Steak Kabobs

• 1 1/2 pounds top sirloin steak, cubed
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbs Worcestershire
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tsp dried parsley
• 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 8 oz baby bella mushrooms, stemmed
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 green bell pepper
• 1 sweet onion

Clean and wash the veggies.  Cut the bell peppers and onion into 1 inch cubes.  Leave the mushrooms whole.

Place all of the veggies into a 1 gallon zip top bag.

Trim the top sirloin steak and cut it into 1 inch cubes.  Add the steak to another 1 gallon zip top bag.

In a medium bowl combine the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, parsley, rosemary, smoked paprika, salt and pepper.  Whisk together.

Pour half of the mixture into the veggie bag and half of the mixture into the steak bag.  Seal and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.  Flipping once or twice during the marination process.

After the steak and veggies have marinated, remove them from the fridge and assemble the kabobs.  Alternate the meat and veggies on pre-soaked bamboo skewers.

Preheat your grill to medium/high.

Also set aside a piece of aluminum foil.  Place a small sheet on the grill covering the area that you will place the skewer handles.  This will act as a heat shield, preventing the handle ends of the kabob skewers from going up in smoke.

You can also use a skewer grill shield.  This one by Steven Raichlen is awesome!  The Raichlen shield is far superior to a piece of foil as it has a comb like ridge that holds the skewers in place.  I don’t have one yet, but I saw Chris from NibbleMeThis use one a couple of months ago.  I really want to get one, but for now foil will do.

Lightly oil the grill grate with vegetable oil.  Then place the skewers on the grill and cook for roughly 10 minutes, turning as needed, or until meat is cooked to order and vegetables are tender.

Serve with your favorite sides or eat as is.

These were some of the tastiest kabobs that I have ever eaten.

NY Strip Steaks with Bourbon Steak Sauce

• 2 NY Strip Steaks, 12oz or bigger
• salt and pepper
• Sauce
  • 1/2 medium yellow onion, finely diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely diced
  • 2/3 cup bourbon, Jack is my friend
  • 1/2 cup water plus 2 tbs for thickening
  • 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup teriyaki sauce
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1/3 cup apple juice
  • 1 tsp cornstarch
  • 1 tsp Captain Thom’s Thai Monkey sauce, or favorite hot sauce
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp pepper

The Steak Sauce

Add the ingredients for the sauce minus the 2 tbs of water and cornstarch.  Whisk together and bring to a boil over medium/ high heat.

Once the sauce starts to boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer uncovered for 25 minutes.

Once the 25 minutes are up, whisk together the cornstarch and the 2 tbs of water in a small bowl and then pour them into the pan.  Whisk the ingredients together and raise the heat to medium/high.  When the sauce starts to boil reduce it to low and simmer for 3 minutes.  The sauce should thicken just a bit.  Remove it from the heat and let sit until you are ready to use it.

Perfect steaks

Preheat your grill to high.  I start my coals in a charcoal chimney.  It is the perfect way to start charcoal.

Place your coals evenly in your grill so you get a nice even cooking surface.

Season the steaks with kosher or sea salt and then with freshly cracked pepper.  Make sure to season both sides.  Simple will win every time.  All you need is salt and pepper, trust me.

The timing below if for a steak that is roughly an inch thick and you want the final steak to be medium/rare.  For a medium steak add a minute to each side.  For medium well add 3 minutes and for well cook until it resembles shoe leather roughly 4-5 minutes more on each side.  Also you can check the doneness with a meat thermometer or by cutting into the steak.

Then place the steaks directly over the coals or high heat surface of your grill.  Cook for 3 minutes then rotate the meat 45 degrees and continue cooking for another 2 minutes.  This will give you the perfect cross hatch grill marks.

Flip and cook for 3 more minutes.  Rotate the meat 45 degrees and continue to cook for another 2 minutes.

Remove the steaks from the grill and cover with foil and let rest for 3-5 minutes before serving.

Serve the steaks with your favorite sides and the bourbon steak sauce.

