The Red Skirt

A new sandwich was created over Labor Day weekend!

Nice plate, huh?

It starts with marinated skirt steak:
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped1/4 cup grainy mustard
2 tblspns Dijon mustard2 tspns paprika
1/4 tspn kosher salt
1/4 tspn black pepper
1 tblspn soy sauce
2 tblspns white wine vinegar1 tblspn honey

Whisk all the ingredients together and allow skirt steak to marinate a couple of hours.

Next, on the grill, roast some red bell peppers. First, oil the peppers with olive oil and then place them right over the hottest part of the grill. When they are nice and blackened they are ready to come off.



Then place them in a bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let them sit for about 10 minutes and then peel the skin off of the peppers. Cut the peppers up into quarters.



Grill the skirt steak. When the steak is cooked take it off, remove the skewers and cut it across the grain into small pieces. Put some of the steak back onto the grill and drape with a piece of provolone cheese. Allow the cheese to melt. At the same time toast two pieces of sliced Italian bread on the grill. When the cheese has melted, scoop up the meat and place it on the toasted bread along with a piece of the roasted red pepper.

The Red Skirt Sandwich!

Tacos Dorados

Over the weekend I grilled some beef, a shoulder roast and a flat iron steak. It had been a while since I had made any tacos so I decided to use the meat from the day before for some filling.

The first thing I did was make some guacamole, from the same recipe you can see here.

I wanted to give that a chance to marry together for a while before I served the tacos.
Filling:
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 onion coarse chop
1 garlic clove
1 jalapeno pepper chopped
4-6 ounces of boneless shoulder roast (or whatever you have)

Put all of these ingredients into a processor and pulse fairly well.

Meanwhile, heat a little shortening in a hot pan. When the grease is hot add in the pureed mixture. Bring this to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for about half an hour.

Season with salt, pepper and cumin.

The mixture should reduce a fair amount, it shouldn't be runny when you spoon it.

Tortillas:

I use the store bought corn tortillas. I heated the cast iron skillet and added enough oil for about a half inch depth. The tortillas have to be flash fried. Don't skip this step.

When the oil is hot, fry each tortilla for about 3 seconds per side. If you don't do this they will crack when you try to roll them and fall apart. (Yeah, I tried skipping this step before.)

The filling will make about 10-12 tacos.

Lay out some paper towels to take the tortillas to after flashing them. After all of the tortillas are finished spoon in a large spoon full of the filling and roll them. Insert a toothpick to hold them together.

Fry the tacos 3 or 4 at the time for about 2 minutes per side or until they are golden brown.

Remove them to paper towels to drain.

When all of the tacos are done you can lay them out on a platter and garnish with some sour cream and guacamole.

I thinned the sour cream out with a little cream so it spoons easier.

I topped mine off with a little radishes as well.

The Perfect Burger

"I like mine with lettuce and tomato
Heinz 57 and French fried potatoes
Big kosher pickle and a cold draft beer
Well good God almighty which way do I steer for my
Cheeseburger in Paradise.." Jimmy Buffett

Sometimes there is no substitute for a good hamburger and since it was the Fourth of July it was doubly appropriate.










Wes tends the outdoor grill..























Booze hounds...



Bono



Coco

Turf at the surf, Folly Beach S.C.

"Got no place to go but there's a girl waiting for me down in Mexico. She's got a bottle of tequila, a bottle of gin and if I bring a little music I could fit right in..." Counting Crows

This shot of filets on the grill surely fits right in at the UMRK, South Carolina edition.
These filets were marinated for about an hour in Dale's before being tossed on a well heated gas grill, in Folly Beach, South Carolina.

Along with the steak we had green beans which were steamed for a couple of minutes and then removed to an ice water bath in batches. After all the beans were done steaming, they were sauteed in a little bacon fat.

Good job, Curt!

Dried Out Brisket

"I 'spec you been out here all night reading the good book?" Woodrow Call

"Biscuits are ready!" Augustus 'Gus' McCrae

This Lonesome Dove reference is merely ancillary, for I did not read the Good Book or bake biscuits today.

I did however, spend thirty dollars on a brisket, which was money well spent...but I digress. (sorry, another Lonesome Dove reference.)

I hadn't cooked a brisket before today. But I did manage to botch the whole thing.

It all started out well enough.


I acquired a brisket from the local market place. A six pound specimen to be exact.

I made a rub with paprika, garlic powder, cumin, garlic, mustard powder, brown sugar, and salt and pepper.

The grill was set for indirect heat, which means that the coals were on either side and the meat was placed over the middle.

At 11:30 the grill was hot so I let it rip.

Every hour or so I replaced a few coals and added a few soaked apple chips. I also sprayed the brisket with apple cider every so often.

To make a long story short when I pulled this brisket off at about six o'clock and sliced thin slices of beef...they were all dried out.

I over cooked it by a long shot. The flavor was good, however, and it is not going to waste. I used a thermometer to gauge the doneness and that was not a good move. I took it off at about one sixty. I should have pulled it at one forty- it looked and felt done then.

I made some slaw, that was a little over-dressed, so the dry meat and wet slaw made good companions.

Just like these two happy, good looking people...

Grilled Roast

I wanted to try grilling something that I had never grilled before so I set out to the grocery store not knowing what I might find.

I found this roast which was also reduced for quick sale at six bucks.

I put together a rub with paprika, salt, pepper, dried thyme and oregano.

I rubbed the roast down with the dry ingredients and let that set for about 45 minutes.

I used the round Weber grill, mainly because I was running low on charcoal.

I raked all of the coals to one side of the grill and also added some soaked hickory chips on top of the coals.

I placed the roast on the opposite side of the grill and turned the lid so that the holes were directly over the meat.

You can see the set up on the left. Those are ears of corn in the foil.

I let them cook indirectly for about 40 minutes, pulled them off and then right before we were ready to eat I put them back on for about another ten minutes.

I let the roast smoke for about 3 1/2 hours...I think.


I have to say that the roast turned out better than I had imagined it would.

It was even better the next day cold, sliced thinly ladled with a bit of chimichurri sauce!

Late night shish kebabs w/ the companions

"This highway runs from Paraguay
And I've just come all the way" Steely Dan

Well, I woke up late, hungry. The better half was off to bed. I was craving meat, so I went and got a steak and a bottle. And charcoal.

I bought a cheap steak, figuring that if i marinated it it would not matter. Not to mention the fact that carne is going through the roof lately.

So I began to dice up my cheap steak, with a little onion and portabello and green bell pepper.

I stoked up my chimney starter with newspaper and got it rolling as well.

I located the skewers in the back of the silverware drawer and began to load them up.

The Overlord let it be known they could be bribed tonight, so I doled out a couple of raw slices to them. (Tub included)

I had a pretty hot fire going, not very large. I gave two skewers ten minutes each, which seemed to be about just right.

A thunder storm passed over bringing a little bit of rain, but no more than a minor nuisance.

Oh yes, the companions. After I had eaten, I had a bit more steak left, so I made one more shish kebab. As I was pulling it off of the grill I noticed a bandito looking up at me from below the porch.

Since we have a bit of a relationship already, I offered a piece of kebob to my bandito amiga. It was a bit hot still. She, who is roughly twice as large as the Overlord, didn't know quite what to do with a piece of hot food. So she picked it up, rolled it around in her paws, then ran off to the creek to wash it off. No matter how much food they pick out of the garbage can they always make sure they wash it off before they eat it. You've got to admire that in an animal.

Who are the companions? Take a guess.

Cooking music: Random

spirits: Ravenswood Merlot