Page 21 - DEC2021 Digial Issue: Barbecue News Magazine

take a magazine and fan the coals so any loose ash is blown away.
Take a steak about 1 inch thick, pat it re- ally dry, salt it, and lay it right on the coals. You heard me. Right on the coals.
Surprisingly, when you turn it in about
three minutes, there will be very little ash
stuck to the meat, and it produces a very
dark all-over sear in a hurry. But the oper-
ative words are very little ash. Every time
I’ve tried it, small amounts of ash and
even whole coals have stuck to the surface
and there have been scorched dry spots.
The ashes are easily brushed off, but I still
can’t recommend this method whole-
heartedly. It is much better to place a wire
rack on top of the coals or very close to them. Then you can check the meat, and there is less scorching and no ash. Live in the stone age if you wish, but know things are better in the iron age.
The Stripsteak Method
In the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas, Chef Michael Mina’s Stripsteak employs a signature technique for perfect thick steaks.
First the meat is immersed in a bath of clarified butter at about 120°F. The technique is called sous vide, and the clarified butter (also called ghee) is simply unsalted but- ter heated slowly so the water and milk solids can be removed.
After about an hour of soaking the meat is an even 120°F throughout, and when an order comes in, the chef lifts it gently from the butter, shakes a bit off, turns around, and lays it on a screaming hot topless Santa Maria style grill burning mesquite logs.
After a few minutes and several turns, the meat comes off the grill with a deep dark
almost black exterior, but never burned, and the center is perfect medium rare, about 130 to 135°F, with almost no color variation.
Interestingly, the butter does not pene- trate much so the butter flavor is minimal. It does contribute to a deep brown nutty crust, however. The steaks are among the finest I’ve ever tasted.
Between the Stripsteak Method, the After- burner Method (my favorite), the Vi- gneron Method, and Caveman Steaks, your next great meal is just a few flames away.
Torch it
Here’s an idea I stole from a restaurant in Barcelona. The end the meal with Crema Catalana, a version of the awesome custard, crème brûlée. The custard is made in a bowl in advance and just before serving, they sprinkled sugar on top and blasted it with a Bunsen burner. The scorching hot flame caramelizes the sugar and makes a hard crunchy cap. So took the Bunsen burner I had in the basement for soldering, bought an attachment called a Searzall that spreads the flame, tossed a thin skirt steak into a cast iron pan and hit the surface with the torch. Within minutes I had a mahogany richly Maillarded slab that remained rosy rare in the center.
Meathead is the BBQ Hall of Famer who founded AmazingRibs.com, by far the world's most popular outdoor cooking website. He is the author of "Meathead, The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling," a New York Times Best Seller that was named one of the "100 Best Cookbooks of All Time" by Southern Living magazine. This article was excerpted and modified from his book and website. For 2,000+ free pages of great barbecue and grilling info, visit AmazingRibs.com and take a free trial in the Pitmaster Club.
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THISILLDOUS EATERY
Michael P. Moyer Owner & Chef
320 Front St. Belvidere, NJ
908-475-2274
“Good Food For All”
Convenience without Compromise
www.thisilldous.com
e-mail:mike@thisilldous.com
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