“BEEF…ITS WHAT’S FOR DINNER!”

“T-Bone steaks and french fries…can’t go wrong with that.” Especially on a beautiful Saturday evening with the temperature hovering around the mid-seventies; definitely a beautiful day to fire up the grill. Grilled over hot mesquite coals and slightly seasoned, this T-bone steaks were just what the Good Doctor ordered!

MEMOIRS; MY VERY FIRST T-BONE STEAK!

Back in 1992, before I left the military I was stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas, which is located in El Paso, Texas. I had the opportunity to visit an Indian Reservation in New Mexico where they had a most excellent restaurant. My friend Boian and his wife took me there for my going away gift. The place was out in the desert and took us an hour to get there, but it was well worth the trip. I had what must have been a grilled 2 inch thick T-bone steak with sauteed mushrooms in a red wine plus the usual sides. It was my first T-bone steak ever and my first mushrooms too.

I will never forget that place; they had this massive old hardcover sign-in book at the restaurant, it had a small zoo where they had rattle snakes and desert animals. We stayed there the whole afternoon and most of the evening. Even driving home was memorable, the stars were sticking out at us; especially since we were away from city lights. It had reminded me of the deserts of Arabia where the stars of the night appear so close like as if you can just reach out and grab them. Unforgettable.

TODAY’S T-BONE STEAK…

This is a lovely T-bone steak with just a little bit of fat on the sides. Standing just at 1 inch thick and only 14 ounces; it will be a perfect dinner with you choice of sides should you wish any.

GETTING DRESSED UP FOR DINNER

My choice when cooking meats, but any oil would be good to use. “Okay-okay-okay…DO NOT USE MOTOR OIL!” LOL. Just joking.

I had used enough olive oil to coat both sides of the T-bone steaks (roughly a tablespoon for each steak)and lightly seasoned them with McCormick’s Grill Mates. I like to use the Smoke House Maple type, its just sweet. This seasoning has a mix of really good spices and even molasses to give your grilled meats a really good flavor.

AT GRILL…

After the coals ash over clean the grill with wire brushes and do the final cleaning with half an onion. Cover grill while you get all the grilling utensils and the T-bone steaks out to the grilling area.

Grill T-bone steaks over direct heat over the hot mesquite coals for a total of 8 minutes, flipping over after 4 minutes (the halfway point).

When I am not in a rush, I like to get that X pattern on my steaks. They just really dresses them up. Start by placing the steaks on the hot grates and grill for 2 minutes, pick up steaks and turn 45 degrees or quarter turn and place on an unused grate area and grill an additional 2 minutes before flipping over for the additional 4 minutes. The time is set for medium-well steaks; so adjust your timing to suit your taste buds. I always leave the half onion to cook as well and chop it up to serve with the steaks, it just adds to extra flavor.

Here it is; “BEEF…ITS WHAT’S FOR DINNER!” 

Enjoy,    Kings Reyes Chapa Jr.