Hi, kids!
I hope your weekend was great! As you saw in my previous posts, my weekend was so much fun! I got to hang out with my neighbors and enjoy one of the best fall weekends so far in Austin. My dad even got the backyard fire pit lit up so we could roast marshmallows and make 'smores. For you who aren't familiar with 'smores, what you do is roast marshmallows over the fire, then make a sandwich with them in between two pieces of graham crackers and a piece of chocolate. Yum yum!
But before we got to have dessert, we got to have one of my favorites again: steak! The last time we grilled steak was at Garner State Park and we had tenderloin. This time my dad picked up some strip sirloin steak. That's another really yummy kind of steak. To be honest, there is what the grown-ups call fat marbling in the steak that makes it taste so good. The tenderloin is real soft, but it doesn't have as much fat in it, so the flavor is a little different compared to the strip steak.
Here I am getting the steak ready with some pepper that I ground fresh:
There are what my dad would call a few variables in grilling the steak (as with any meat) that are important if you want a tasty result. The type of steak (would you believe there are probably a dozen kinds of beef steak?) and it's quality are two variables. Some people say the quality of the beef is more important than the cut of the beef. But my dad always tells me we can grill some magic with no matter the kind of meat we get.
Other important items: getting the temperature just right, and controlling that temperature so that it remains constant. For grilling steaks, and I mean grilling and not barbecuing, it is important to get a high temperature. For barbecue and meat like brisket or ribs, you want to keep your temperature lower. Another very important variable is time. You can't overcook the steak. That would be awful! Would you believe that cooking steak has to be measured down to precise minutes? Thickness is another important variable, especially when we're talking steak. A thick steak makes for a juicy steak. If you have a thin steak placed over a high temperature, you better be ready to pull if off the grill real quick, or you'll end up with tasteless leather. Yuck!
For my steaks I got the grill smoking hot with two stacks of charcoal. The temperature was probably around 350 degrees Fahrenheit. My dad and I wanted to try a new technique with the steaks. We banked the charcoal to one side of the grill, to concentrate the heat and get the grill rack as hot as we could. I put the steaks on the charcoal side to start. You can see me wincing. It was hot!
I kept those steaks on that intense heat for about two minutes, then I flipped the steaks over. I wanted to sear those steaks on that very high temperature. Check out the flame!
After about four minutes, I then moved the steaks away from the direct
heat. I let the steaks finish cooking for another 8 minutes, so about 12 minutes in total. They ended up seared on the outside, with those crisp grill markings and crunchy edges, and on the inside, juicy to pink right in the middle. This was pretty fantastic.
Dad made some mashed potatoes to go with the steaks, and boy oh boy did supper turn out great. Come and Take It!
I hope your weekend was great! As you saw in my previous posts, my weekend was so much fun! I got to hang out with my neighbors and enjoy one of the best fall weekends so far in Austin. My dad even got the backyard fire pit lit up so we could roast marshmallows and make 'smores. For you who aren't familiar with 'smores, what you do is roast marshmallows over the fire, then make a sandwich with them in between two pieces of graham crackers and a piece of chocolate. Yum yum!
But before we got to have dessert, we got to have one of my favorites again: steak! The last time we grilled steak was at Garner State Park and we had tenderloin. This time my dad picked up some strip sirloin steak. That's another really yummy kind of steak. To be honest, there is what the grown-ups call fat marbling in the steak that makes it taste so good. The tenderloin is real soft, but it doesn't have as much fat in it, so the flavor is a little different compared to the strip steak.
Here I am getting the steak ready with some pepper that I ground fresh:
Other important items: getting the temperature just right, and controlling that temperature so that it remains constant. For grilling steaks, and I mean grilling and not barbecuing, it is important to get a high temperature. For barbecue and meat like brisket or ribs, you want to keep your temperature lower. Another very important variable is time. You can't overcook the steak. That would be awful! Would you believe that cooking steak has to be measured down to precise minutes? Thickness is another important variable, especially when we're talking steak. A thick steak makes for a juicy steak. If you have a thin steak placed over a high temperature, you better be ready to pull if off the grill real quick, or you'll end up with tasteless leather. Yuck!
For my steaks I got the grill smoking hot with two stacks of charcoal. The temperature was probably around 350 degrees Fahrenheit. My dad and I wanted to try a new technique with the steaks. We banked the charcoal to one side of the grill, to concentrate the heat and get the grill rack as hot as we could. I put the steaks on the charcoal side to start. You can see me wincing. It was hot!
Dad made some mashed potatoes to go with the steaks, and boy oh boy did supper turn out great. Come and Take It!
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