Grilling Summertime Classics With a Tip to Morton’s
EXECUTIVE DINING
by Fifi Chao
Here we are with summer almost pounding at the door. We’ll continue to go to restaurants, but it’s time to clean off the grill and get ready for a summer of casual patio cooking as well.
I recently wrote about the beautiful new Morton’s Steakhouse in South Coast Plaza Village. Not only will they serve you a great steak there, but they are kind enough to share grilling tips for the home chef.
So, buy the steaks and veggies, invite the friends and neighbors and follow these guidelines for a perfect cookout.
Start by selecting the right cut of beef.
Aged beef is best (I’d suggest you get quality beef from either El Toro Meats or Zlaket’s in Garden Grove). Morton’s suggests that if aged beef isn’t available, the best way to select the right cut is to look at the marbling: the fat that runs through the meat and gives it flavor.
The best cuts of beef for grilling, starting with the most tender, are ribeye steak (also considered by butchers to be the most flavorful steak), porterhouse (Morton’s signature steak), T-bone and New York strip. After considering the tenderness factor, thickness of the steak is most important in grilling. The steak should be at least one to one-and-a-half inches thick.
Morton’s suggests the following for outdoor grilling:
First, lightly oil the grilling rack and pre-heat for about 30 to 45 minutes. For a charcoal grill, when the coals are white and ringed with a fiery orange, the grill has reached a suitable temperature. A handful of fresh herbs such as sage, thyme, lavender, marjoram or rosemary (use just one or a mix), soaked briefly in water and then thrown onto the coals, give a distinct flavor to the food.
Do not use a fork to turn the beef; it pierces the surface allowing the juices to escape. Always use a spatula or tongs.
Morton’s chef also suggests resisting the urge to turn the beef during the first few minutes of grilling,you want it to stay in one place over the heat until a “coating” forms to protect the food and seal-in the natural juices. Sear one side of the steak and then the other, then allow the steak to cook. A one-inch steak will take about 10 to 12 minutes to cook to medium rare and 12 to 14 minutes to cook to medium.
Here’s how Morton’s suggests you test for doneness:
Let one hand hang limp and with the index finger of the opposite hand, push gently into the soft triangle of flesh between the thumb and index finger of the hanging hand. It will offer very little resistance and feel soft and spongy. This is how a rare steak will feel to the touch. Now, extend the hand in front of you and spread the fingers.
Again, press the triangle between the thumb and index finger. The flesh will be firmer, springy and slightly resistant, but not hard, similar to a medium-rare steak.
For a medium steak, make a fist and press the same spot. It will feel firm and snap back quickly, offering minimal give only.
Finally, pay attention to this: All pros agree that we defeat the purpose of eating a good steak when it’s cooked beyond medium, since doing so robs the beef of its flavor and tenderness. For those who prefer meat well done or even medium-well, offer nice, thick pork chops and proceed the same way in searing them first and then allowing them to cook until well done.
Here are my grilling tips for vegetables. I like the flavor of the grilling itself, but some vegetables seem to want something more so I make a fusion dressing to brush on them as they grill.
For two pounds of vegetables, mix a quarter-cup each of dry white wine and oil (peanut, canola or vegetable), two tablespoons of walnut oil, one tablespoon of sesame oil, two tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, two cloves of garlic flattened with the side of a knife, one minced shallot and salt and pepper to taste.
Heat this mixture, then cool and strain. (It can be made a day or two ahead of time.) Brush the dressing on the vegetables as you grill them. You can also package the veggies in foil packets with a little of the dressing drizzled over them. Be sure to double fold the edges to make the “envelopes” airtight. Toss them on the grill for about 15 minutes, turning two or three times.
As my English friend said when I told her what I was writing about, “Don’t forget to tell the cooks that whilst the food is grilling they should pour themselves a good glass of claret.”
She was referring, of course, to a Bordeaux. I’ll stick with her on the red wine context, but tone it down to a Pinot Noir such as Saintsbury’s 2000 Carneros ($19) or perhaps Penfold’s ’98 Bin 128 Shiraz from Australia ($18).
For more fun, Morton’s gave me additional suggestions: Roast oysters on the grill till they open; roast garlic in its skin till soft and squeeze out onto bread; cook corn on the cob inside its husk and wrapped in foil for 20 minute; grill thick slices of tomato and eggplant and brush with the vegetable dressing; or slice unpeeled firm apples and crisp pears and grill until they begin to brown (brush with butter).
And one you never thought of: grilled orange segments are a wonderful dessert with a scoop of good ice cream.
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In the April 15 Executive Dining column, Link Mathewson was incorrectly identified. Mathewson is a restaurant columnist for Coast magazine and The Jones Report, an in-house publication for Fletcher Jones Motor Cars Inc.
