Steaks!

This week’s topics include the WF’s birthday meal, how to make steak house quality steaks, how to keep your friends from spending a day in the bathroom, some food safety suggestions, and a mini-review of Freeman‘s Natural Hot Dogs in Reno. 

What am I working on?  So, I recently had a birthday.  What does the Wannabe Foodie eat on his big day?  Bone-in ribeyes from Whole Foods.  Check them out on the grill:

As I’ve admitted in prior posts, ribeye is my favorite steak and bone-in is my favorite way to have them.  They have this rich, beefy goodness that’s lacking in other steaks, such as New York and filets.  That’s not to say that I don’t like those steaks, because I do.  But, ribeye is my go-to steak.  I served these medium rare to medium with Swiss Gratin potatoes (made by the Red), a salad with a lemon Caesar dressing (also made by the Red), and some bread.   Happy birthday to me! 

The wine.  2003 Vincent Arroyo Winemaker’s Reserve Cabernet.  Vincent Arroyo is one of our favorite wineries.  They specialize in Petite Syrahs, though they also make some fabulous cabernets and this wine is simply one of the best wines I’ve had in a long time.  Arroyo really knocked it out of the park with this wine and we had been saving it for a special occasion.  I poured it through an aerator into a decanter about 2-3 hours before we planned to serve it.  This let it open up completely.  Fabulous. 

How to make the perfect steak.  It’s simply not as hard as some people make it out to be.  Follow these steps and I promise that you’ll produce great steaks.

1.  Buy the best meat you can afford.  Frankly, Costco tends to have pretty decent meat for the price.  I often buy steaks there, though I go elsewhere for special occasions (like my birthday).  Look for the most marbling you can find.  That’s yummy goodness that will melt as it’s cooked.  

Sift through the selection until you find one to your liking.

2.  Liberally apply kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to both sides of the steak a few hours before you plan to cook it.  I know there are those that say you salt right before you put them on the grill.  I’m unconvinced.  The salt will draw the proteins out to the surface, which will help to create a crust when it’s cooked.

3.  At least an hour before you plan to cook, place the steaks on a cooking sheet on the counter and loosely cover them with wax paper or plastic wrap.  This is the single most important step, so if your significant other is appalled at raw meat out at room temperature, ignore him or her.  Ever have a steak that looks like an archery bulls-eye?  That’s because the grill ‘master’ used cold meat.  The meat MUST be at or near room temperature before it goes on the grill.

4.  About 20-30 minutes before you plan to cook, light your gas grill or start your coals.  You want the coals or the gas grill, as the case may be, rippin’ hot when it’s time to grill.  Seriously, it’s got to be hot.  High-end steak houses have grills and broilers that approach or exceed 1,000 degrees.

 

5.  Right before you head out to the grill, liberally coat the steaks with olive oil.   Side note (and, yes, that’s an intentional pun) – by now you should have already prepared your sides or have them in place to be made while the steaks are resting.  Remember mise en place?  You don’t want to serve cold steaks because you weren’t organized enough to have everything done at the same time.  It’s embarrassing.  Don’t do it.

6.  Place your steaks on the grill lined up with the grates, to the best of your ability.  For thicker steaks, wait 2-3 minutes, grab each steak with your tongs and rotate it 90 degrees (1/4 hour on a clock), and place the steak on a new part of the grill.  This will produce those beautiful hash marks you see on my steaks above.  Wait another 2-3 minute and flip to the other side and repeat the process.

 

For thinner steaks, you may not have the luxury of creating hash marks.  Cook 2-4 minutes and flip. Cook another 2-4 minutes.

When are they done?  Eventually, you’ll know this by feel.  Until that time, use an instant read thermometer.  If you want true warm center rare, thicker steaks have to come off at about 120, 130 or so for medium rare.  Thinner steaks are about 125 and 135, respectively.  I personally never cook a steak past 130-135, unless I’m forced to by a guest.  Keep in mind that the steak will continue to heat up for a few minutes after it’s off (the carry-over heat).  If you take a steak off the grill at 145+, you might as well give it to the dog because you’ve just wasted your money.

Take them off the grill and loosely tent them with aluminum foil for about 5 minutes.  Steak houses will often brush them with clarified butter at this point to make them even more unctuous, though I don’t.  Serve and impress your friends.  I promise you that these will be some of the best steaks you’ve ever served.

