This recipe came about because of the wine club I belong to. It’s Laithwaite’s Wine. It’s because of them than I can afford to drink premium wines. One of them is Tri-Tip Malbec from Lodi, California. Now, Malbec is normally associated with Argentina, where it is the star varietal. But Lodi, California, where Zinfandel is the star, is no slouch when it comes to producing mouth-watering Malbecs. Tri-Tip Malbec, with its inky color, hints of dark fruit, and berry flavors is a prefect match with the recipe given. It complements a steak grilled to perfection.

If you can’t get your hands on a Tri-Tip Malbec, then any good quality Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah (Shiraz), or Zinfandel will do.

For this recipe I used  sirloin steak. But, it doesn’t have to be sirloin. It could be any steak of choice, even the humble chuck steak. The marinating process make it all even out.

TRI-TIP STEAK

Ingredients:

2 1¼ sirloin steaks (or steaks of your choice)
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon white sugar
½ teaspoon coriander
½ teaspoon cayenne
½ teaspoon chipotle

Instructions:

1. Wash steaks under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels.
2.  In a bowl, combine all of the remaining ingredients. Rub mixture on steaks.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours. Or you can place steaks in a zip-lock bag and refrigerate.
3. Remove from fridge 30 minutes before grilling.
4.  Heat your grill to high. Then grill steaks over medium-high heat with lid closed until desired level of doneness, usually 5 to 7 minutes per side. The steaks should cook until golden brown and slightly charred.
   Yield: 4 servings.

This is a recipe I got from an old cookbook I’ve had for years. The book is Greek Cooking by Ruth Kershner. The book was published in 1977. It’s an oldie but goodie; and most likely out of print. I enjoy Greek cuisine and Greek wines. The Geeks have been cooking since 1000 B.C.E. They know a thing or two about preparing a good meal.

Although this recipe is for hamburgers, it’s more of a dinner than the usual burger on a bun. The meat is simmered in a delicious gravy, and it goes great with mashed potatoes or any grain, for that matter. Add a good Greek wine like a Skouras or a Semeli, and you’re set for a feast.

HAMBURGER STEAKS – GREEK STYLE

Ingredients:

1¼ pounds ground beef
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon thyme
¼ cup chopped parsley
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
½ cup cooked rice
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1½ tablespoons flour
½ cup hot beef broth
¼ cup red wine
¼ cup sourcream

Instructions:

1, Combine the meat, salt, pepper, thyme, parsley, and onion. Mix well with your hands or a fork. Add the rice and mix to combine. Form into 8 hamburger patties.
2. Melt the butter in a large skillet and add the hamburger patties. Cook over medium-high heat for 3 minutes on each side. Remove from the pan and keep them warm.
3. Add the tomato paste to the pan drippings. Then sprinkle with the flour  and stir until smooth. Slowly add the broth and red wine, stirring constantly. Cook over low heat until thickened.
4. Remove from the heat, and stir in the sour cream. Add the patties to the gravy and simmer for 10 minutes. Arrange the patties and gravy on a serving dish and serve.
Yield: 4 servings.

If grilled burgers are the regular norm, then grilled Stuffed Burgers is the haute cuisine of grilling burger meat.  This is special dish. The stuffing is Portobello mushrooms along with cheese of your choice (we prefer either blue cheese or mozzarella). Add some great herbs, and you have a masterpiece. You’ll never go back to old-style burgers on the grill.

STUFFED BURGERS

2 Portobello mushrooms
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons sliced shallots
1 tablespoon sliced garlic
2 pound ground beef, pork or turkey
6 ounces blue cheese or mozzarella
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried
1 tablespoon fresh chopped chives or 1 teaspoon dried
4 burger buns (we prefer potato buns)

Ingredients:

1. Rinse mushrooms under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels. Cut mushrooms into small cubes.
2. Heat oil in a skillet or saucepan an over medium heat. Add mushrooms and pinch of salt, and sauté for 4 minutes. The  water will start to come out of the mushrooms. Continue to cook until most of the moisture is gone (approximately 8 to 10 minutes). Add shallots and garlic and cook for 3 minutes more. Remove from heat and let cool.
3. Separate the ground meat  into eight 4-ounce patties (each will be half of a finished burger).  Make a dent in the center of each patty with your thumb.  In a bowl , mix well the cooked mushrooms, cheese, oregano and chives. Place a spoonful of the mixture in the dent of the 4 patties.  Cover each with the other 4 patties, and then use your fingers to pinch and seal the two patties together.
4. Season the finished patties with salt and pepper, and place on a hot grill, cooking each side until done. Normally, it’s  cooking the burgers until golden brown and slightly charred on the first side, about 3 minutes for beef and 5 minutes for turkey.  Flip over, and cook on the other side. Note that you can sear the buns along with burgers on each side as well. Be careful not to burn the buns. Place burger on a bun and finish with red leaf lettuce, tomato and any other condiment of your choice.
Yield: 4 servings.

