Boys and Grills

This is Father's Day weekend.  I hope you all called your Dads and and expressed your hearts' true feelings. 

And I know as I write that, not everyone has had such an idyllic life as I have.  I can say such compassionate things only because my Dad and I are close--friends, even.  But regardless of your relationship with your Dad, there is someone out there close to you who represents your ideal of fatherhood.  Go with that for the rest of the day and tell those people what they mean to you.

This is my blog and my Dad, however, so allow me to regale you with my experiences and impressions of my mind.  Whereas my Mom is regarded by the greatness (quantity and quality) of her food in the kitchen, my Dad is known for his grill work.  Like the cliched greeting cards you will find at the supermarket, he has prepared the meat of nearly every kind of animal--fish or fowl, beef, buffalo or game.  Steaks, fillets, roasts, whole, spit, or racked.  Even oysters in the shell (see below). 

So I was thinking, as an homage to my Dad, a man I love and admire, how can I pass on his grilling acumen?  Here's some of what I have picked up over the years:

1) Know your fire.  Every grill has hot and cold spots.  Use these.  My Dad switched years ago to a gas grill, built into the back patio.  I use charcoal.  Dad's grill has spots that stay 10-20 degrees cooler than other parts; I have to stack coals to one side or another to create a cold zone.  The hot parts of the grill are good for searing meat but bad for sustained cooking.  The cooler parts will be good to slowly raise the temperature of the food. 

2) Take the food's temperature.  Undercooked is generally better for flavor and texture than overcooked.  The best way is an instant-read thermometer on a long probe.  (Although my Dad would always operate by instinct, then cut into the center of the steak seconds before declaring it done.)  Remember, most foods will continue to cook for 5-10 minutes after removing it from heat. 

3) Know when to poke your meat.  The best time to put holes into your meat (if you must) is BEFORE it goes on the grill, and is usually only to let in certain flavors.  For example, little slices of garlic and sprigs of rosemary stuffed into tiny holes all around a leg of lamb offers a deep infusion of flavor.  For thick steaks, you may use a fork to poke holes before adding a marinade. 

4) Leave your meat alone.  Give it time to rest.  Most meat benefits by sitting on a slightly heated plate and covered with tinfoil for 10 minutes after taking it off of the grill.  This allows the juices to return to the muscle structure.  Cut into the meat when the temperature is too high, the juices have too much kinetic energy to be bound by the heated cell walls of the meat.  (Yes, I'm using physics and biology!  Isn't science cool?)

5) Know your marinades, rubs and sauces.  Marinades add flavor and if they use salt, sugar or oil, also aid in the browning of the grilled offering.  Rubs provide a good surface flavoring, and can caramelize on the surface adding a crispiness (especially good for some fish!)  Sauces are served afterward and compliment cooked food.  One can make a sauce from the marinade but reserve the liquid before touching it to raw meat.  This avoids cross-contamination.

6) Apologize for it being under/over done before anyone has any on their plates.  Set the audience's expectations low and dazzle them anyway.  Under promise and over deliver. 

To Dads everywhere: Thank you for all the wisdom you have imparted.  Thank you for (trying to) teach us the little lessons that we should know before life kicks sand in our face.  Thank you for inspiring us to reach higher, think better and do gooder (yes, I like saying that) than we would ever have imagined for ourselves.  We love you. 

Tonight for dinner, try:

Grilled Oysters
2-3 live Oysters per person (I prefer large Pacific species)
Hot Sauce
Lemon wedges

Line the oysters (live, in the shell) on a hot grill.  Watch them closely.  After about 2 minutes, the shells will open.  Remove from the heat, being careful not to spill the liquid from the shells. 

Let the guests open their own oysters (fingers are fine--no need for an oyster shucking knife.)  Add a dash of hot sauce and a squirt of lemon, then shoot the oyster, liquid and all.  This is the most flavorful way of eating these guys!

Sugar Steak
1 12 oz Ribeye Steak per person (1 1/2 inch cut)
Soy Sauce
ground Black Pepper
1/2 cup packed Brown Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 tablespoon Red Chili Powder
1/4 teaspoon Cumin Powder


Lay the steaks out flat.  Sprinkle on enough soy sauce to coat each side of all of the steaks.  Add a light dusting of black pepper (to taste).  Cover and let them come to room temperature.


In a bowl, mix the sugar, salt, chili and cumin powder.


Make a two tiered fire in your grill, or for gas, get one side very hot and the other warm.  When the grill is hot, pack the sugar rub evenly onto each side of the steak.  Place on the hot part of the grill, at least 1 inch between steaks and leave the lid up.  Leave it alone for 3 minutes and then flip over.  Cook that side for 2 minutes more, then move to the cooler part of the grill.  Cover the grill and let cook until rare or medium rare (120-125 degrees.  Remember the steak will continue to cook for 5 minutes when you take it off the heat.)