Some notes on food safety.  First, always use a fresh plate or serving dish to put the cooked steaks on.  Not the one you brought the raw steaks out on.  Second, once you’ve flipped the steaks, sanitize your tongs or use new ones.  I put my tongs right into the fire for a minute or so to kill any bacteria.  Seriously – you don’t want your guest spending the next day in the bathroom because you’re too lazy to have proper food safety.  Third, for about $10, you can buy 500 or so latex gloves.  I use them religiously whenever I’m handling raw meat and seafood.  Cheap and easy insurance.

 

Mini Review of Freeman’s Natural Hotdogs in Reno.  This is a relatively new place on California Ave. in Reno.  It has a cool, funky, and minimalist décor.  However, they’re not serving minimalist hot dogs.  Recently, the Red joined me for lunch at Freeman’s.  I ordered the dirty south dog (best name for a hot dog… ever) - a beef hot dog, bbq sauce, bacon, blue cheese, and grilled onions on a fresh sprouted wheat bun.  You really can’t go wrong with that combination of ingredients. 

The Red ordered the Pinoy – a pork sausage, pineapple chutney and Asian slaw on a fresh poppy seed bun.  Great fresh flavors and texture from the chutney and slaw.  The Red described it as spicy sweet goodness and I agree.

All in all, Freeman's is a cool, funky local place with good food.  They don’t do much, but what they do they do well.  I wish we had more places like this in Reno.  Plus, they have free beer Friday.  You get a free Olympia or Miller High Life with your dog.  Nice.

Go grill some steaks and send me comments.  renofoodiescott@gmail.com

WF

I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them, Sam I am.

This week’s topics include more food off the smoker, chicken bacon (stick with me), “I do not like green eggs and ham.  I do not like them, Sam I am,” a follow up on my infused salt, a suggestion that you need friendship bracelets, and a wine recommendation.

What am I working on?  Ready for a shocker…?  More BBQ.  This weekend a friend of mine came over and we smoked 2 pork butts and 2 chickens on Precious 2.  The chickens were brined overnight, lightly rubbed with granulated garlic, sea salt, and dried thyme, and smoked at about 200-220 for about 4-5 hours.  The pork butts were rubbed with my ‘secret’ rub and smoked at the same temperature for almost 12 hours.  

Check them out: 

All you need to make great pulled pork is time, a smoker, and a lot of beer.  I had all 3 and it turned out awesome, particularly with a Carolina-style vinegar sauce. 

The chickens?  These were truly the star of the show.  The brine got all the way into the meat and kept the meat moist and tasty throughout the smoking process.  Plus, the chickens had this wonder, crispy, smoky skin that was something akin to chicken bacon.  Fabulous.  I will definitely be making more of those! 

Upshot of smoking chickens?  Left overs.  Not many kids have this conversation in the cafeteria at school:  “What’s that?”  “A sliced chicken sandwich.  My Dad smoked the chickens yesterday.”  “Uhh.. my mom made me tuna fish… .”  Plus, you can use leftover chicken in casseroles, salads, soups, etc.  Great to have around.   

Another upshot of smoking chicken?  I made almost 4 gallons of homemade chicken stock with the carcasses and left over nasty bits.  That will go into Paella, various soups, and chicken and dumplings.

I do not like Green Eggs and Ham.  I do not like them, Sam I Am.  This may surprise some of you, particularly since I’ve written fairly extensively about my food adventures.  

But….I was a very picky eater as a child and most of my adult life.  VERY picky.  I would special order food with no tomatoes, or onions, or lettuce, and so on.  Burgers had to have just pickles and mustard.  I didn’t like much seafood or many vegetables.  I was not an adventurous eater, to say the least, and it lasted well into adulthood. 

However, a few years ago I decided that I could not be a wannabe foodie and/or amateur chef if I didn’t try food the way it was meant to be served.  So, I went out of my way to not special order anything and try virtually anything I was offered.  If someone serves me a dish, I’m eating it the way it’s served.  It’s truly amazing how liberating this is and how many things I would never have eaten but which I now love. 

So, if you’re a picky eater, get over it.  You can’t be a foodie if you’re picky.  You may like it, you will see.  

What’s in my pantry that should be in yours.   Silicon bands.  Take a close look at the chickens in the smoker above.  They look like rubber bands.  They’re not.  They’re silicon bands that look and act a lot like rubber bands.  But, they’re good to over 600 degrees and food safe.  I’ve used them on a tenderloin roast that I seared in a rippin’ hot cast iron and they were unfazed.  Plus, they instantly go back to their original size when they come off the meat. 

