a thorough cleaning to remove all of the grime and any rust that may have formed due to neglect or forgetfulness and get ready for grilling this year.

The patented Char-Broil Quantum® infrared emitter & grate system.

To optimize cooking performance of the Quantum infrared grilling system you need to season the infrared emitters and grates just like a you do a cast iron skillet. This is most important as they are designed to operate at peak efficiency when seasoned so this process will improve cooking performance, make cleaning easier and inhibit rusting.

Brush Hawg Stainless Steel Scouring Pads

Step One
If you have already used your grill – make sure the grates and infrared emitter plates are clean. Remove any grime or burned on materials by soaking in warm water (I sometimes add a touch of vinegar) and use a lot of elbow grease to scour it off. I use the Brush Hawg Stainless Steep Scouring Pad for this job.

Step Two
Dry the grates with a towel and immediately coat all surfaces of the Quantum® Cooking System (Grates and Emitter plate) with vegetable oil. I recommend either peanut, safflower, cottonseed or canola. If you use a spray, which is easier to use, wipe down the Quantum® Cooking System after spraying to ensure an even coat.

Step Three
Replace the emitter plate and the grates in the grill cooking chamber, light the burners in the grill and leave it on the Medium-High setting with the hood closed for 15 – 30 minutes, or until the vegetable oil burns off and stops smoking. Turn off the burners and allow everything to cool.

Step Four
I always repeat the process.

What you will achieve by adopting this process and staying with it!

The shiny finish on grates and emitter should now have a very dark brown or bronze color. Your grill is now seasoned and you are ready to cook. The more you use your Quantum® grill the better it will cook. The more properly seasoned the cooking chamber becomes you will discover your grill will cook hotter and more evenly. A light spritz of high temperature tolerant vegetable oil after each use (once the grill has cooled) will keep the surfaces seasoned and help prevent any rusting – just like a quality cast iron skillet.

Make it a habit to clean your grill after each use. Follow the instructions in the product manual and keep it clean.  You wouldn’t cook using a dirty pan so don’t cook on a dirty grill. Proper seasoning is NOT leaving food and other crud build-up on the grates!

The next time you plan to use your grill with the Quantum infrared system, before starting the burners wipe the grilling surface with a cloth that’s got a bit of vegetable oil in it. This should remove any debris that may have accumulated while not in use  – then pre-heat your grill and start grilling some of the juiciest steaks, chops and other meat you can ever enjoy. You’re grilling infrared and that’s our Juicy Little Secret!

So, the three basic steps are:

1. Make sure to season your grill prior to the first use. Coat all cooking surfaces with a high temperature vegetable oil. This can be done with a spray, brush or cloth. Heat the grill at a Medium-High setting with the hood closed for 15-30 minutes until there is no more smoke.
2. After your grill has cooled again wipe down or spray the entire cooking surface. This will coat the metal and provide a barrier to help reduce surface rust.
3. Prior to cooking again wipe down with an oiled rag. This will help remove any debris that may have accumulated.

Want to read more tips and tricks or have a question about your  Char-Broil grill with the Quantum infrared grilling system? Check out the many topics on the Quantum board at the Users Forums.

Want to learn more about the Quantum infrared grilling system? Check out this  short video: CLICK HERE

Happy Grilling!

You may have some interest in using a cast iron Dutch Oven to prepare meals outdoors. This series of videos produced by the Texas Parks & Wildlife may be helpful to you and serves and a great introduction to outdoor cooking with cast iron. The host is an amiable fella who shows some basic recipes including Texas Cowboy Egg Pie – er,,, Quiche Lorraine for those of us non-cowboys.

Happy Grilling!

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Part 1.

Part 2.

Part 3.

Is beef on your party menu?

Besides finding a date on the calendar and time that works for everyone; coming up with a guest list and getting out the invitations  – there’s all that other stuff that goes with hosting a holiday party.  Like cleaning and decorating, as well as finding the perfect attire that suits the occasion. Yep. It’s the holidays and regardless if it’s just the boys from the bowling team over to have a couple of laughs, the neighbors, co-workers, friends or relatives – you are known for making sure everything is in perfect shape at your parties.   But there is  always one really big decision to make when hosting a party:

“How Much To buy?”

You want to be a good host and make sure there is enough of your tasty grilled and barbequed food to ensure everyone has a helping or two, but these days you also want to watch the costs! Buy too much and it goes to waste. Buy too little and folks are hungry! What to do?

Our friends at the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association have created a handy printable guide that may help you!  It tells you the serving size in ounces and how many servings you can generally expect from one pound of beef. Of course how you prepare and serve is up to you!

They call it, simply enough: How Much to Buy

Click on the link to open the PDF file. You will need Adobe Reader to view and print it.

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Grilled Flat Iron steak, sliced and served with Mustard Bourbon sauce. Photo courtesy of the Cattlemen's Beef Board and National Cattlemen's Beef Association

Here’s a tasty idea for your holiday party menu – grilled flat iron beef steaks.  Flat Iron steaks are fairly standard size and weight, thus easier to predict cooking times and plan for the number of guest.  One steak can provide 2 -3 servings. They are very “grill-able” – so you can cook them to order and prepare only what you need, as you need it!  Or cook several ahead to just a rare stage and hold, wrapped in foil, at a safe temperature until ready to carve – they will continue to cook slightly and generally will be at medium-rare when sliced.

CB’s EZ Grilled Flat Iron Steaks with Mustard-Bourbon Sauce

Happy Grilling!

For a great steak dinner – you start with a great cut of fine quality beef.  Getting it to market requires dedicated ranchers and  processors. Regardless of your choice of grain fed, grass fed, organic or something else – one of the most important steps in the process is the butcher who trims out the meat for you to prepare. You may be lucky enough to have a great meat market where you shop. There are excellent butchers in many cities and towns; some butchers are in their own independent shops, some service only the restaurant business and some individuals may be in the meat department at your favorite grocery store.

I rarely visit New York City – so presenting this video isn’t intended as an endorsement of LaFrieda Meats. It’s just an informative video about a good butcher  and some tips on how they practice their craft.  I thought you might enjoy it.

Happy Grilling!

This video was produced and is owned by AlwaysHungry – a custom restaurant search engine. The video is subject to copyright protection and is presented here by Creative Commons License.

I’ve never fired a gun at a duck or, for that matter, at any animal. But I belonged to Ducks Unlimited for more than a decade. Why? Well first of all I love to cook wild game birds and secondly – I believe in their cause.  I  appreciate that it’s an organization of hunters working together to protect wet lands so the birds might flourish and they will continue to enjoy their sport. A win-win.  I call that sustainability.

Likewise, at least in my mind, I support my local farmers who sell in weekend markets and try to purchase from several each week. I also purchase from  both local and major grocery store chains and have begun reviewing the products I choose in an attempt to purchase those grown and processed in the U.S. and Canada. (My tomatoes come from Canada nearly year-round, can you believe that?) (more…)

Beef Made Easy®
The PDF handout is an 8.5″ x 11″ version of the Beef Made Easy Cuts Poster

8.5" x 11" in size - reduced here to fit the page

This PDF chart is made available to you FREE by the Cattlemen’s Beef Board & National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. Click on this link: Beef Made Easy®

You’ll need the latest FREE version of Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the PDF.