Coke Steak

When I was a kid, every few summers, my family would pack up the family truckster and drive to the gulf cost of Florida. Why we chose to go to the swamp that is the gulf coast of Florida in July, I can't answer. I can however tell you that one of the highlights of my trip was always the annual group dinner at the Brown Derby. Did I mention that my extended family would always go and so we invariably have a group of 25+ trying to sit together and one table. Rocket scientists = not my family...

Either way, I loved the Brown Derby because they had something called the "kiddie cocktail!" I'm guessing it was just Sprite and grenadine. That didn't matter to me, I wanted it because it came in a cool cup with a plastic sword. I'm the youngest, so maybe I thought I could stab my siblings and cousins with the sword? And maybe this "kiddie cocktail" was the inspiration for the cocktail obsession I've had since before I could legally drink?

Another bit of wisdom provided by the Brown Derby is the concept of tenderizing steak with Coca-Cola. When I was a kid I conducted a science experiment that involved placing a small stone is a glass of coke over night. You were supposed to scrape at the rock prior to placing it in the coke and then again after. Let's just say that the effect of the Coke on the rock made me re-think my soda consumption.

As you can surmise, if Coke can tenderize a rock, it can surely tenderize a steak. This isn't something I'd do to a dry-aged prime steak, but it's great for a new york strip, filet, or sirloin that's been in the freezer and might not be the most tender steak around. The most time I have soaked a steak for is about 3 hours. Again, seeing what the coke did to the rock, I'm guessing spending much more time than 3 hours in Coke would just turn a steak to mush.

Coke-Brined Pork Loin

My apologies. I meant to take a picture of the coke-brined pork loin as it came off the grill, but it was a crazy night, the girls were hungry, and I was running late. Instead, you get to see the sliced leftover pork loin on the sandwich I had for lunch the next day. At least you now have an idea for how to use the leftovers.

As we all know, America’s pork producers (the big bad guys), in an effort to “make pork healthy” and lean like chicken, have bred most of the delicious fat and marbling out of modern pigs. And outside of the few farmers raising heritage breeds, it’s hard to find pork that isn’t so lean that it dries out by the time it hits 145 degrees.

Your options, if you want pork that doesn’t have the consistency of an old shoe, are to either slow cook a fatty cut (think ribs or shoulder) or use a brine. Whenever I cook pork chops or pork loins, I always brine. One of my favorites is Coca-Cola brine. I found the recipe in some random free magazine that came to our house a few years ago. It’s pretty simple. You take a 2-liter bottle of cola, ½ cup of salt, and some pepper or other spices* and soak the pork in it for 8-24 hours.

Instructions

• Pre-heat the grill to medium
• Remove the pork from the brine, rinse it, and pat it dry
• Place it on the grill, cook for five minutes and flip it over
• Cook for five more minutes, and then reduce the heat to low
• Cook until it hits 135 to 140 degrees internally and then remove and cover loosely with foil
• Carry over heat will bring it to 145 degrees
• Let it rest for about five minutes and then slice and serve.

If you want to add a little smoke flavor, soak some wood chips and place them in a smoker box (or directly on the charcoal if you aren’t using a gas grill) just before you put the pork on the grill.

This brine works great with chicken as well.

*A little Old Bay works great in this recipe. But since Old Bay is mostly salt, cup back on the ½ cup of salt so that the salt and Old Bay together equal ½ cup. Any BBQ rub should work here as well. I’ve been known to add a few dashes of Angostura Bitters. Experiment. You can’t screw up that badly.

Grilled Pizza Recipe

On Wednesday, it was 1,000 degrees! While that’s a slight exaggeration, the little weather station on our deck registered 98 in the shade. Global warming? More like global roasting!

When it’s that hot, there is no chance that I am using the oven. But we had pizza dough from Trader Joe’s in the fridge and no other dinner ideas. Time for grilled pizza. Over the years, I’ve seen and tried a lot of recipes and techniques for grilled pizza. Many call for cooking the pizza directly on the grates. I’ve tried this method to some success, but it always results in crust that is a little too tough, cool toppings, and cheese that isn’t quite melted.