Hate trussing a bird or roast?  Buy some of these and fear no more.  Slapping these on a bird is as easy as slapping on a friendship bracelet.  Or so I’m told… That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.  Buy some. 

Follow up on infused salts.  I recently replanted the herb garden and started the rosemary infused salt.  Here are some photos.

It will take a couple of weeks for the moisture to leave the rosemary and infuse the salt.  I think this has great promise for steaks, prime rib, lamb, hamburgers, baked potatoes, etc.  Imagine some fresh French fries drizzled with a little truffle oil and some of this salt.  Oh baby….  I think I just had a moment.  Further reports to follow.

A wine recommendation.  First, the back story.  I have always been a red wine drinker.  I liked the bold 'abuse your palate' nature of big reds.  Frankly, I thought white wine was too sweet and drank primarily by women.  I hated the sweetness of Riesling and couldn’t stand the ‘mouth full of oak and butter’ that described so many California Chardonnays. 

However, in the last couple of years, I’ve come to find that there are a number of white wines that are wonderful.  It started with going to dinner with some wine friends who always ordered a white wine with appetizers and salad and then a red for the entrée.  How very sophisticated, or so it seemed to me.

So I started branching out.  It started with a Viognier (truly a red wine drinker’s white wine), and then I tried some dry, tart Chardonnays, a couple Chenin Blancs, and then….

Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc.  I recently read about this wine in a book, which will be the subject of a future book recommendation.  This wine is generally regarded as a world class wine.  I picked it up for $27 at Whole Foods, so you can probably pick it up for less elsewhere.  $27 for a world class wine?!  If you find it, buy it.  It’s tart with citrus and melon notes in the front of the palate and finishes nice and dry.  A complex wine that shares no characteristics with the white wines of my youth that I so despised!

Absolutely wonderful with seafood, particularly richer seafood like lobster, scallops, crab, etc.

Questions or comments?  Post below or send me an email:  renofoodiescott@gmail.com.

WF 

May 11 - All Paella all the time!

This week…  Who am I?  My name is Ish.  On my hand I have a dish.  Paella is an ish dish which is why it is my dish.  Stick with me on this one…  You may like it.  You will see….    

Wannabe Foodie – what the hell are you talking about and what’s with the Dr. Seuss references?!  A friend of mine suggested that I go in depth into one of my favorite dishes to make.  I thought it was a great idea and it was an easy choice.  There are few things I enjoy making more than Paella, and it is truly an ‘Ish’ dish.  Nothing is exact.  This much chorizo (ish), this much chicken stock (ish), and so on. 

What is Paella?  It’s a traditional Spanish rice dish flavored primarily with saffron.  Actually, it’s Valencian, but let’s not split hairs.   It’s traditionally made in a large, flat, shallow pan over an open fire. 

The hardware.  I have  a 14” Paella pan (and yes, you foodies, I know that Paella means pan, so Paella pan is redundant.  Let it go.).   Here it is.  

As you can see, it’s been well used.  I bought it during our kitchen remodel and instantly loved it.  It allowed me to cook one-pot meals outside on the grill.  If you don’t have a Paella pan, a large cast iron skillet is a reasonable facsimile. 

The recipe.  I make a basic, rustic Paella.  I’ve used chicken thighs, drumsticks, and wings.  I like the wings best as they braise more during the cooking process than thighs or drumsticks and therefore break down more. 

Ingredients:

2 cups of medium-grain Spanish rice.

2-2 1/2 quarts chicken broth or stock (ish).  Make extra as you can always freeze it.  I try to make my own if possible and lean more towards stock than broth as stock brings much more flavor to the dish.

2 pinches of saffron.  Not huge pinches.  This stuff is crazy expensive.  Fortunately, you don’t need much.

1 yellow bell pepper, cut in ¼ to ½ inch cubes.

1 red bell pepper.  Cut ½ of it into ¼ to ½ inch cubes, and ½ into slices.

1 medium yellow onion, diced medium

1 lemon, cut into wedges.

1 head of garlic, minced.  Yes, a head of garlic. 

1 cup of frozen green peas (thawed).

1 lb. of Spanish chorizo or linguica, sliced on the bias.

5-6 chicken thighs or drumsticks, or 10-12 wings.

2-4 Tbs. Olive oil.