This is a recipe for grilling steak that I got from Bobby Flay’s cookbook, “Grilling for Life.” I’m always on the lookout for a good grilling dish. This one fits the bill. It’s got avocado, chilies, oregano, cilantro, the works.  While the  gill is hot, and you need a unique option, this it it.

SMOKEY AND FIERY SKIRT STEAK WITH AVOCADO-OREGANO RELISH

Serves 6
For the smokey and fiery dressing:
¼ cup red wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 chipotle chilies in adobo
1 tsp honey
¼ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
½ cup canola oil
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Combine the vinegar, garlic, chilies, honey, salt and pepper in a blender and blend until smooth. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in the oil and blend until emulsified. Add the cilantro and pulse two times just to incorporate.

For the avocado-oregano relish:
2 ripe Hass avocados, pitted, peeled and coarsely chopped
Juice of 2 limes
½ medium red onion, finely chopped
2 tsp canola oil
1 tsp finely chopped oregano leaves
¼ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

Combine all of the ingredients in a medium bowl.

For the grilled skirt steak:
2 lb. skirt steak, cut crosswise into 3 equal pieces
1 tsp canola oil
1 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Method:

1. Heat your grill to high.
2.  Brush the steak with the oil and season both sides with the salt and pepper. Grill, turning once, for 6 to 8 minutes until slightly charred and cooked to medium-rare. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes.
3.  Cut the meat against the grain into ½-inch thick slices. Drizzle each with dressing and top with 2 tablespoons of the avocado relish. Serve the remaining relish on the side if desired.

This recipe renders the prefect cheeseburger for grilling. When grilling outdoors (or indoors, for that matter), cheeseburgers are a must for most of us. Place the burger on the grill, cook for a minute or so, add a slice of cheese and cook until it melts. That is the national method (some say it’s written in the Constitution). But ever try an Inside-Out Cheeseburger? If not, you’re in for a treat. Place the cheese inside the burger and then grill.  It makes for something unique and wonderful.

With my inside-out burgers, I use mozzarella cheese. It makes for a deliciously rich burger. But you can use whatever cheese you like, even Velveeta which my wife, Holly, hates. To her it’s a processed chemical product  that isn’t really cheese. She says you’re eating plastic. But, that’s another conversation.  Figure it this way, can you imagine an inside-out burger with Spanish Manchego cheese? Or Brie?, Or feta? The possibilities are endless. You can’t go wrong with this one.

INSIDE-OUT CHEESEBURGER

Ingredients:

1½ to 2 pounds ground beef or if, preferred, ground turkey or ground chicken
Salt and black ground pepper to taste
1 tablespoon fresh chopped oregano leaves  or 1 teaspoon dried
About ¼ pound mozzarella, cut into 4 pieces

Instructions:

1. Start a charcoal or  gas grill over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes.
2. Season the meat with salt, pepper and oregano. Divide meat into four portions and shape each around a piece of cheese, enclosing it fully.
3.  Cook over moderately hot fire: you will be able to hold your hand 3-4 inches over rack for a few seconds. Grill burgers about 4 minutes per side for medium-rare, 6-7 minutes for medium, and 8-9 minutes for well done. Note that cheese begins to melt after 4-5 minutes, but if cheese is well enclosed, that won’t matter.
4. Serve on buns or rolls and garnish as you like.
Yield: 4 servings.

For the 4th of July barbecue I decided to do a chuck roast on the grill.  Now, you may be saying, “Grill a roast? Isn’t that  a contradiction in terms?” Well, not at all.  If you go by common definitions, grilling is a fast cooking method that gives meat its brown charred color. That’s what you do on the 4th with your burgers and franks. Roasting is  more slow cooking process used to cook bigger pieces of meat over a period of time. So how does one grill a big piece such as a chuck roast? Simple, cut it into smaller pieces and then grill as normal.

For this recipe I chose chuck roast because, with the marinating procedure, it makes no difference if its the humble chuck or a more expensive cut. The marinade coats the meat so that it’s succulent whether its skirt steak or chuck. Save Money. Barbecue the chuck roast and still get accolades from family and friends.

