Working with Fire What’s cooking? 7 Great Grilling Recipes

 

I started putting this post together about two hours ago. Since then, I’ve paid my MasterCard bill, had breakfast, put my laundry away, and written a couple of emails. I sat back down at my laptop to get started a second time, then remembered I’d left my glasses in the bedroom. On my way out of the room, I picked up a book I’d been meaning to put next to my bed, and as I put it on the table, I noticed that my glasses were actually in the pocket of the shirt I was wearing. That’s how it’s been going for me, today. How about you?

For this holiday weekend, when so many of you will be celebrating with some sort of activity that involves outdoor cooking, I’ve been thinking about a grilling recipe to post. Then I realized last night that I have several really outstanding ones already on this blog that go far back enough that you might not have seen them.

So check out these all-stars and fire up your grill. There’s something for everyone here – three feature beef, one stars pork, one is for chicken, and one is for shrimp. The last is a vegetable marvel that works as a side dish or a vegetarian main course. The Kitchen Goddess wishes you a fun- and fireworks-filled weekend.

My Grilled Korean-Style Steak uses strip steaks or rib-eyes, and for no reason I can think of has no photo. (And that’ll be my excuse to cook it again soon.) For now, you will have to trust me that it looks outstanding. Don’t forget to make the Cilantro Sauce, and be sure to buy enough for leftovers.

For a less expensive option, you can’t do better than skirt steak. Now, before we talk about skirt steak, for which I have two fabulous preparations, let’s talk about the difference between skirt steak and flank steak.

Kitchen Goddess note about skirt steak versus flank steak: Both are long, funny-looking cuts of beef, with a loose-knit flesh that loves to soak up a marinade. But don’t be fooled by the look. They’re tougher, yes, but both offer incredible flavor, and you can counter the toughness with a marinade and with the way you slice them. Slice against the grain, thereby cutting through the muscle fibers and making the meat easier to eat. And whatever can be said for flank steak is just more so for skirt steak: more marbled with fat, so it’s richer, beefier tasting, and more flavorful – for about the same price. So...

This preparation of skirt steak (Skirt Steak with Cilantro-Garlic Sauce) focuses on the Southwest flavors of cumin and cilantro. I find that guests like the spicy cilantro sauce so much that I usually double that recipe.

Skirt Steak with Cilantro-Garlic Sauce

This second skirt steak presentation, Skirt Steak with Spicy Pesto Marinade, works with mellower, more herbal flavors – basil and scallions and thyme – but it also has plenty of garlic and jalapeño, so there’s nothing sissy about it.

Skirt Steak with Spicy Pesto Marinade

Moving beyond beef, I’ve cooked this recipe for Honey-Gingered Pork Tenderloin in the oven and gotten raves, but I always love that nice bit of crust you can get from the grill. My hubby doesn’t know you can cook it in the oven, and I like it that way.

Honey-Gingered Pork Tenderloin

The easiest way I know to grill chicken is to do it beer-butt style: Beer-Butt Chicken. This cooking method also produces the moistest, most flavorful meat. The rub I used here is my own concoction and completely yummy.

Beer-Butt Chicken (You didn't really need a caption, did you?)

Don’t you just love grilled shrimp? This Mango Salad with Grilled Shrimp recipe makes a great first course for dinner; I’ve also served it as the entrée for lunch. Light and fresh and very tropical tasting with the mango salad. This photo is of the pre-grilled stage.

Grilled Shrimp

Last but definitely not least is this perfectly marvelous presentation of Grilled Cauliflower Steaks. I know, cauliflower isn’t on your list of What-I-Was-Really-Hoping-to-Eat-This-Summer, but that’s just because you haven’t had this dish yet. Roasting brings out the natural sugars in the veggie; the pesto adds a lovely herby flavor, and the cheese sauce,... do I really need to say anything about cheese sauce?

Grilled Cauliflower Steaks with Pesto and Cheese Sauce

Happy Fourth of July to you all!