Kosher salt

Black pepper (freshly cracked)

Optional – shrimp, mussels, lobster, etc.  This is a Mothers’ Day paella, so I’m using spiny lobster!  I par boiled the lobster in the chicken stock and cut it into 1 inch (ish) chunks.  I suggest trying the basic chicken recipe before jumping into seafood.     

The Mise en Place.  A fancy French term for ‘get your &^%$ organized before you start cooking’.  Ok, not really.  It means ‘everything in place’, but it is generally defined as proper prep work.   Bring the broth to a simmer and drop in the saffron.  Let that simmer while you do the rest of your prep work.  It needs at least a half hour to allow the saffron to open up.  The broth also needs to be hot when it goes into dish.  I move mine from the cooktop inside to the side burner on my grill or directly on the grill to stay hot.

Start your grill on high and place the paella pan on the grill.  If you’re using charcoal, even better (though use chunk charcoal), and start your coals at this time.  The paella pan needs to be rippin’ hot when it’s time to cook, so plan ahead.  This can also be done inside on a cooktop with a big burner.  It’s just not as much fun and you won’t get the grill flavor.

Chop and prep the ingredients, and you’re ready to head to the grill.  Yes, I know that it seems like there’s no way all this food will fit in that pan.  Trust me.  It will.

Pour some olive oil into the pan and lightly brown the chicken pieces.  Set them aside.  Throw the diced (not sliced) peppers and onions in the remaining oil, light salt and pepper, and saute until they’re translucent.  You don’t need to brown them, but some brown won’t hurt.  Add the garlic and mix for a couple of minutes.  Do NOT brown the garlic as it will impart a harsh flavor. 

Add the linguica and stir for a minute or two.  Add the rice and stir for a minute or two.  Add the chicken, stir, and start ladling in the hot broth.  Bring it almost to the top of the pan.  Add a little more salt and pepper.  Lay the red bell slices and lemons in the liquid in a sun burst – type pattern:  

  

Bring to a boil.  If your grill gets really hot, turn the heat down to medium and let simmer.  I leave mine on high the whole time.  After all, it's meant to be cooked over a fire!  At this point, I often put wood chips into the smoker box in my grill to add a little smoky flavor.

Now comes the fun part.  By now, you've noticed that you still have a fair amount of broth.  Once the pan starts simmering, check it every few minutes.  Once the broth has all been incorporated into the rice, you’ll need to ladle in more broth to bring it back to the top of the pan.  Do this once or twice.  Periodically try the rice.  You want it cooked through, not dry, and not soupy.  Like I said, this is an ‘ish’ dish.  You need as much broth as you need.

Optional seafood note – when the rice is no longer crunchy and starting to get soft, you’ll likely be ladling in the last of the broth.  This is the time to add the seafood as it only needs a few minutes. 

Cook until the liquid has all but disappeared and the rice is cooked.  Turn the heat off completely, pour the peas on top, and lay a tea towel over the entire pan.  Close the lid to the grill and walk away for 5 minutes.  Bring the dish to the table and enjoy.  Use hot pads to carry and a trivet at the table as it is still rippin’  hot.  Here's the final dish on the table:

Tell me that’s not a beautiful dish!  It’s also absolutely delicious, particularly with some fresh bread and salad with a homemade vinaigrette.  It’s loaded with flavors and makes you feel happy to eat it.  Sure to impress your date or dinner guests!

The Wine.  Martinelli's Apple Cider for Things 1&2 and New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc for the Red and WF.

For you Dr. Seuss Fans. Here is the entire “Ish” section from One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish:  “Who am I?  My name is Ish.  On my hand I have a dish.  I have this dish to help me wish.  When I wish to make a wish I wave my hand with a big swish swish.  Then I say “I wish for fish!”  And I get fish right on my dish.  So….if you wish to wish a wish, you may swish for fish with my Ish wish dish.”

Good luck with the Paella! 

Questions or comments?  Need help?  Email me:  renofoodiescott@gmail.com

WF

May 5 - My Precious...

This week’s topic include my Precious, how to avoid an Edward Scissorhands imitation, my knives, a blissful food coma, the best breakfast in Reno, a question for both readers of this blog, and a sign which every mall restaurant should have.

What am I working on?  As I mentioned in my inaugural blog, summer is around the corner and that’s the time when a man’s thoughts turn to BBQ and for me, my pellet fed barrel smoker (aka “Precious 2”).  The 5 burner Jenn-Air gas grill is simply called “Precious.” 

This weekend I fired up Precious 2 and tried my hand at beef ribs, which you simply don’t see much of outside of Texas.  Here’s a picture of them going into the smoker.