Easy Beef Stir-fry

• 4 tbs cornstarch
• 1/2 cup beef stock
• 1 tbs mirin
• 2 tbs water
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tbs brown sugar
• 2 tbs grated fresh ginger
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1 lb boneless steak cut  into thin strips (use sirloin or top round)
• 2 tbs vegetable oil
• 1 head of broccoli, cut into florets
• 1 small onion cut into wedges
• 2 bell peppers cut into 1 inch squares, use a variety of colors
• 4-8 oz water chestnuts, sliced
• 8-10 dried red chilies
• 1/4 cup scallions, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 2 cups cooked rice

In a large bowl combine the water, 1/2 the garlic, 1/2 the ginger and 2 tbs of cornstarch.  Mix together to form a loose paste.

Then toss in the sliced beef and stir.  Let sit for a couple of minutes while you pre-heat your large skillet or wok to high.

Dice your veggies and set aside.  You want everything ready to go when you start cooking as it will come together fast.

In a small bowl or coffee cup combine the beef stock, brown sugar, soy sauce, mirin and the remaining garlic and ginger.  Mix together until the cornstarch is mixed through the sauce.  Set aside.  I find that a coffee cup is an easy way to mix the sauce.  The built-in handle makes mixing in the cornstarch easier.

With the skillet preheated, add the cold vegetable oil and the dried red peppers.  Stir for a minute and then add the marinated beef.  Stir-fry for 3-5 minutes, or until the meat if throughly cooked.  Remove the meat from the pan.

Add just a tad bit more oil to the pan and then add the veggies.  Stir-fry for 5-8 minutes or until the onions start to become translucent.

Then add the beef back into the pan.  Mix the ingredient together.  Then add the sauce.  Bring to a boil and then stir. The sauce should thicken right up.

Top with the scallions and serve over the prepared rice.

This dish was fresh, light and super tasty.  The exact opposite of the LJS experience.

The tequila makes these amazing

Grilled Steak Tacos with Roasted Peppers

• 1lb flank steak
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 tequila
• 2 limes
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 tbs cumin
• 1 tbs oregano
• 1 tbs onion powder
• 1 tbs chili powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Roasted Peppers

• 6 poblano peppers
• 1 zip top bag for steaming the peppers

Lay the flank steak out on a cutting board and dry it off with a towel.

The flank steak

With a flank steak I usually tenderize it before I use it.  To do that use a hard object or a meat tenderizer and hammer the meat.  This will tenderize it and make it so that it is not too chewy.

Take all of your aggression and use it against the poor helpless piece of meat.

Mix all of the seasonings above and place in a zip top bag.  You can add as much tequila as you like.  Jeff likes tequila so I think that we added about a 1/2-3/4 cup of tequila.

Add as much tequila as you like.

Then seal the bag and squeeze as much air out as you can.  Then refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.  2-3 hours is preferred.

Jeff was a great hand model. I think he has a future in the business.

Just like the shrimp tacos from a couple of days ago, we are going to serve these with roasted peppers.  While the meat marinades, roast the peppers.  Place the peppers on high heat and turn them every minute or so until all of the sides are blackened.

It is alright to let them burn as it will make the skins come off easier.

Make sure to rotate them so that all of the sides get blackened.

Once all of the sides are blistered and black time to remove them from the grill

Remove them from the grill when blistered and place in a plastic bag.   The plastic bag will help to steam the skins off.

Zip top bags make the perfect container for steaming the skins off.

After about 10 minutes it is time to peel the skins.  As you can see, the skins come off in giant sheets.

It might be a little dirty, but this is a hands on sort of thing.

Slice into strips and serve these tender, smokey, and tasty treats with any and everything.

Now that the peppers are done, it is time to grill the meat.  Place the flank steak on the grill over high heat and sear the outside. 

Place the meat on a pre-heated grill

After about 5-7 minutes you should have good grill marks.  When you have good grill marks and the meat looks golden it is time to flip.

Flip when you have good carmelization

Now continue to cook for another 5-7 minutes.  The meat should be about medium-medium well.  Remove and let the meat sit for 5 minutes before carving.  This will let the juices redistribute throughout the meat.  Then carve the meat into thin strips.  Make sure to cut against the grain.  Otherwise, the meat will be chewy.

Make sure to cut against the grain

Serve the steak tacos on a flour tortilla with some cheese, roasted peppers, salsa and some sour cream.  Makes for a perfect summer meal.

The tacos are great with just a little lime juice to add a tad bit more acidity.

These tacos were the best of the night.  The meat was cooked perfectly and the seasoning was awesome.  Now that it is summer time, it is time to grill.  You don’t always have to make burgers and hot dogs.  Next time make grilled steak tacos.