We at the Hoobing household are meat connoisseurs. At one point I wrote about giving up on restaurant steak and that plan has not changed. Andy grills meat better than a $50 steak in any restaurant in fact, I would go so far to say that the meat he grills is better than any steak that does not have the word Kobe attached to it (and those definitely sell for upwards of $50.)
Since we invested in our parrilla Argentina (adjustable height Argentina grill) it only made sense that we would also invest time into figuring out how to grill like the Argentines, those who have truly mastered the art of grilling. The rest of this post is a bit of a tutorial on good grilling habits so you too can grill an amazing steak whether you are on your adjustable height grill in Argentina or on your $50 backyard portable grill.
Step One: Buy good meat. Andy has experimented with a lot of different cuts of meat and we have settled on ribeye, flat iron and flank steaks as favorites. Typically he buys the meat from Costco or Smokey Davis, a local butcher and meat smoker. Both places have some good marinades but we also enjoy coating the meat in Kosher salt. This weekend, we stumbled upon a marinated flank steak from Costco which is AMAZING and very reminiscent of arrachera, one of our favorite cuts from Mexico. I knew when I wanted seconds of steak over seconds of chocolate cake that we had found upon something special.
Step Two: Let the meat set out until it is at room temperature. This usually takes an hour or two with a fresh, previously refrigerated cut of meat.
Step Three: Start the grill. We use charcoal since we currently don’t have any hard wood.
Andy is a fan of the Kingsford Competition Briquets.
Step Four: Follow the four second rule to test the temperature of the grill. If you hold your hands above the grill close to where you will soon be putting the meat, the temperature should be such that you cannot hold them comfortably there for more than four seconds. Once you pass the four second rule, you are ready to grill!
Andy takes this moment to clean the grill now that all of the gunk from previous grill sessions has been warmed up. I personally would have cleaned the grill immediately after the previous grilling but there is more than one way to do it.
Step Five: Place the meat on the grill. Grilling tongs are great for this step. Before you place the meat, it is a good idea to spray a bit of cooking spray to prevent the meat from sticking to the grill.
Step Six: DO NOT TOUCH THE MEAT! I cannot emphasize how important this step is. I see professional grillers squishing and molesting the meat the entire time they cook it and this dramatically takes away from the flavor. Go grab yourself a drink and leave the meat ALONE!
Step Seven: Place an digital thermometer into the middle of the meat.
I asked Andy what to do if you don’t have a digital thermometer and his response was that if you are investing in a good steak, you need to just take the plunge and get a digital thermometer. We have a Taylor, more or less similar to this one which you can pick up on amazon for $13, worth every penny.
Step Eight: When the digital thermometer reads 110 degrees Fahrenheit, flip the meat with with tongs.
Step Nine: DO NOT TOUCH THE MEAT! I know, I know, I am starting to sound like a broken record but I want to emphasize how important this is.
Step Ten: When the digital thermometer reads 145 degrees Fahrenheight (for medium rare) remove the meat from the grill with tongs.
At this moment, you might want to look across the yard at your 15-month-old who is climbing on the kiddie picnic table threatening to fall off and bump her head on the cement.
Step Eleven: Let the meat sit for five to eight minutes. DO NOT TOUCH THE MEAT.
Step Twelve: After five to eight minutes have passed, you can cut and serve the steak.
Enjoy! You have made a fabulous steak!
On this particular occasion we enjoyed ours with cesar salad, chocolate cake, beans and one of our favorite bottles of red.
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{ 2 comments }
Oh my god, that looks AMAZING!! Ok, when am I coming to dinner?
Elisa´s last [type] ..A new destination for handbag lovers.
I have to ask where did you get the blue prints for that assador and are you willing to share it is perfect.
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