Outside is...Barbecue!

Give me an excuse to barbecue something on the weekend. Any excuse, and if I'm feeling halfway alive, I'll grill.

This weekend's excuse came in the form of an innocent trip to buy milk...or was it chocolate...or something else...I don't remember.

Oh that was it—coffee. Well anyway, instead of driving "out of the way" to the giant grocery store, I stopped in at Meat Guys in Westbury on the way home. It's a small neighborhood grocery store/butcher shop. One with a difference—more than half the store is separated by a clear vinyl curtain and is dedicated to chill meat display space.

I'm going to say it was not particularly fragrant in there, and leave it at that, but at least the chill room was just about as cold as it needed to be. Almost, but not quite, the inside of a refrigerator. A bigger challenge would be getting the meat home before it became too hot in the car. Cranked the A/C to uncomfortably cold and wrapping the meat in an insulator ought to do it.

However, nothing much was grabbing my culinary attention, until I spotted two 10-inch pieces of skirt steak at about $5 a pop. They looked to be about enough for 2 boys, 1 old gastronome and ... a vegetarian who would not be partaking anyway. Turns out I had forgotten somebody, but more on that later.

Having already grilled and roasted red and orange peppers and eggplant (aubergine to those in Europe) every which way this barbecue season, it was time for a different accompaniment.

Meat guys had some pre cooked Bella Famiglia Basil and Garlic polenta. Psst., this is not "Master Chef" here and Joe Bastianich is not looking so I can get away with it, I reckon. Besides who has time to make polenta? Not that I'd know where to start. Corn meal? then what?.
Bastianich

ASPERGE IT
After some negotiation, M added "the piece de vegetation" — sauteed asparagus and sliced almonds.
With the Weber charcoal grill and marinates steak coming together, sauteed — or should I say fried? — onions were mandatory 'accessories.' The big one had made a bee line for the polenta and the steak and it suddenly did not look like enough. Hungry teens sometimes can be kept at bay with strategic deployment of a hot dog 'appetizer'.

I poured the remaining marinade into a foil pan and reduced it to a deeper flavor. Some chopped celery left over from lunch found its way in there. I tried to braise it, unsuccessfully, but it cooked in the juices long enough to look braised and definitely add some tooth-pleasing texture.

M. thought the 5 minutes per side would be too little for the skirt steak, but I'd smoked it a bit first. Five minutes wound up being more than enough time to achieve medium, if not medium-well (requested by my teenage boys).

I hooked one of the charred steaks onto a plate and lopped off a few thin slices and called taste tester K-puff (TT#2) to stand ready.

My first bites revealed a strong port flavor (Sandeman Port) accent; warm heat from the cayenne; with oodles of garlic and herb depth in the marinade. Next time,however, medium-rare and I think it'll be even better. The Meat Guys offering definitely passes the test.

As for TT#2, I put a few chopped up pieces of steak on a plate for him. For a moment there was hesitation — Uh Oh! did he not like the port flavor? He circled for a moment and then he attacked. Within a minute the plate was licked clean. OK, can't be that bad then.

TASTE TESTER #2

With some left over oil from the onions that I could not in good conscience let go to waste, (note next time-forget budget-spearing mix of Wesson with olive oil, it's just not as good as pure olive oil.)

I gave the polenta a frizzle in the onion-flavored oil in an aluminum foil pan over the charcoals. Later, once the I moved the steaks to the flame, I placed the polenta on the grill in slices to crisp them a little. They seem a little too sloppy otherwise. 300 mg sodium per 2 slices is not bad, but I may have to look at making my own—or another source.

Verdict from the gourmandos inside A+ on the skirt steak, A on the polenta. Me, I'm not there yet. I think I'd skip the port next time, and just let the skirt be itself. OK maybe a little bourbon in there...

MARINADE and Reduction sauce
Improvised from basics from the Reluctant Gourmet

The night before I did a quick Internet search for skirt steak marinade and came up with this. Warning: the Sandeman Port is a game-changer. It's not by any means necessary but if you are used to cooking with wine, and you have none at hand, it's a passable substitute in a marinade.

My other additions/changes to the marinade are: The two pepper sauce accents, extra cider vinegar; celery; dried parsley instead of fresh. Agave nectar and brown sugar instead of regular sugar.

¼ cup chopped celery
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons Agave nectar
¼ teaspoon Holy Jolokia purchased in El Paso Airport
¼ cayenne sauce (Iguana)
1¼ shot of port (no wine on hand)
1-teaspoon coarse-grain salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs ( I used ½ tablespoon of dried rosemary and thyme each)
¼ cup red wine vinegar/apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1-teaspoon sugar
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil