7/4/18 O&A NYC GRILLING FOR THE WEEKEND/4TH OF JULY: Grilled BBQ Chicken with Pineapple Salsa

Grilled BBQ Chicken with Pineapple Salsa is made by smothering grilled chicken with thick & flavorful bbq sauce then topping it with a delicious pineapple salsa made with lime and jalapeno. Perfect for your Fourth of July and weekend get-togethers, the pineapple salsa pairs perfectly with the tangy grilled barbecue chicken. Continue reading

7/1/18 O&A NYC GRILLING FOR THE WEEKEND/4TH OF JULY: Teriyaki Chicken Kabobs

Teriyaki Chicken Kabobs with it’s glazed teriyaki chicken, colorful bell peppers, sweet pineapple & onions make these kabobs a delicious easy family grilling idea. Continue reading

(Repost) 7/5/20 O&A NYC GRILLING FOR THE WEEKEND: Grilled Thai Curry Chicken Skewers with Coconut-Peanut Sauce

Grilled Thai Curry Chicken Skewers with Coconut-Peanut Sauce is a crowd pleaser for all ages. It’s the sauce that makes it so good! Continue reading

6/16/18 O&A NYC GRILLING FOR THE WEEKEND: Grilled Lobster with Basil Butter

Grilled Lobster in Basil Butter is a fun, easy, and jaw dropping centerpiece for your summer grilling.  Continue reading

6/8/18 O&A NYC GRILLING FOR THE WEEKEND: Grilled Thai Chili Garlic Shrimp With Grilled Bok Choy Salad

Grilled Thai Chili Garlic Shrimp With Grilled Bok Choy Salad is a favor filled yet light summer grilling experience. It also an easy, quick appetizer or entree for any outdoor occasion.  Continue reading

6/2/18 O&A NYC FOOD GRILLING FOR THE WEEKEND-: Chipotle Dry Rub Smoked Chicken Wings

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Man-Grilling is back! And wings are perfect for game day, backyard entertaining, picnics, beach outings or just as a snack for the family (if your kids are less than enthused about spicy foods, just tone down the amount of the chipotle ground pepper).   For those of you who (like me) have purchased a new smoker, these Chipotle Dry Rub Smoked Chicken Wings are fabulous! Continue reading

5/25/18 O&A NYC GRILLING FOR THE WEEKEND: London Broil – An Ideal Addition To Memorial Day Grilling

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It’s finally here! Memorial Day Weekend, the unofficial start of the summer season. And it is also the start of the outdoor grilling season. Grilling just doesn’t need to be confined to chicken, hamburgers and hot dogs, London Broil is an ideal addition to your barbeque menu.

What exactly is a London Broil? A London Broil can be defined two ways- one: is a cooking method; two: a specific cut of meat. London Broil is a flank steak or top round steak dish that, when cooked correctly, is filling, flavorful, and nutritious. Though the London Broil can be cooked in several different ways, marinating and slow-grilling the steak is an easy way to give it a great texture and flavor. Here are a few suggestions to grilling a London Broil.

111121 Beef Top Round London Broil Cut in Half

 

1. Buy good-quality steak.
There’s no way around it: if you use high-quality meat, it’s much easier to get a good-tasting result than if you use mediocre meat. While good chefs can make a tasty London Broil from a cheap piece of meat, this can be challenging, so opt for a high-grade piece of beef whenever you can. If you’re unsure of which cuts of flank steak are the best, talk to your local butcher.

In the U.S., the United States Department of Agriculture grades most beef as “Select”, “Choice”, or “Prime” (in order of increasing quality). “Prime” cuts are generally the most flavorful and well-marbled, so you’ll want to spring for these if they’re available.

Note that some butchers may label a cut of meat called top round steak as London Broil, rather than flank steak.

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2. Tenderize your Steak.
Flank steak sometimes has an unfair reputation as a tough, chewy, and flavorless cut of meat. However, this is only true if the meat is poorly-prepared. There are a number of ways to make flank steak tender before you even begin to cook it. The easiest way is to hit it with a tenderizing mallet on a clean cutting board. This breaks up the meat’s tough muscle fibers, giving it a softer texture.

Don’t use powdered meat tenderizers or tenderizing compounds containing extracts from papaya or pineapple fruits. These are tricky to use correctly and can sometimes tenderize the meat unevenly, giving it a mushy exterior and a tough interior.

