Grilling

This week’s recipe is a super simple take on the kabob that can be done with or without a grill. Sabrina Ghayour’s recipe for Spice-Marinated Beef Kabobs from her book, Feast, relies on that powerful combo of spices plus time. Sirloin steak is cut into generous pieces and marinated with smoked paprika, turmeric, cumin, cinnamon, lots of garlic, lemon juice and oil.  She sears the marinated beef on the stovetop until crusty and then threads them on skewers for the table. If you have a grill at the ready, don’t hesitate to grill them on the skewers over medium heat until crusty. If the beef marinates a little longer, say overnight, it will be even more flavorful.

When removing the chicken from the marinade, let the marinade drip off the meat for a few seconds; raw chicken that is too wet will steam rather than grill over the fire. Boil the leftover marinade (for food safety) and use it to baste and to sauce this winning Filipino-inspired dish.

Cookbook author and cooking teacher Rick Rodgers’s immediate family isn’t too large (he has two brothers, also excellent cooks), but his extended family is very big. His great-grandmother had nine children, and his maternal grandmother had seven, so, many relatives show up for the family reunions that occur on an irregular basis. “We often use my mom’s birthday as a reason for us all to get together—last year it was thirty-five hungry people. Spareribs are the favorite main course. My method grew out of a necessity to serve everyone.” Rick says that he prefers big,meaty spareribs to baby backs because he can get more servings from the spareribs. He also recommends having many filling side dishes as a way to keep everyone’s plate filled and to cut down on the work required by the person attending the grill.

This roasting method works with other vegetables besides onions: radicchio, endive, and eggplant are favorites.

This is one amazing steak. It’s simple to prepare and you get maximum flavor in a short period of time. Flank steak is a lean cut, so be careful you don’t overcook it; medium-rare is ideal.

I learned the essence of American barbecue when I worked as a cook in Atlanta, and I still crave that sticky, smoky, tender meat. We capture those memories when we cook with this sauce at our restaurants. With sweetness coming from the brown sugar, kiwi, and pear, plus the sharpness from the onion, soy sauce, and garlic, this sauce has everything you need for barbecue with a Korean touch. I always give credit to my mom for this recipe because she showed me how to make it. Over the years, I’ve made some modifications to take it to the next level, but don’t tell her! She believes that I am still using the same recipe she taught me all those years ago.

Skirt steaks come from two different muscles and are sometimes labeled as inside skirt steak or outside skirt steak. The more desirable outside skirt steak measures 3 to 4 inches wide and 1/2 to 1 inch thick. Avoid the inside skirt steak, which typically measures 5 to 7 inches wide and 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick, as it is very chewy. Skirt steak is most tender when cooked to medium (130 to 135 degrees). Thin steaks cook very quickly, so we recommend using an instant-read thermometer for a quick and accurate measurement.

In my humble opinion, the only thing better than roasted prime rib is smoked prime rib. The seductive flavor of the wood smoke and spice mingles with the flavorful beef to create a dish of epic proportions—trust me. When I’m looking for a real showstopper of a dish to impress guests, this is one of my go-to recipes. This technique calls for a higher smoker temperature and shorter cook time because you don’t want to push the meat past medium like you do with regular barbecue, since prime rib is a naturally tender cut.