evolution

This recipe was fantastic. To make this dinner for two, you’ll need:

• Enough charcoal to light your grill twice
• Two cups of hickory chips, soaked in water for at least an hour
• Four short rib steaks (either boneless or cross-cut)
• 1½ tsp. kosher salt
• 1½ tsp. black pepper (ground fresh is best)
• 1½ tsp. red pepper flakes
• ¼ cup of olive oil
• Four cloves of garlic
• Two large baking potatoes
• Five strips of bacon
• Six scallions (green onions), tops trimmed down
• Butter, sour cream, and chives to taste

First, prepare the marinade for the rib steaks: Sprinkle the salt, pepper, and chile flakes on both sides of each steak. Pat the spices onto the meat with your fingertips. Dice the cloves of garlic, and sprinkle these over the meat. Drizzle the meat with the olive oil. Cover the steaks and put them in the fridge for a few hours.

Then, when you’re ready to start cooking, fry the bacon until crispy, and then set aside. Reserve a small amount of the bacon fat.

Light your grill, and when the coals are all lit, pile them off to one side of the grill. Drain the wood chips and put them on the coals. Then, go back inside and brush the potatoes with the bacon drippings. Wait a few minutes, and then put the potatoes on the opposite side of the grate from the coals. Cover the grill, and open the vents. You should see smoke billowing from the vents shortly. They should be done in a little more than an hour. (If it takes too much more than that, you’ll need to light the second batch of coals and finish the potatoes while you cook the steaks.)

Take the finished potatoes off. You can stick them in a 200° oven to keep them warm if you like. Now, light your second batch of coals, and get the grill as hot as you can. Grill both the steaks and the scallions; the steaks get 4-5 minutes per side for medium, and the scallions 3 minutes per side (the scallions should be nicely charred). If you like meat closer to the “well-done” end of the spectrum, it shouldn’t hurt this dish too much, as the rib meat is heavily marbled. When the steaks are done, transfer them to a plate and spoon any remaning garlic and olive oil over them.

I enjoyed this meal for dinner today with a nice stout from a popular Kansas City brewery, and this was the result:

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 30th, 2004 at 20:30 and is filed under top of the food chain. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.