I used a basic beef rub (chili powder, brown sugar, kosher salt, garlic powder, and cayenne), and a basic beef mop (apple cider vinegar, olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, and cayenne).  I cooked them using Mesquite pellets for about 6 hours at 190-210 degrees.  The review?  A pretty good start, but not world beaters.  Nice and tender, with a healthy smoke ring.  The rub was tasty.  However, the mop had a little too much Worcestershire sauce, which imparted a distinct flavor into the meat.  I liked them, but they could be better.    

A competition secret for all of you backyard smokers.  Competition smokers often coat beef products with a very thin layer of yellow mustard before they rub the meat.  Actually, when you do this, you don't rub the meat.  The mustard almost glues the rub to the meat.  Also, the mustard is so thin that it's pretty much undetectable after hours on the smoker.  Nice trick. 

What is the most important kitchen tool?  It’s not pots, pans, a good cooktop, or even a rocking convection oven.  If you’re really going to cook, you need a good set of knives.  You can cook fairly decent food in pretty crappy cookware and bakeware.  I did it for many years.  However, it’s hard to do much without good knives.  Plus, crappy cookware won’t hurt you.  Crappy knives can easily hurt you because you use more force to force the knife to do something it should do easily.  The knife slips because it’s dull and you’re checking into the ER as Edward Scissorhands' house guest. 

Also, there is only one serrated knife you should have.  A good bread knife.  Otherwise, grab all of the crappy, cheap, and serrated knives (the ginsu types) that you have stashed in a drawer in your kitchen and throw them away.  You know who you are.  Just because your mom bought it while watching an infomercial doesn’t mean you have to keep it. Just thrown them away.

Get yourself a good chef’s knife and a paring knife.  Truthfully, that’s all most people need.

My knives?  My first decent set of knives was a Chicago Cutlery set.  Nice, solid, German-style knives.  However, as I started to cook more, I felt the need to upgrade.  Yes, I wanted new toys.  What’s your point?  Plus, I have a borderline knife fetish and, frankly, I’m not sure it’s borderline.  

I now have some Shun Classic knives.  Beautiful, aren’t they ?

From left to right:  the steel, 10” chef’s knife, carving knife and fork, 8” chef’s knife, boning knife, and pairing knife.  Shun knives are made in Japan and are absolutely crazy sharp.  When we got our first one, the Red simply would not use it for a while.  You need to have a healthy respect for these knives, but I have come to absolutely love using them.  Best knives I’ve ever used, by a fair margin.  

However, what I really want (note that I didn’t say ‘need’) is a Nenox Ironwood knife, though one is clearly out of my price range!  Nenox Ironwood  Oh baby... 

A note on sharpening.  The steel is the thing on the far left.  It is NOT a sharpener.  All it does is true the edge.  Think of your knife’s blade a straight line that turns into a squiggly line as you use it.  The steel will true the blade back to straight, which will make the blade pass through food easier.  However, it does not remove any steel from the blade and therefore doesn’t actually sharpen the blade.  

I use my steel about once per week (ish) and I sharpen my knives with an electric sharpener a couple times per year.  You could also take them to a professional knife sharpener.  However, you will eventually need to sharpen your knives and anyone who says otherwise is simply wrong. 

Best Breakfast in Reno?  There are those that argue that Peg’s has the best breakfast, and it’s hard to disagree with that.  

However, for my money, it's P.J.'s on Wells.  They make some fabulous food, it’s all scratch-made, and nothing is small.  If a restaurant has scratch-made chicken fried steak on the menu (not the frozen, breaded, mystery meat they just fried), I’m ordering it.  Every time.  P.J.’s is served with scratch made sausage gravy, 3 eggs cooked your way, and some red potato home fries that have been cooked and caramelized for hours on the griddle.  I ordered my eggs poached, medium.  

If you don’t like that, there’s something wrong with you.  Yes it has 9 billion calories and yes it puts you into a blissful food coma.  However, it’s damn good, it’s a great coma, and I’m not suggesting you eat like this all the time.  Once in a while and enjoy it when you do.  Note the fresh squeezed orange juice….

A Question for Readers.  Yes, both of you.  For next week’s blog, I’m considering preparing detailed instructions on how to make a basic Paella, with pictures.  Anyone interested?  Bueller?...  It would give me a good excuse to cook Paella for Mother’s Day.

I Wish Every Mall Restaurant Had This Sign:  

WF.