Best Summer Meat Marinade ....Ever

Well the livin' ain't been so easy with all this heat so when it's time for comestibles here, I turn to the grill for nearly all my hot weather cooking. That and a good take out place and when you find one in my area PLEASE tell me!

I like my beef salty. I worked at the Beekman Arms in Rhinebeck when I went to the Culinary Institute, there was a crazy group of guys in the kitchen then, the broiler guy had his own secret marinade for all meats. This is my version of what he used and I think it is just about as close to perfect as you can get.


The easiest best beef marinade I have

1-cup good soy sauce
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/3 – 1 cup water.
1/3-cup vegetable oil
4 tsp chili garlic sauce * (I use one from Thailand but they are all good) This is a spicy mixture. Use less if you do not appreciate the heat!!)

Mix all ingredients together
Marinate steak anywhere from 15 minutes to overnight for a deeper flavor.


The cheapskate in me cannot throw out a perfectly good marinade just because it has been used once. IF you kept this under refrigeration and did not leave the meat in there for a week, freeze the marinade, I use a code- don’t laugh now, 0, 1x, 2x. I know you have cracked my code. 0 is fresh never used, 1x means used once, 2x which is rarely seen around here but on occasion is used twice. After that we are finished I feel I have gotten my monies worth out of this. NOTE: I only reuse marinades for my hubby and I; somehow I can’t do that for company.

When you are grilling you want to heat that puppy UP. Turn the grill on, all the way up for a good 15 minutes before you put on the steaks.

Lifting the steaks up out of the marinade place them on the grill at a 45 degree angle to the grate. I turn 1 ¼ inch steaks 5-7 minutes after they begin for medium rare. If you want to create a cross hatch pattern like the steakhouses do, after 3 minutes, ONCE THE STEAK can lift off the grates without leaving bits behind, turn the steak (leaving the same cooked side towards the grill) so it is at a 45 degree angle in the opposite direction. Imagine an X. First the steak goes one way, like so / , then the other \ .

PLEASE PLEASE do not cut into this juicy slab of artery clogging protein! Without benefit of photos, maybe I’ll get to that, let me tell you how the chefs do it.
1. Figure out which hand you write with….. Good. Now with the OTHER hand hanging loosely from your wrist (shake it a couple of times to make sure you are loose.) poke the fleshy part where your thumb and index finger (Mr. Pointer) meet. Push in to this fleshy part, you will meet with little resistance, it’s mushy. This is VERY RARE.
2. Straighten out your fingers but not very tightly poking the fleshy part. This is MEDIUM RARE
3. Now flex your fingers out rather stiffly. Poke that fleshy part. This is MEDIUM.
4. Ball up your fist. Poke that part that was fleshy and it now a knot. This is WELL DONE.
I hope on all that is sacred you will stop cutting into your grilled meats to see if they are done now! Even stabbing at this defenseless steak with a meat thermometer lets all the juices run into your grill and not over your deprived taste buds. A sin if I ever heard of one.

Garlic Chicken

Garlic Chicken

This recipe started out when we were called upon to do a family birthday party. This family made a heavily garliced chicken on the grill and asked us to include this as part of their menu so I created my version of their family favorite and loved it so much that it has become a regular menu item for us in the summer. As with many of my recipes, the measurements should become in your hand rather than with a measuring cup and spoons. Add different herbs and spices, adjust quantities, make this your own.

This preparation takes little time to make but it does require a day or two in the frig so plan ahead.

2-3 Days ahead:
Ingredients:
1 whole chicken cup up in 8 pieces OR 8 pieces of chicken OR boneless cutlets, white or dark.

Brine:
¼ cup kosher salt
1 cup Boiling water
1 large onion cut in ½” thick slices
½ cups smashed garlic cloves
2 jalapeno sliced ¼” thick slices
¼ cup fresh rosemary leaves
1/8 cup fresh thyme leaves
½ cup fresh parsley leaves
Cold water and ice cubes
A nice amount of freshly ground black pepper
-Dissolve the salt into the boiling water.
-Add the onions, jalapeño, garlic, herbs & spices and let sit till the onions soften a bit.
-Add ice cubes till this mixture is cold.
-Add Chicken pieces
-Cover with cold water. Mix a bit. Cover and put in the frig for at least one day and up to three.

Day of Cooking.
Ingredients:
Olive Oil
Crushed Red Pepper
Black Pepper
Granulated Garlic
NOTE: You can also add more herbs or more smashed garlic here.
-Drain chicken discarding brine.
-LIGHTLY coat brined chicken in olive oil.
-Season with more black pepper, crushed red pepper, granulated garlic & re-season with additional herbs if you like
-Now here’s the key: Grill your chicken LOW & SLOW. Low heat and very slowly. This is the key to juicy, tender grilled chicken!

I like to serve this at home with something that can soak up the incredible juices that will come out. Orzo, Israeli Cous Cous or other small pasta shapes like Trofie or Strozzapretti work well. The pasta I use at home is an artisanal pasta named Dal Raccolto that I think is superb. Made in Italy it is distributed by Colavita in this country and you can find it in good Italian markets, Fairway (www.fairwaymarket.com), at the retail outlet of Ace Endico (http://www.aceendicocompanystore.com/) located off of 84 on the border of Brewster and Southeast or at Colivita’s online “store” (www.colavita.com/store).