By Chef Dave Zino, Executive Chef, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association
It’s no secret that summer is my favorite time of year. I love everything about it: warm weather, fresh Farmer’s Markets, the opportunity to entertain at home and of course, it’s a prime time to fire up the grill and enjoy succulent lean steaks.
There’s nothing like a juicy lean, T-Bone steak (yes a T-Bone is one of the 29 lean cuts!) accompanied by a melody of seasonal summer veggies. Red and yellow bell peppers are an all time favorite of mine. In fact, I’ve worked with our culinary team to develop four official recipes for the summer grilling season:
Memorial Day: T-Bones with Sweet & Savory Steak Sauce
Father’s Day: Three-Way Marinated Flank Steak
Fourth of July: Caribbean Beef Burgers with Mango Salsa
Labor Day: Beef “California Roll” Salad
Cooking with beef is fun and easy, and with a couple of tips and tricks for grilling, I’ll show you how to get the best out of beef this summer.
Secrets to Grilling with Beef Success
10. Know your grill – Always cook over medium heat be it on a gas grill or charcoal, my preferred way to grill.
9. Visit the Interactive Meat Case, a new Web tool designed to educate consumers on the cuts they find at the meat case. Good cuts for the grill are Top Loin, Top Sirloin and Tri-Tip Steaks. Also, BeefItsWhatsForDinner.com is a great resource for grilling recipes, tips and info.
8. Understand the difference between a rub and a marinade- Beef from Chuck, Round, Flank and Skirt are excellent candidates for a tenderizing marinade. You’ll need acidic ingredients (lemon or lime juice, vinegar or wine) or a natural tenderizing enzyme (found in fresh ginger, pineapple, papaya and figs) for the best marinade. Rubs are also great for steaks on the grill. They add interesting flavors and enhance the natural goodness of beef. A dry rub is a mixture of dry spices and herbs (normally use these mixtures on steaks) and a paste rub incorporates a liquid into the spice mixture such as olive oil and mustard.
7. Trim, if necessary – Remove visible fat from steaks before grilling to help prevent flare-ups and excess smoke formation.
6. Keep beef refrigerated – Grilling times are based on beef being taken directly from the refrigerator to the grill – not at room temperature. Shape burgers in advance, cover and refrigerate until the grill is ready.
5. Encourage browning – Pat marinated steaks dry before cooking to prevent steaming and to promote browning.
4. Turn properly – Use long handled tongs to turn steaks and a long handled spatula to flip burgers Never use a fork to turn steaks or burgers as you will puncture the beef and flavorful juices will escape.
3. Practice food safety – Always swap out the platter the raw beef was brought on and bring the cooked beef to the dinner table on a new one.
2. Internal temp matters – Cook to medium rare (145°F) to medium (160°F) for optimal beef flavor, texture and tenderness.
1. Use a thermometer – The best way to determine doneness of burgers and steaks is to use an instant-read or ovenproof meat thermometer.
I really look forward to staying in touch and hope that you connect with me on Twitter @zcooks and become fans of our Beef It’s What’s For Dinner Facebook page.
If you have any questions, I hope that you’ll post a comment and Tammy will connect with me so I can send along a quick answer or provide a helpful link to online info.
Best wishes for a delicious and safe summer grilling season!
Chef Dave
Note from Tammy — * Thanks Chef Dave for the awesome guest post! This was part of the Beef. It’s what’s for dinner Campaign that I was honored to be a part of.
