Garlic Rosemary Surf & Turf - Steak on the Grill Grates

Is there any better protein combo then a classic surf and turf? I don't think so, and they only way I know of to improve this combo is to just add corn!

Here is a quick and flavourful surf and turf that combines two of my favourite strong flavours.. Rosemary and Garlic. As always the full recipe can be found at the bottom of the page.

Starting 24 hours earlier I mix my wet and dry ingredients in ziplock bags and then add the steak to one bag and corn to a second bag. The Steaks can use a good rub down so do your best to work the flavours in early then let them soak it up over night. Removed both the steaks and corn from the fridge about 30 minutes prior to them hitting the grill and give them a healthy dose of salt and pepper

If you don't own a set of grill grates you really should check them out. to-date since owning my grates I have yet to grill a steak without them. These steaks were grilled at 650 degrees on screaming hot grates, I let them sizzle for 2 minutes, rotate once, sizzle for 2 more minutes then flit and do the same on side 2. 

depending on how well you like your steaks done, you can alter the time or cook with the lid closed to generate more heat during the cook.

Once you have flipped the steaks you can add the add the corn, these cobs will take 7-10 minutes to cook, so I get them on while the steak is cooking its last 4 minutes and leave them on for the 5 minute resting period.

Try cooking the corn on your grill grates, it will add some nice sear marks. The shrimp should be placed on the grill while the steak is resting. Depending on size they will take 2-5 minutes to cook. Cook them with the heat under the shell for the first 2-3 minutes then meat side down for grill marks.

Ingredients:

2           Steaks (your cut your choice)
2           Rosemary Sprigs
2 tbsp   Olive Oil
1 tsp     Minced Garlic


2          Ears of Corn
2          Rosemary Sprigs
2 tbsp   Olive Oil
1 tsp     Minced Garlic

1/3 Lb  Shrimp (sized at U15)


Marinate both the steaks and the corn overnight, or for a minimum of 3 hours. Remove from the fridge 30 minutes prior to it hitting the grill

the surf part of this recipe  needs no marinating, just clean and split the shrimp and baste with butter (and garlic) while on the grill.

Heat Source & Tools

(1) Royal Oak - Blue Bag
(2) Grill Grates

Kamado Joe - Memphis Fried Egg Burger

While walking the butchers counter trying to decide what I wanted for dinner I watched one of the staff come out from the back and lay down a stack of burgers for the customer ahead of him in line..decision made.. once burgers are on the mind there is only one way to get them off…

This is my second burger cook since becoming a Kamado Joe owner, and since my first cook was right on the grill, full flavour, I decided to test out what a burger cook would be like using my grill grates.

I lowered the racks and got the fire up to about 400 degrees fairly quickly.  Once there I  put the grill grates in place and then gave them a minute to heat up (i wanted that grill grate sear)

before putting the burgers on, I gave the grates a temp check with my new toy, an infrared thermometer gun.. ah, so close to  500 should make this a quick cook, leaving the meat juicy

Thats the marks I was looking for.. once fully cooked I added some shredded aged cheddar and gave it a minute to melt (lid closed). To finish this burger up, I placed sliced picked (Nathans) and a home made BBQ sauce I picked up from serious eats.com (see below link).. to top it off I added a sunny-side-up fried egg

Burger fix officially accomplished

Sauces & Rubs

(1) Memphis Style BBQ Sauce (seriouseats.com)

Heat Source & Tools

(1) Kamado Joe (red bag) Charcoal 
(2) Grill Grates 
(3) Infrared Temperature Gun

Product Review: Grill Grates

I'm one of those guys who at times can be very skeptical of new products, even more so when I see an 'As Seen on TV" logo slapped on them.. so you will have to forgive me when I say that I originally wrote off Grill Grates as gimmick product not for the serious griller… boy was I wrong

My change of opinion started as I patiently awaited the arrival of my Kamado Joe classic, even after purchasing it, I continued to read up on various cooking methods and accessories that paired well with a Kamado style BBQ, and over and over again Grill Grates would constantly pop-up in the articles I was reading… so naturally I decided to buy some and try them out for my self… here is what I found

Pros:

If you check out the Grill Grate site (HERE) they will gladly walk you through the science behind their product, but here I will keep it simple.. Grill grates amplify the heat given off of any BBQ and spread it out evenly over the grate system. This gives you perfect heat control and eliminates hot and cold spots.

The flat perforated bottom also prevents those dreaded flare ups yet still allows meats to be flame kissed. They team at Grill grates is not lying when they say that the juice/fat from your meats will be vaporized when it hits the grate and thus steaming back up into your meat, not lost to your coals.

When it comes to searing food, it is pretty impressive, and I think my pictures speak for themselves, these grates will leave you with perfect restaurant quality diamonds every time

I love that Grill Grates provide size options for both standard and round grills, the sheer amount of options they have listed can be confusing, but gladly they listed my grill make and model as part of their sizing, so no measuring was required.

Cons:

Not really a con, but what may hurt them a bit is pricing, many weekend warriors are running BBQ's that only cost them $300-$400 and to spend another $60-$70 on grates may be a hard sell.. well worth it mind you, but still a hard sell.

The grate tool that comes in the kits, is what I call a throw back tool, meaning simply it reminds me of those pictures of my grandfather in front of his BBQ with HUGE tongs and spatulas. In today's market size is not that important (yeah, yeah insert joke here) and I find that this big bulky took could using some serious downsizing (in the length and size of the handle).. that said it works as advertised for removing food from the grill and the cleanup afterwards.

The biggest drawback to most buying picking up a set of grill grates is sizing, either not knowing the size of their grill, being to lazy or unsure to check, and of course not finding the grate size that perfectly fits their particular grill. I will say that sizing is important, if you buy grates that are too small you will find that they slide all over your BBQ's current grades, and this is not only awkward but also frustrating. It would be nice to have a locking clip of some sort to ensure if your grill grates are not the perfect fit, they will still hold in place.. this goes for cleaning as well as cooking

 All in all, I love my grill grates, so much so that I have been already looking at buying some for Fathers day and/or Christmas presents for my Stepfather, Father in law and brother in law… if that's not an endorsement I don't know what is

Kamado Joe - My Frist Cook - Seared Prime Rib Steaks

It did not take me long to put u Kamado Joe to use, and since my Grill Grates arrived in the mail the very same day as my KJ, I thought what better way to kick things off then with a couple of Prime Rib steaks paired with baked potatoes (sorry in my excite I missed shooting pics of the potatoes)

I started off by getting the KJ up to 350-370, it took about 20 minutes to get there and stabilize. I then greased up a pair of bakers with olive oil and a heavy dose of salt and pepper, foil wrapped them and put them on the grill over indirect heat for 45 minutes (yeah that was enough).

Once the potatoes were done I pulled the heat deflector and added the Grill grates. Opening up the air vents I brought the KJ up to 550 and dropped the steaks (1" each) for 3 minutes per side.

The grill grates worked as advertised giving me those perfect diamond sear marks.

Tips:

I slightly over cooked these steaks, but being that it was my first time using the BBQ and the grates Im going to go easy on myself. Im not sure if it was the resting period that go me, or if the steaks were just not thick enough to hold up to that cook.. next time I will be shortening the cook slightly to 2 minutes per side

When using grill grates you need to watch your rub or spice mixture, the extreme heat applied by the grates can give them a burnt or bitter taste.. keep it simple and you will be happier with the outcome

Heat Source & Tools

(1) Kamado Joe (red bag) Charcoal 
(2) Grill Grates