Summer Grilling Tips…Try These Steaks

Summer’s here and that means picnics, camping, eating with family
and friends on the back porch, and GRILLING.  I’m a big fan of
grilling and BBQ’ing in the summer and one of my favorites is none
other than steak.

I was on Yahoo the other day and they had an article on the best
steaks to grill.  I learned a lot, so if you like steaks on the
grill, I think you’ll learn a thing or two from the article.

[Tweet “never prepare a steak well done.”] He says it’s like squeezing all the goodness out of the meat and
eating a leather shoe.  Now, I’ve got friends who will only eat
their steak well done, and they like it that way, but generally
speaking a well done steak will not be as juicy or tender.

Mark recommends grilling steak to medium rare or medium.

Next, the best steaks for the grill come from the muscular region
of the cow.  Here are his

Skirt Steak:

This belly cut has a high fat-to-meat ratio, which helps keep it
rich and moist. Cutting it across the grain (length-wise) is
essential to thwart the inevitable chewiness factor. Beware: if
overcooked, even for a few minutes, it’ll give your incisors a
work-out. Shoot for long, flat, thin slices.

Try: Throwing the meat strips into tortillas and dress with a
cilantro garlic sauce.

Flank Steak:

A similar cut to skirt steak, but this belly muscle is a little
leaner and sometimes easier to find. Butterfly the flank by slicing
it horizontally with the grain, stopping about one inch from the
edge of the meat. When thrown onto the grill, it’ll puff up a
little.

Try: Going for the rolled approach by spreading chimichurri sauce
— an Argentine mixture of parsley, garlic, onion, vinegar, and oil
that’s very fresh-tasting-all-over, then rolling it up and using
twine for tying.

Hangar Steak:  Nicknamed the “butcher’s tenderloin,” it’s what
people usually put aside to save for selfish reasons. There’s only
one of these vaguely V-shaped pair of muscles per animal, and
because it’s so close to the liver, the hangar is especially
flavorful.

Try: Seasoning the hangar when it comes off the grill with some
good salt, pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil.

Strip Steak:

When it’s still attached to the tenderloin, the strip is known as
the T-bone or Porterhouse steak. A meaty hunk for the most
carnivorous of eaters, this one is so very far from tofu. Cut the
meat across the grain, which, in this case, is usually crosswise.

Try: Food Network host Bobby Flay’s spice-crusted strip steak.
(Recipe found at www.seriouseats.com)

Ribeye Steak:

Whether with bone or boneless, this is one of the richest pieces of
the animal, and not surprisingly, the most expensive. Juicy,
tender, and marbled (fatty), the ribeye was part of the cow’s
unused muscle matter. Perfect to soak up marinade.

Try: Marinating ribeye with soy sauce, ginger, paprika, and liquid
smoke. (Recipe found at www.seriouseats.com)

Try a couple of these steaks and recipes out and let me know how it
goes.  I know I’ll be trying some out for sure!