Steak steak steak steak steak

The week the wife has to spend out of town is one of my least favorite weeks of the year but it does have some perks. When it was just me and the dog we’d order multiple pizzas and eat the left overs until she got home. With kids that doesn’t sound quite as glamorous/debauched as it used to so I was looking for a more adult option to try. And since even they were going to be out of the house for a night, why not set off the smoke detectors cooking a big steak. 

That's a surprisingly good looking cut of beef.

A quick trip to wallyworld and I dug up a discounted NY strip, thick cut but had to be used by that day. ‘No problem,’ I thought to myself, I’m sure I’ll cook off anything harmful. So off I went to season and sear and enjoy. A little more work than simply ordering a pizza but for a bigger reward.

Simple.

I coated it in oil, pepper, and garlic salt as soon as we got in the house. I left it out while the oven heated up, and when it had reached 450 I put the skillet on a burner and got ready to smoke things out. Open windows, covered smoke detectors. A little more oil on the pan and away we went.

Almost...

Based on the quiet sizzling noises I got when steak first hit iron I think I should have let the skillet get a little hotter. But at that point I couldn’t wait for some steak. Two minutes on each side, 30 seconds on the edges. Better sizzle after a flip, and things were looking good. Dropped some butter in the pan and threw everything in the oven for 5 more minutes with an extra flip thrown in there just for luck.

Closer...

First look after 5 minutes had things still looking a little blue for my liking but 90 seconds more seemed to do the trick. Tin foil tent, rest while I poured a whiskey, and then, finally, things were ready.

Oh yeah.

More work than ordering a pizza but sooooooooooooo worth it.

So good.

I really do hate this week but little like a thick steak cooked exactly how I like it make things a lot easier to deal with.

I need a "gore" warning

B/c I left a recent grilling experiment a little bloody. This might not fit the typical fare I usually post here but it's enough of a "try something new and see what happens" post I thought it would work.

The kids have been hitting the library a lot this summer and it’s been great. I’ve picked up a few things too, and I noticed that "tri-tip" was all over a pair of grilling cookbooks I brought home last weekend.

I had never even heard of that cut, but apparently it’s a long-time staple of bbq around Santa Maria, grilled up with a spice marinade on and sliced up for sandwiches. Hey, I’m up for anything. Let’s give it a shot.

So after a few trips to local grocers I finally found someone behind the meat counter that knew what I was talking about, and I was bringing home a little over two pounds of decent looking meat. I should have taken a picture but I was excited to put that thing on the grill.

A quick aside; I will admit I don’t miss living in the city as much as I thought I would. But having to go to three different shops before I found someone that didn’t look at me like I was crazy for asking for a cut of meat they didn’t have was one of those moments. I couldn’t find a butcher shop to go to so I was at the mercy of the suburbs. But hey, it worked out.

The simple plan: coat this thing in seasoning and char it, then leave it on in-direct heat for around ½ an hour or so. Slice and serve for sandwiches.

Viola.

That's a little more graphic than I usually like my photos. I am not a food blogger.

It was delicious. I used “Chicago” style weber seasoning, which complimented the tri tip like a champ. It was just about perfectly cooked for me, the wife could have maybe used a few more chunks tending more toward medium. But no real complaints, just big sandwiches for all involved with a handful of raw onion on top with a brioche bun, I’m drooling again just writing about it. More meals like that please.