Dirty Steak Video…Redux

One of my first attempts at a video for you guys was an attempt at filming me cooking my “Dirty” Steaks.

So I wanted to share my latest attempts with you, and let you into the secrets of down dirty way I cook them….

Enjoy!

Seriously Big “Dirty” Rump Steaks

You’ve probably heard me jabbering on about cooking “Dirty” style beef straight onto the coals, and thought to yourself, that sounds interesting, and I’m finding I’m cooking more and more beef like this on the BBQ this summer as I find that obtaining a prefect savoury crust is so much easier this way. And I really really urge you to give it a go this summer, as long as you have lumpwood charcoal (not briquettes) and a lid for your BBQ you can cook this. And with National Barbecue Week next week you really need to do something special.

Get your coals good and hot, so they are glowing, give them a quick blow to remove any build up of ash, and put your chunk of beef straight on the coals, the fattier cuts seem to do best, such as ribeye, sirloin or in this case 4.9kg of rump. You can also do this with a chateaubriand fillet cut, but you need to be extra cautious not to overcook it.

A few minutes a side is all it needs to sear and crust up, and sear the ends too, if the fat starts to flare up you can close the lid if you get worried.

Once it looks like the pic above on all sides, remove from the coals, place the BBQ grate back on, followed by the meat. I like to brush mine at this stage with the following mixture, 6 tbsps rock salt, 3 cloves of garlic, 2 sprigs of rosemary, 2 sprigs of thyme, and a good glug, 4/5 tbsps extra virgin olive oil, blitzed up in a spice grinder.

Place the meat on the grill indirectly, ie. not directly over the coals with some oak smoking chips, and the lid on the BBQ, cook until the internal temperature reaches 52 degC, and allow to rest for 20-30 minutes.

Serve in big slices with salad, red wine and lots of friends.

 

 

Quick Sour Mash Burnt Ends

Burnt Ends, doesn’t sound particularly appealing really, but for BBQ enthusiasts in the know, they are a real delicacy that is usually reserved for the hard working chef, washed down with a cold beer. They usually consist of the ends of beef brisket that have seen bit too much heat, and brisket cooked properly can take 18 hours. This is a lot quicker way of getting that fix, and will take 5 hours to cook.

Beef short ribs have the same bags of flavour that brisket has, but have a bit more fat and cook quicker. I used a bought BBQ rub on mine for ease, rubbed a good handful into the short ribs, and then cooked for 4 hours on the BBQ at 140degC, with the lid on of course, with a chunk of apple wood that I’d pruned from one of my trees. At this point there was a wonderful bark on the outside of the meat.

The succulent smoky meat pulled easily off the bone, and I cut it into chunks about an inch think. I popped the meat into an oven tray, along with half a bottle of Jeremiah Weed Sour Mash Brew, and popped back to smoke in the BBQ for another hour.

Served  with a jar of Sour Mash Brew and a pile of homemade slaw, the juices from the meat dribbling down my chin, this was a messy but gorgeously meaty feast.

Do you know what’s in your burger?

So….. do you?? With the recent scandal of extra ingredients appearing in supermarket burgers, have you lost confidence in the meat you buy there?

Well if you haven’t already, there’s no better time to get acquainted with your local butcher, and if you build up a good relationship with them, you can trust your meat, and what goes into your burger.

Since I started to eat meat after being a vegetarian for so long, it has always mattered to me where the meat I eat comes from, so I always discuss the meat with the butcher, what beef is it? where has it come from? I was very fortunate to have been offered these Gordonian Luxury Burgers to try, they are dry aged Aberdeen Angus, from Andrew Gordon are a huge 200g each. The aroma was deep and beefy as they cooked, with no rubbish in them, they cooked to perfection on a griddle, and the taste was outstanding, seasoned perfectly, I was quite confident to serve it medium rare, to keep it moist, but with a thick savoury crust from being cooked on a high heat on the griddle.

So, without preaching, maybe it’s time you got to know your local butcher?