Grilling season has begun !

Here is the photographer for this post taking a selfie.

I have discovered flank steak !!
We don't eat a lot of meat on a daily basis, I do get the hankering every so often for some nice red meat. Bob and I usually will share half a pound of flank steak, that's 4 ounces each. I have been getting the flank steak at my favorite butcher , El Salchichero.
I prefer my meat to be local and grass fed.

The first time I made this version of grilled flank steak, I didn't realize it would come out so tasty. The next time Genna came home, I made it again, this time with photos and measurements.

Here is the naked flank steak, it's about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick.
I made this great rub to put on it.

Laurie's Flank Steak Rub

3 teaspoons powdered mustard
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon celery seeds
1 teaspoon dried summer savory or basil
2-3 teaspoons salt

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, store whatever you don't use in a bottle for next time. If making the rub is just too much bother you can use whatever rubs you have laying around or just add some salt and dried thyme to chili powder.

Lightly rub the steak with olive oil, then rub on the rub. You can put it on thick or thin depending on your tastes. Be sure to do both sides.

Allow your grill to heat up before placing the steak on it. For a 1/2 inch steak, 3 minutes a side on direct heat is plenty. One of the recipes I read had me leave it on the grill but with indirect heat for a minute each side. Slightly longer for a thicker steak.

It is very important to let your steak rest for at least 5 minutes once you have removed it from the grill. Resting will keep the juices from flowing out when you cut it. Bob read me this long explanation about why this happens that had water balloons and cells in it, just trust me*.  Set the timer, go set the table, finish the salad and the side dishes.

Now comes another very important part, cutting the meat against the grain. I recommend looking carefully at your meat before you cook it. As you can see above the grill marks might throw you off but if you look beyond those marks you can see the long striation that are horizontal in this photograph.
 Cutting the meat in the other direction with cut those long fibers and make your steak more tender and easy to chew.

Now you are ready to eat that delicious steak. My photographer was so ready she forgot to take a photo of the meat plated with Laurie's Potatoes and a huge green salad.

Here she is taking another selfie as she tests the raspberry crisp I made for dessert.


* Bob sent me this brief explanation about resting the steak:

"As is the case with so much to do with cooking steaks, there is a key temperature involved in resting a steak. The idea with resting is basically allowing the hot steak to cool to about 120° to 125°F. At that temperature, the cells have relaxed enough so that the juices can flow back in. "

 He added this admonishment:
 DO NOT POKE THE STEAK WITH A MEAT THERMOMETER.
The juices will run out and you will defeat your purposed. Instead just let the damn thing rest for 5-10 minutes before cutting it.

Slow Roasted Country Style Pork Ribs

I am an omnivore and I love it :-) I made these slow cooked ribs for some friends the other night. They were so good and such a hit I had to share this very simple and very satisfying recipe. With fall here, I am drawn more and more to this kind of meal.

This is a long slow cook, perfect to put in the oven in the afternoon with very little attention until the last hour. The house will smell divine as the meat cooks.

Start with high quality local pork country style ribs, they have no bones. I got mine from El Salchichero. There are other local folks selling pork at the farmer's markets as well. It's a good idea to call ahead to make sure they have this cut. I bought 3 pounds for four people and we had leftover for Bob and I the next day. I cut off some of the fat on the ends and saved it for future dishes.

Marinade

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup apple juice
2 cups roasted tomato puree or tomato sauce
1 chopped red onion
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce
1 teaspoon ancho chili powder
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon liquid smoke (optional)
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
1 tablespoon fresh chopped oregano
1 teaspoon fresh chopped rosemary
2 tablespoons fresh chopped basil
2 tablespoons fresh chopped fennel or dill

1) Preheat the oven to 300 F.
2) Place all the above ingredients in a large enamel pot with a lid and mix together. You can use a 9 by 13 inch glass baking dish as well, use foil to cover the top.

You can see from this photo I didn't chop my herbs very much. In fact I put in sprigs of fresh herbs. When Bob insisted I write down the recipe I translated my sprigs into tablespoons.

3) Place your 3 pounds of country style ribs into the marinade. You can see from the photo that they are covered in liquid.

4) Bake covered for 3 hours at 300 F.
5) Uncover, turn the temperature to 350 F and bake for another hour, turning and basting the meat two to three times. It is OK if it falls apart, that's what you want. The liquid will cook down making a rich barbeque sauce.
6) Remove from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes.

7) I served our ribs with massage kale salad , quinoa tabouli and garlic bread. We were all so excited to eat I forgot to get a "beautiful plate " photo. The pork is mostly gone already !