Remove from the grill and cover for 10 minutes. 

Grilled Asparagus with Balsamic Vinegar Reduction
1 bunch of Asparagus
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
1/2 cup Balsamic Vinegar (the good stuff--aged)
2 tablespoons Sugar

Cut the white, woody ends off the asparagus spears and discard.  Rinse them well and lay out on a paper towel.  Pat them dry. 

In a saucepan, heat the vinegar until until simmering.  Continue to simmer and add the sugar, stirring until dissolved.  Continue to heat slowly, stirring occasionally until the volume has been reduced by 1/2. 

Place asparagus in a bowl or baking dish.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.  Toss to cover each spear and place the spears directly on the hot part of the grill.  Cook for about 2-3 minutes.  Turn them over.  Some charring will occur, but you don't want them too blackened.  Cook for another minute of two then return to the baking dish. 

Sprinkle with pepper, to taste and drizzle with the vinegar deduction. 

Dinner Tonight

Asparagus in a Cream Sauce over Pasta

Olive Oil
1 Leek, greens discarded, diced
1 clove Garlic, minced
1 cup chopped Asparagus
10 medium Button Mushrooms, chopped
3/4 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Pepper
3/4 cup Skim Milk
3/4 cup Heavy Cream
1/2 cup Walnuts, chopped
Cooked Pasta (your choice)

Sautee the leak and garlic over medium heat with a pinch of salt until soft and they start to turn translucent.  Add the asparagus, mushrooms and walnuts.  Continue to stir until the asparagus STARTS to get tender.  Add more salt and pepper, to tase.

Reduce the heat to medium low.  Poor in the milk and cream.  Stirring occasionally, let simmer until the milk is reduced to the consistency you like. 

Spoon over warm pasta and sprinkle with a grated dry, hard cheese.

Saint Valentine's Day Means Duck!

Duck is an exotic dish that, when prepared well, fills the senses with joy, but when prepared poorly, is a greasy, gamy disappointment. I've never made duck before, so what better day to try it than Valentine's Day?

First, the duck itself. 2 kinds: Muscovy (richer, fattier and a little gamy) and Pekin (milder, a little less fat). I went to the local King Soopers and got a 5.95 pound duck. I looked everywhere on the label and sure enough, it says "Duck," but that and "with Orange Glaze" were the only descriptors. On the back I found "Maple Leaf Farms" so I went to their website. No other description. OK, so I don't know what I'm making, but since King Soopers only carries on kind of duck, it doesn't matter. That's one factor I can't control.

(Note: I wrote Maple Leaf Farms and they were kind enough to answer: They only raise and produce White Pekins.)

THE hallmark of good duck is a crispy skin. And to get a good crisp, the skin has to be perfectly dry. I took the thawed duck out of its packaging at 1:00 pm and removed the giblets, clipped the wings, removed any excess fat and skin and rinsed it thoroughly (inside and out). I then patted it dry and seasoned it. I put it on a wire cooling rack but needed to elevate it to get good airflow all the way around the skin. And inside too, if possible. I don't have a vertical cooking rack for a chicken (or any other poultry, for that matter) so i made one out of chicken wire.

After a couple of hours, the skin was good and dry. Martha Stewart and others recommend scoring the skin and piercing it immediately. One recipe I saw recommended pouring boiling water over it, then piercing it. That seems dumb, because it completely defeats the dry-skin method of delicious crispiness! The Maple Leaf Farms website recommends cooking first for 20 minutes, then piercing or scoring the skin. That actually made good sense.

The cooking is pretty straight forward. Preheat oven and cook. Turn it, drain it, baste it, keep cooking.

But the sauce . . . . What to do for the sauce? I refuse to use prepackaged sauce. It may be delicious and the best thing I've ever tried, but I can NOT bring myself to use it when I'm such a megalomaniac about my own cooking. But Maple Leaf Farms got the theme right: Sweets and sours play well together. And some spices should really enhance the richness of duck. (See what I tried, below.)

Now, what about the appetizer? Sides? Dessert? How about stuffed baby portabella mushrooms, fingerling heirloom potatoes, parsnips and sweet potatoes oven-fried in duck fat, and roasted asparagus with bacon? And maybe baked custard with a little something extra?

All-in-all, it turned out very well. And a very messy kitchen. And a little smoke. Most things turned out well but I can always use more practise. You buy the duck and I'll cook it for you. At your house. In your kitchen.

Stuffed Baby Portabellas

6 Portabella Mushrooms, 3 inch caps
2 tablespoons Bacon Fat
1 tablespoon diced Onions
1 teaspoon diced Garlic
1 tablespoon crushed Gingersnaps
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan Cheese (or other dry white cheese)

Rinse and dry the mushrooms. (There is NO PROBLEM with giving mushrooms a quick rinse. If anyone ever tells you to never rinse mushrooms, have them do the science.) Remove the stems, and dice the stems only. Leave the caps whole.