Seeing as I don’t have the money to buy one of these, a few years ago, I experimented with placing a pizza stone in the grill. I pre-heat for 15 minutes on high and then reduce the heat when I put the pizza on the grill. I close the lid and cook for 5 minutes before quickly lifting the lid and checking the crust and cheese. I usually cook for about two more minutes. This technique works great for me and produces a pizza with a very crisp crust and perfectly melted cheese. It’s important to move quickly and barely open the grill to prevent heat loss.

Every Grill is Different
On my old grill with burners than ran side to side, I could keep the two outer burners on high through the process. My current grill (Weber Genesis) has burners that run front to back, I have to turn the middle burner off and reduce the outer burners to low. Anything more than this, and I get burnt spots (overly burnt) on the bottom of the crust. You’ll need to experiment and plan to have some failures. Once you get to know your grill you’ll be all set.

Bonus – placing some wood chips in a smoker pox below the pizza stone add a little of the smoke flavor you get from a wood-burning oven. I’ve had the best results with oak, but hickory also works well.

Pesto Pizza Recipe
1 lb. pizza dough
¼ - 1/3 cup pesto
2/3 cup ricotta cheese
1/8 cup parmigiano reggiano cheese
a few leaves of fresh basil

A Square Route to Delicious Burgers

On Sunday, I made square burgers. Yes, like Dave Thomas style! It wasn’t my first time making square burgers. I was doing it that way for a while and then got out of the habit. This time, I’m sticking with square burgers.

The point of the square burger is that it doesn’t shrink in on itself the way a round burger does. The physics of a square burger are what keeps it from shrinking and thus creates a juicy and perfectly cooked burger.
For burgers, the P90s pretty much stick with organic ground beef or grind it ourselves. And since I rarely have the patience/free time to grind my own beef, we usually just buy organic. If you can’t splurge for organic, read Fast Food Nation. Organic will suddenly seem like a bargain…

And for burgers I usually use 80/20. Anything leaner seems to dry out.

To make the square burgers, add seasoning (salt, pepper, whatever you like) and then work the beef into a square between sheets of wax paper or plastic wrap. Use a knife or pizza wheel to cut into four burgers of similar size.

Pre-heat the grill on high and then reduce heat to medium. Cook for 3-4 minutes per side (depending on how you like your burgers). And that’s it. Yum.

Saturday Night's Alright for Grilling

Saturday nights are usually a “nice meal” night at the P90 house. Often times, the Mrs. and I make something simple for the girls and then have a nice, quiet, relaxed, adult dinner after they go to bed. I prep dinner while she puts the girls to bed. And we enjoy a leisurely meal without complaints about the food, demands for refills, and fights about who got the pink cup and who got the purple plate, etc.

As the weather gets warmer we have these meals on deck and relax with a bottle of wine. It’s a nice way to have an inexpensive date night.

This week, I grilled zinfandel marinated petit fillet mignons and lemon balsamic asparagus. We paired it with Napa cabernet and listened to some M. Ward, Fleet Foxes, Head and the Heart, and Iron & Wine. And only once were we interrupted by a little girl complaining “I tried to sleep, but my sister isn’t letting me…”

Zinfandel Marinated Petit Filet (serves 2)
2 6-8 oz. filets (we usually split a 12 oz. filet)
2 cups Red Zinfandel (I used the Big House Cardinal Zin in a box)
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 sprig of rosemary

• Marinate for 2-8 hours
• Grill on high for 3 minutes per side – because you’d be crazy to eat filet at anything more than medium-rare.  
• Let rest on a warm plate under foil for 5-10 minutes.

Lemon Balsamic Asparagus
1 lb. Asparagus trimmed and rinsed
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp White Balsamic Vinegar
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Zest from half of a lemon
2 tsp Dijon Mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

• Use a shallow pan to toss the asparagus with the marinade. 
• Grill the asparagus over high heat for 5-10 minutes (depending on your preference). I usually do about seven minutes. 
• You can then return the asparagus to the same pan after grilling and re-toss with the marinade. Obviously, you would never use a technique like this with meat or anything you wouldn’t eat raw…

Starting the asparagus when you flip the steak works well timing wise. You’ll end up with perfectly hot asparagus and a well-rested steak. hocofood@@@