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3. Marinate your Steak.
Banging your flank steak with a hammer isn’t the only way to make it tender. Flank steaks can benefit greatly by soaking them in a marinade before cooking — doing this not only gives the meat a chance to absorb the marinade’s flavor, but also tenderizes it slightly (though this isn’t true 100% of the time).

To help the flank steak absorb its marinade, score your meat before marinating it. Use a sharp knife to make a few X-shaped cuts on the surface of the meat about a half-inch or so deep before applying the marinade. Put the steak in an airtight plastic bag, pour the liquid marinade ingredients over it to cover it and seal the bag. Leave it in the fridge for at least a few hours turning the bag over 2 times.. Usually, about half a day of marinating will allow the meat to absorb as much flavor as possible. 

Tequila Jalapeño Marinade

1 cup tequila

1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped

1 cup teriyaki sauce

1 clove garlic

1/4 sesame oil

1/4 sauce Worcestershire sauce


Salt and pepper to taste

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4. Heat your grill.
When your meat has marinaded a sufficient length of time, remove it from the refrigerator and let it start to warm to room temperature. While you wait, start your grill.  First brush the grill with a light coating of Olive Oil, let it reach a medium heat before you start to cook your meat — you want the grill hot enough to give the meat an initial “searing”, but not so hot that it dries out your meat during cooking.

For optimal tenderness, you want to use long, slow cooking after the initial sear. On a gas grill, this is easy — simply set one burner to “medium” and one to “low”. On a charcoal grill, this is a little trickier — you want to make a large pile of charcoals on one side of the grill and a small one on the other side.

For charcoal grills, don’t forget that the charcoals aren’t ready to cook when they’re flaming, but rather, when they’re ashed-over and exuding an orange glow.

 

3/18/18 O&A NYC FOOD/SUNDAY BRUNCH: Grilled Thai Red Curry Prawns

Grilled Thai Red Curry Prawns are a flavorful and easy Sunday brunch. The giant shrimp are impressive and remain succulent in a simple sauce.  Whisk together a quick marinade using red curry paste, fish sauce, and lime juice. Just three simple ingredients that pack a ton of flavor.

After 30 minutes of marinating, I grilled the prawns on a stove-top grill pan ( but an outdoor grill would be even better!), and then tossed them in a sauce made from melted butter and a bit more curry paste. This created a luscious sauce that coated the shrimp thoroughly (all the better for licking off your fingers later on!).

To eat, I like to serve these in a big bowl, with a separate bowl for shells and a big pile of napkins on the side. It’s a fun, messy dish that’s perfect for sharing with friends. Try it with cold beers or a fizzy sparkling wine to cut through the heat.

This recipe will also work with peeled shrimp, though in that case you really only need to marinate for about 10 minutes, and the cook time will also be shorter.

Grilled Thai Red Curry Shrimp

Ingredients
10 giant whole Prawns (with heads on)
4 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
1/4 cup fish sauce
1 lime, juiced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons butter, melted
Dried Thai basil, red chile flakes for garnish

Directions
Use a pair of kitchen shears to snip along the back of the prawns, pulling out the vein. Place prawns in a large bowl. Add half the curry paste, the fish sauce, lime juice, and salt, and toss until evenly combined and coated. Place in fridge and let marinate 30 minutes.

Combine melted butter and remaining curry paste in a clean large bowl.

Heat a grill pan or outdoor grill, and cook the prawns 2-3 minutes on each side, or until fully cooked and slightly charred. Add the cooked prawns to the bowl with the butter and curry paste, then toss to coat evenly.

Place in a serving bowl and season with kosher salt. Garnish with a sprinkle of dried basil and chile flakes.

Serve hot.

Serves 4 as an appetizer or 2 as an entree

Recipe courtesy of Alejandra Ramos

 

 

9/16/17 O&A NYC FOOD GRILLING FOR THE WEEKEND-: Chipotle Dry Rub Smoked Chicken Wings

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Man-Grilling continues ! Even after Labor Day, the officially end outdoor cooking, true grill masters remain unfazed by social norms. For those of you who (like me) have purchased a new smoker, these Chipotle Dry Rub Smoked Chicken Wings are fabulous! Continue reading

9/4/17 O&A NYC 8/3/17 GRILLING FOR THE WEEKEND- LABOR DAY SPECIAL MAN-GRILLING EXTRA: Caprese Grilled Filet Mignon


Caprese Grilled Filet Mignon is a mouthwatering addition to your “man grilling”. This simply elegant appetizer is also easy and quick to prepare. Continue reading