Melt the fat in a skillet, medium heat. Add onion, garlic, gingersnap powder, and mushroom stems. Saute. Give it some love--it's Valentine's Day.

Spoon the mixture into the caps of the shrooms. Top with the cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes to cool and return the juices.


Cranberry Glaze with Balsamic Vinegar

3/4 cup reserved Cranberry Jelly with Cardamom
1/2 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar (I use 12 year Elsa Balsamic)

A few weeks ago I made a basic cranberry sauce from whole cranberries. Basic recipe, but I added 7 or 8 Cardamom pods. With time the cranberries became so delicious that they disappeared, but I could not bring myself to discard the liquid. This became its last hurrah!

Put all ingredients into a pot on medium heat and stir until sugar is melted. reduce heat and let simmer until the sauce is reduced to 1/3 of original volume.

The sauce will also go great on ice cream!

Potato, Parsnips, Sweet Potatoes

6 each of Yukon, Red and Purple fingerling Potatoes
1 medium Ruby Sweet Potato, peeled
1 medium Parsnip, peeled
reserved Duck Fat

Chop all root veggies to about 1 inch diameter and 2-3 inches long. Put onto a microwave safe plate and microwave on high for 3-5 minutes. Place into a baking dish and season with salt and pepper. Ladle duck fat over everything. Put into 375 degree oven for 15 minutes. Stir and return to oven for another 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper, to taste.

Asparagus with Bacon

1 bunch of Asparagus
3 strips of Bacon, cooked until chewy, chopped

Remove the woody ends from the asparagus. Put the good parts on a lined baking sheet. Cover with bacon bits. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 15-20 minutes. Lightly season with salt and/or pepper.


Oven-roasted Duck

1 5-6 pound Duck

Kosher Salt

8 sprigs of Thyme

6 Allspice Berries, 10 Black Pepper Corns, 6 Whole Cloves, crushed

Remove the duck from its packaging, and take out the giblets and whatever other nonsense the producers stick inside the bird. Keep the neck and giblets, throw the rest away. (Unless you want to keep it. Free country, do what you want.) Clip the wing tips off. Remove any excess fat and skin, e.g., the tail, the fat around the belly, etc. Rinse the bird thoroughly under cold water and pat it dry with paper towels. (For health reasons, use paper towels. Something reusable can spread germs, so screw you environment. I need to be sustained, too.) Season inside and out with salt and spices. Let it dry completely for a couple of hours. (I actually took a hair drier to the crevasses of the skin that was still tacky to the touch.)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Stuff the thyme into the cavity, and tie the legs. Put the bird on a baking rack, breast-side up. Cook for 20 minutes. Remove the bird and using a sharp knife or very sharp fork, pierce the skin everywhere. Don't go all the way into the meat, but do get into the nooks and crannies around the thighs and legs. Turn it over and get the back, too. Put the bird back into the oven for 45 minutes, breast down. Then, using more paper towels, tilt the bird, draining the juices into the baking pan. Flip the duck breast-side up and cook for 30 - 45 minutes more, or until the thigh temperature reads 160 degrees.

Cover the back with your glazing of choice (Cranberry and Balsamic was AMAZING!) and cook for another 5 minutes. (Watch that it doesn't burn. Lots of sugar can over-caramelize in a hurry.)

Let stand, covered, for 10 minutes.

Slice and serve!

And just for my Sister-in-Law:

Baked Custard

8 Strawberries
1/2 cup Sugar
3 tablespoons Water

1 cup Milk
1 cup Half and Half
1 cup Sugar
4 Eggs, beaten
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Boiling Water

In a small saucepan, combine the strawberries, sugar and water. Heat until the sugar is melted and bubbly. Crush the berries--I use a potato masher. Keep cooking at a low temperature until thick. Set aside and let cool.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a larger sauce pan, combine the milk, half and half, salt and sugar. Heat to a boil continuing to whisk the entire time. Temper the eggs. (That means to slowly add small amounts of the boiling milk to the eggs while whisking it together. Add a little more. You want to slowly bring the temperature of the eggs up, as a liquid until it nearly matches the milk. If done too quickly, your eggs are going to scramble.) Add the egg mixture to the milk mixture and whisk a little more. Remove from heat and add the vanilla. (You can also add other flavorings at this point. Citrus zest, chopped herbs, etc.)

Put a tablespoon or two of the strawberry mixture at the bottom of your custard cups. (Small, round-bottom coffee cups or ramekins also work well.) Ladle custard mixture in on top. In a deep baking dish, lay a kitchen towel, flat. Put the cups on top of the towel. Transfer the baking dish to the oven and gently pour the water into the baking dish, being careful not to splash into the custard. The water should come 1/2 way up the cups.

Bake for 35 minutes or until the custard has a loose jello consistency. Remove from the water bath and chill.

Serve in the cup.