Essay

Adam Liges
Mrs. Boresen
Expos P-6
Final Draft
02/04/2009

It’s such a sweet smell that tickles your nose; it’s the one that makes you drool and want to take in the sizzling creation you’ve just whipped up. Grilling can be a serious art form to some people, but to others it’s just an easy way of making some delicious food. Even the most inexperienced cook can learn this method and master it. Most people who prepare food in this manner do it by trial and error until they find that perfect recipe that works every time. If grilling isn’t done properly, the food being made might not come out as great as expected. Sickness can come along with wrongly made food, and no one ever wants that to happen. Before you start creating a masterpiece, you will need a few things to get you through. The most important of these will be the grill itself. There are various types you could use to cook your foods and some include; gas grills (using propane or natural gas), charcoal grills, electric grills, and even infrared grills. The grill most easily accessible would have to be the gas powered; they’re affordable and almost effortless to find. Next, our food of choice this time around will be the New York Strip, one of steak lovers’ ultimate cuts. It’s finally time to learn how to use all these materials and end up with something tasty in your gut. Trust me, you’ll be begging for more once you figure out this sweet science.

Steak is such a wonderful food and can be prepared in many different ways. Today, grilling is the focus and we will need some insight to understand how to make the perfect steak. According to (http://www.ehow.com/) you need some basic knowledge in order to concoct the meat into something delicious. The first step, and one of the more crucial, is to know your cuts of beef and how to cook them. Jakon from Ehow says, “In order to cook a steak properly, you must first understand what type of steak you have in front of you.” This statement is totally true in the sense that distinct cuts require certain cooking methods. Some types are even better off not coming into contact with a gas grill surface at all. In our case we are using a New York strip, which is referred to as the “ultimate” grilling steak by some grilling experts and by (http://www.whatscookingamerica.net/). Prior to cooking, a marinade can be used, but using the correct one for the job is the choice you have to make. The definition of marinade is a seasoned liquid, usually of vinegar or wine with oil, herbs, spices, etc., in which meat, fish, vegetables, etc., are steeped before cooking. Even things like ketchup, horseradish, onion powder, lemon juice, and even chicken broth. Separate marinades contain certain methods of preparation such as the different cuts of beef do. Time limits are a huge part of the process, and can change the outcome of a whole grilling project. So here’s what we’re going to do! We are going to prepare a New York Strip in a spicy recipe for marinade provided by (http://www.steaks-guide.com/). Our first goal is to prepare the marinade, and eventually apply it. Take two cups of a tasty kind of beer (the alcohol dissolves when cooked in the heat), salt, one-half cup of olive oil, vegetable oil (or peanut oil), and one teaspoon of cayenne pepper, one-half teaspoon of vinegar, one tablespoon of horseradish, one teaspoon of onion powder, one teaspoon of garlic powder, and lastly two tablespoons of lemon juice. Stir all of the ingredients given into one bowl and put your cut of beef into the concoction now let it sit in the refrigerator for two to six hours. This marinade can also be used to baste your steak while grilling. According to (http://www.steaks-guide.com/) this is one of the spicier types of marinade that could be used. Let’s say it’s been two to six hours already, because this is no cooking show where all of a sudden the steak has been in the marinade and we pull it out of the fridge mysteriously. Now the steak will have to sit for at least one hour prior to cooking following whatscookingamerica.net directions. In this time you can maybe get a little playing time in on the Xbox 360 or game of your choice. Well anyways back to the point of it all, now it would have to be time to actually prepare the steak on the grill. Before touching the steak to the grill it would be best to spray a non-stick agent of some sort so the meat doesn’t stick to the metal. Pam would work best for this problem, but other types could work as well. It’s almost the same concept as putting on tanning oil before going into the sun; you need it before going into the heat. The meat needs protection before going up in flames per say. Now that the steak is sizzling and cooking we need to know when it’s done. A digital thermometer would be the top of the line instrument, but all you really need is a knife and a cut to see the middle of the meat. Taste according to doneness definitely changes the effects on your taste buds. Rare, medium rare, or medium are my preferences, but it’s all up to you on how long you cook the steak. Either way you do it you can trust my directions and come up with an amazing food that’s easy and affordable.

It’s obvious that you don’t have to be Emeril to whip up a tasty steak that makes you want to say BAM! All you need is some key ingredients and a little direction to point you where you need to go. A tattered grill, a missing steak, and one happy stomach is the end result you always wish to obtain. Now that you have gotten a little help, go try it for yourself. You may just end up with one of the best steak marinades and cooking methods out there. Turn yourself into the grill master that we all know you have hidden inside.