Oh the steak's on the grill, and the silver spoon

Most chefs like to recall the moment they fell in love with food. I’m not sure when my moment was, but I do have a few happy food-related recollections from childhood. My mom making homemade pasta and pierogies, for one, and my dad grilling meat in the backyard for another.

This week in class we spent a lot of time on grilling—rib-eyes, flank steaks, shrimp kabobs, salmon tranches, etc. Despite the fact that I volunteered to clean the grills and ended up with a face full of soot, the exercise brought back some of those memories (cue the chorus from “Cats in the Cradle”).

I’ve always fashioned myself a pretty good griller, but like anybody who’s had too many Coronas while manning the grill, I’ve sometimes lost track of time and gotten tripped up by doneness, as has my dad. Countless parental fights were sparked by underdone meat.

Here’s a simple and widely used technique for determining doneness. Gently press your index finger into the center of the steak. If it is very spongy, it is rare (it will feel like the heel of your palm if you make a circle with index finger and thumb. Medium rare should feel like your middle finger and thumb, medium like your ring finger and thumb. If you have no sponginess, similar to the feeling if you squeeze your pinky and thumb together, the meat is well done.

If you’re going to marinate your meat, might I suggest one from Argentina, where gauchos still raise great cattle and grilling is near-perfect. (Full disclosure: I’ve never been to Argentina, but had my head filled with such propaganda in college, when I knew an Argentinean. Oh yeah, and also stuffing my face at a churrascaria one time.)

Grilled chimichurri flank steak
1 flank steak, trimmed and scored about 1/8 inch
2 fl. oz. canola oil 2 minced garlic cloves
2 fl. oz. extra virgin olive oil 1 tsp cumin
2 fl. oz. white vinegar 2 tsp granulated sugar
½ cup cilantro leaves ¼ cup oregano leaves
1 cup parsley leaves

Puree the ingredients and marinate the steak in half of the marinade for 1 hour. Serve the sliced steak with extra marinade.

And what would a good steak or lamb chop be without a nice compound butter. Here’s a recipe I improvised in class that turned out pretty good as an accompaniment to lamb.

Mint compound butter
1 pound whole butter, soft but not melted and cut up into small cubes
3 oz. mint, minced
2 oz rosemary, minced
½ lemon squeezed
1 tablespoon garlic clove, minced
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine ingredients in a blender and pulse to get a rough puree. Scoop out and roll in parchment paper, freezing for 30 minutes. Take out and cut into small slices, and serve with grilled lamb.