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Monday, February 21, 2011

An Honor And A Privilege

As you may already be able to tell, I'm a big fan of spreading the joy of barbecue, and to do that, I write a lot of articles and posts and comments, and join a lot of different barbecue groups and forums around the country, even Internationally, so that I can stay connected and communicate with as many lovers of barbecue as I can.

While doing that recently, I was asked to moderate a new subgroup of Gourmet Movement on LinkedIn, by the owner of the group, Matthias (Tesi) Baur, called Gourmet BBQ and of course, leaped at the opportunity!

My vision for the site is to create a community of cross-cultural food lovers, sharing experiences from around the world, whether that be in the form of different regional styles of barbecue within the United States, from Maine to Hawaii or Florida to Alaska; International styles from Asia Pacific to Latin America to Europe; different types of grilling, like direct and indirect, plank and smoking; recipes from around the world, whether it's Australian shrimp, Brazilian churrascaria, Mongolian beef, a Jack Daniels Competition throw-down, or appetizers and veggies; event promotion, local or International, touring chefs, blog promotion, site and article promotion, companion products, grills, accessories, spices, rubs and sauces.

To me, barbecue represents a lot more than cooking outdoors.  For those that are good at it, it brings a sense of pride, from which radiates goodness, sharing, community, honor and integrity.  I don't expect everyone to feel that way, but that's how I feel and I want others to experience that.

So, if you're on LinkedIn and you are in some way, shape or form, involved in the cooking field, food and beverage industry, wine and beer distribution, spice/rub/sauce business, accessory distribution, restaurant business, are a competition pit master or are just a back yard griller or foodie, I'd like you to join me and help me create my vision.

Go to LinkedIn Groups and search for Gourmet BBQ.  I hope to see you there.

Monday, February 7, 2011

How To Barbecue Cheap Cuts (Part II) - Mustard Beef

While it seems like most of the country is either being deluged with rain or buried in snow drifts, out here in Northern California, we've been camped out under blue skies and temperatures in the seventies, so, it seems we're either in for an early Spring or a nasty surprise is waiting for us.

In any event, weather like this turns my thoughts back to barbecue and reminds me that I owe you the second part of my How To BBQ Cheap Cuts and get your mouths watering, dreaming of sunshine and the aroma of grilling meat in the back yard!

Another one of my favorites is a recipe that that my wife's father picked up from his Norwegian heritage.  He gave me the recipe...got to be fifteen years ago, but whenever I serve it to him, he's always in shock, because he could never get his to turn out this good!

The cut we're talking about today is London Broil, one of the biggest, cheap cuts you can get at your local butcher or meat counter. Whenever I get it, the butcher already knows what I'm going to do, because I turned him onto it a few years back, and he thanks me for that, every time I get it from him.

People don't generally like London Broil because they treat it like brisket and think they need to stew it to make it tender or smother it it something to give it flavor, like liver and onions.  I'm here to tell you, that just ain't my style, and if you follow this simple recipe, you'll be amazed at how you can make a tough, cheap slab of stew meat, taste like a sirloin steak!

The preparation with charcoal is the same as always with beef: one kettle of coals, spread in the middle of the grill, for cooking over direct heat.

The preparation of the meat, however, is a little unusual, but give it a try, anyway!  As always, I figure on about half a pound of meat per person, so get a London Broil that's appropriate to the size of the gathering.  For me, it's more in the thickness of the cut than the overall weight.  The thicker, the better!  London Broil doesn't require any trimming, so leave that small fatty part on the end.  Remember, fat adds flavor.

Ingredients wise, all you need is some French's Mustard and some sea salt.  By the way, did you know that there are over 4,400 different types of mustard available out there?  There's even a mustard museum in Wisconsin!  Mustard seeds, as a rule, aren't actually spicy.  It's the addition of liquid, usually water and vinegar, that releases the flavor.  Mustard isn't really that yellow, either.  It gets it's color from the spice Turmeric, thought up and added by George French in 1904.  While we're on the subject, if you add a little white wine to it, it's Dijon mustard; over 700 million pounds of mustard are consumed worldwide, each year, and 90% of all mustard seeds are grown in Canada.

But, I digress.  For this meal, all you need is some French's Mustard, known as American Mustard to the rest of the world.  You can experiment with some other kinds, but the consistency of French's works great. Coat your your slab of meat generously with the mustard on the top and sides, then pour a goodly amount of coarse sea salt over the mustard, until the whole thing is covered.  Flip it over and do the same.  I usually like to do this while the coals are heating up, meaning about twenty minutes before it hits the grill.

When the coals are ready, spread them in the middle of your grill, and bring the heat and grilling surface close together, around four to six inches apart.  The original recipe, from before barbecue grills existed, involved throwing the meat directly onto the coals, but we're not quite that Viking!  Place the meat on the grill, directly over the coals and let it stand for about ten minutes.

When it's time to flip it over, you'll notice that the mustard and the salt have formed a crust, which breaks off when you use your tongs to flip the meat.  Lay the meat back down, over the crusty mix that has fallen off, and give it another ten minutes.  Don't go longer, and don't cut into it to see if it's done.  Just trust me!

After you take it off the grill, let it rest on a cutting board, preferably with a blood groove around the edge, and let it rest for about five minutes.  Then, slice into half inch wide strips on the diagonal with a long blade and what you've got is a beautiful, medium rare, thin sliced London Broil, doing it's best impression of your local steak house's sirloin.

All of the juices were sealed in by the coating, so it's going to "bleed" a little when you slice it, but just pour that back over the top, serve it with your favorite sides and a nice Rioja and you've got a steak dinner on a Wednesday night. Eat it all, when it's still hot, because the meat firms up as it cools, turning it back into stew meat, come tomorrow's leftovers.