Steak Night

Not much tastes better than a steak grilled at home. Make sure your grates are clean, it will help the steak not stick. To keep your grates clean use some non-stick oil and a grill brush. If your grates are porcelain coated, which most are nowadays, you want to stay away from the metal scraper types. The scraper types can damage the porcelain coating and will eventually cause them to rust.

This is the type of grill brush to get. They're usually about $5 and the bristles are brass.

I deep clean my grates once a year. I take the grates and flare-up covers off and wash with some nice hot soapy water. I let them dry over night. Before placing them back on the grill I coat the grates with either some non-stick cooking oil or some bacon grease. This will help keep them in good shape for the season and makes them easy to clean after each use.

It all starts with the cut you choose. They were seasoned with salt, cracked pepper and Grill Mates steak seasoning. Whatever steak you choose, let it sit out for about an hour or so before grilling to help it not stick to the grate. When you set out the meat, it's a good time to throw the spuds in the oven. Stab them with a fork a couple times on each side and season if desired. We coat the skin with butter or olive oil and sprinkle with salt. This will make them crispy and tasty if you choose to eat the skin. Bake them at 350 for about an hour.

While you are getting your steaks and sides ready, have your grill heating up and crack another beer.

For well done steaks, which I don't like, you cook on medium heat and for medium steaks you cook on high. This might sound odd, but let me explain. Medium heat will cook slower and allow the middle to cook as the outside gets done. High heat will cook the outside faster and allow the middle to stay nice and juicy. Whether you like your steak medium or well, always let the grill get nice and hot to sear in the juices. Also don't move them around a lot. To get some nice grill marks on your steak, place the meat on the grill. After a few minmutes, using tongs, grab the meat and rotate it 90 degrees. A few minutes later, flip your meat and repeat the rotating process on this side as well. You should only flip your meat one time.


While the grill is heating up I prep the asparagus. Using a small metal tray covered in foil, the asparagus is lined up and coated in olive oil and sprinkled with salt. This is placed on the top rack of the grill.

I place her steak on the medium side for about 5-7 minutes before I put mine on. I usually flip her steak right before I put mine on, then let them both cook for about 5-7 more minutes. I flip both and move the asparagus a little to help it cook evenly. About the time I finish my beer the steaks and asparagus are ready. Never use the same plate for raw and cooked meat. It's a good idea to let the steaks sit for a couple minutes before you cut into them. Keep the grill on.

This window of a few minutes is the perfect time to clean your grates as everything is hot and loose. Take your grill brush and scrape off any seasonings or anything that shouldn't be there. Now you can turn off the grill. This will keep your grill in great shape for the next time you use it.

Finished product.

Bacon Bacon

So I finally got around to getting some steel wool and the ambition to start resurrecting some old pans and such. So far the only one I have done is the bacon press.

Here's a picture of what it looked like before.

After a little elbow grease you can really tell a difference.

Done and ready for the oven.

Now it's ready to use! I got the handle wet, but not wet enough and it started to char. So I took it off (which I should have done to begin with) and took some light sandpaper to it. Not only did it take away some of the burn it also made it nice and smooth.

Taco Seasoning

Inspired by Aaron. We bought everything for tacos but forgot the seasoning. After reading Aaron's recipe for it I wanted to try to make our own. I agree with Aaron, we will never buy "the mix" again. I thought about making a bunch of this up sometime to use for dips and such at a later date.

I was so happy with the results. This made my nose run, but didn't make my mouth numb or taste disgusting. This was a really good spicy. This year we are going to try to grow some foods and herbs as fresh is much better than boxed or canned.


Stay tuned for a better recipe after a food dehyrater is purchased and some peppers are grown.


You can either mix this up beforehand or add it while you are cooking, it doesn't really matter. Brown your beef adding a dash of salt and pepper to help season and drain. Add in the seasonings and 3/4 cup water. Simmer and let it thicken.

Measurements are approximate. Can be altered to your taste.
1 Tsp - Paprika
Dash - Cilantro
Dash - Onion powder
Dash - Garlic powder
1 Tsp - Cayenne pepper
1 Tsp Cumin seed
Dash - Salt
Dash - Pepper

Reseasoning Part 2

As stated in my last post, I need some steel wool before I can reseason these. I'll post after pictures and any other information in part 3. Thanks Dad for all the skillets and thanks Mom for the bacon press. Some of the skillets are really bad, but all can be saved. The small ones will be great for single items or small stuff. I'll have to check out some new recipes and find uses for all of them.


Before:

Small #1

Small #2

Small #3

Big #1

Big #2

Bacon Press (really bad)!

Reseasoning Part 1

The SOS pads I nabbed from Mom didn't hold up to the cast iron, so I'll have to get some steel wool. The Dutch Oven didn't have any rust, but needed reseasoned. The griddle is preseasoned, but I've heard that it is a good idea to season anyway. Thanks Mom for the griddle and Dutch Oven.

How to season a cast iron skillet or other cookware.

There are many ways that people say to do it, this is just the way I do it.
- Preheat oven to anywhere between 400-500*.
- Using cooking oil (I use olive oil) pour small amount into pan. Using a clean paper towel rub the oil around coating the entire inside cooking surface and around the lip and top of the outer. Some people do the outside as well, but I never have. Don't puddle it, but you'd rather have a little much than not enough.
- Place item into preheated oven for roughly an hour or so, little longer won't hurt. Turn on any fans that you can because the stove will be really hot and the oil may cause a little smoke.
- Let cool in oven or on hot pad.

When done the pan should be nice and glossy black. Each time you cook with it you're actaully reseasoning it so it will only get better with use.

I didn't get any pictures beforehand of these items, but this is how they turned out.

Dutch Oven and lid

Griddle

Gifts A Plenty

So during my trip back home, I received many gifts. I got a cast iron griddle, dutch oven, bacon press and 5 or 6 skillets of various sizes. Some will need reseasoned so that will be the subject of my next post. How to clean and reseason a cast iron skillet. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Aaron, I plan on updating this more often especially with the nice weather coming.

Coming Soon

I want to get one of these and make my own seasonings using stuff I grow myself.

Mortar & Pestle

Another Addition

I was offered an iron skillet that the owner couldn't seem to get seasoned. I said I would take it absolutely with no questions. So I made a frozen pizzer for lunch and figured since I had the oven on I might as well try to season my new aquisition. So after 3 hours at 500* this is how it turned out.

The one in the middle.

All 3 nested together.

New Item in the Repertoire

This will be great for some cheesy eggs and other smaller items. As you can see it's not seasoned like the old 12", but I'll take care of that soon enough.