GRILLED CHUCK ROAST

Ingredients:

1 beef chuck roast 3 to 3½ pounds
¼ cup red wine vinegar
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves or or 1 teaspoon dried
¼ cup fresh rosemary
¼  cup fresh parsley
1 teaspoon honey
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup fresh cilantro

Instructions:

1. Rinse chuck roast under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels.
2. Combine the vinegar, olive oil, garlic, oregano, rosemary, parsley, honey, salt and pepper in a blender, and blend until smooth.  With the motor running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil and blend until emulsified. Add the cilantro and pulse two times more to incorporate. Prick the meat all over with the tines or a fork or sharp knife. Place the chuck roast and oil/herb mix in a zip-lock bag, turning once or twice to coat, and refrigerate overnight.
3. 30 minutes before grilling, remove meat from the refrigerator and let sit, inside the zip-lock bag, at room temperature.
4. Heat the grill to medium high. Remove roast from bag, and cut into four 4 or5 portions. Place on grill and cook until slightly charred, 2-3 minutes per side. Close the grill and cook, turning once, 6-8 minutes for medium-rare, 10 minutes or more for medium or well done. Remove meat from grill and let rest on a platter for 5 minutes before slicing.
Yield: 4 or more servings.

Here we go again. Another recipe that came about because of the wine club I belong to. This time Laithwaite’s Wine sent me a 2014 Malbec , Tri-Tip, from Lodi California (not Argentina) that is tailor-made for a barbecue or a steak dinner. They also enclosed a recipe for a grilled steak that is given below. Malbec and steak go together marvelously. But even if you don’t have a Malbec on hand, a good Burgundy, or Zinfandel, or Cabernet, will be just as good. The juicy, spicy meat of a flame-grilled steak is a delicious pairing with a good red wine.

Now, for the cut of meat. This recipe can work with  your favorite steak, be it T-bone, porterhouse, rib eye, filet mignon (if you’re in the mood to splurge), New York strip, flank, sirloin, or even chuck steak. You’re only limited by your pocketbook. Also, with the ingredients given, this dish makes lesser cuts of meat seem spectacular.  In fact, chuck steaks are great for grilling with this recipe.

So, light up the grill, add some potatoes and a veggie, and you’re set.

SPICY GRILLED STEAK

Ingredients:

4 steaks, about 1 to 1½-inch thick, about 1 pound each
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon white sugar
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon cayenne
½ teaspoon chipotle

Instructions:

1. Rinse the steaks under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels.
2. In a small bowl or cup, combine all the remaining ingredients and mix well. Rub mixture onto each steak. Place in a large zip-lock bag and refrigerate for at least 24 hours. Remove from the fridge 30 minutes before grilling.
3. Heat your grill to medium-high. Place steaks on grill and cook until golden brown and slightly charred. Depending upon the desired level of doneness, you can grill the steaks 4 to 5 minutes. Then turn over and continue to grill 3-5 minutes for medium-rare; 5-7 minutes for medium; or 8-10 minutes for well done. Transfer to a cutting board or platter and let rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing.
Yield: 4 servings.

Back on the block, in our family, like almost everywhere else in America, Sunday was pot roast day.  And my mother would make it the usual way via baking or roasting in the oven. Lately, thinking back on those days, I started experimenting with pot roast. And one of the most successful method was braising instead of roasting. I subsequently discovered that braising made the pot roast juicier, more moist and less dry than the baking method.  It has become our favorite way of preparing a roast.

In the recipe given I use a chuck roast like my mother did back in Spanish Harlem. You do not need a fancy cut of meat in  this. Braising renders the meat succulent, whether it’s chuck roast or top loin roast. So, if you’re money conscious, use the good ole’ chuck meat. If you wanna splurge on a choice cut, that’s up to you.

Also note that this braising recipe can also be used for lamb, pork or fowl. It’s an all-purpose recipe, and that’s it’s advantage. You can use it with whatever meat you like. Though I do not thank it would work that well for fish. But, if you want to try it with fish and prove me wrong, go right ahead. That’s the beauty of experimenting with cooking: you can really come up with some great results (or not). And if not, keep at it. It will always serve you well.

BRAISING POT ROAST

Ingredients:

1 beef chuck roast, about 3 pounds
Salt to taste
Fresh ground pepper to taste
Oregano, fresh or dried to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 cups diced cabbage or celery
2-3 carrots, cut into rounds
½ cup dry red wine
1 cup chicken broth
½ cup tomato sauce
Bunch fresh rosemary or tarragon

Instructions:

1. Rinse meat under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels.
2.  Prick the meat all over with a fork or knife. Season on all sides with the salt, pepper, and oregano, rubbing the seasoning into the meat with the flat of the hand. Drizzle with the olive oil
3.  Place the roast in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add and scatter all over with the cabbage and carrots. Add wine and chicken broth mixed with the tomato sauce. Top with a bunch of fresh rosemary or tarragon. Bring to boil, cover, lower heat to low-medium and simmer for an hour or so or until meat is tender. Transfer to a serving platter and serve.
   Yield: 4-6 servings.