Outdoor cooking and eating in your own space

When we renovated our house, I had a gas outlet permanently set in the wall for easy attachment of a gas grill.  When it came to purchasing the grill, I did  my research.  I wanted intense heat that would sear meat and fish.  So, I went with the infra-red system with ceramic burners.  Everything cooked so fast and it was some adjustment learning how to cook on this system.  But it didn't take long and once I got the hang of it, I loved it...the cooking and the eating.

Things you will love about outdoor cooking and eating

Honestly, I don't know which I prefer -- cooking or eating.  It's a toss-up for sure!  Whether with family or friends, the conversation and camaraderie around the grill with the aroma of the food cooking is always an awesome experience.  For us, it's proven culturally diverse, too.   On one occasion we had a friend who moved here from Argentina invite their family over to join ours provided he could use our grill to create an authentic Argentinian barbecue.  They brought all the ingredients and we simply supplied the place and the beverages.  Let me tell you, it was a feast with all sorts of meats and sausages and flavors!

With the grill and living space we created outdoors, more and more of our time and meals began to be grilled and outside -- al fresco, I believe is the proper terminology.  We got to the point where we could prepare just about everything on the grill or burners alongside.  It seemed we were eating healthier, too.

I'm gonna share with you my favorite marinade for the piece of meat I prefer.  It's quite simple, but I love the flavor this provides along with  our particular type of grill.  We've taken steaks marinated this way to friends when dining with them and it tastes almost as good prepared even on charcoal.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Better tasting steak marinade with outdoor cooking and eating

My steak of preference is a bone-in prime New York strip weighing in at around 1 lb. each.  This marinade will treat 4 of these.

In a separate small mixing bowl thoroughly combine the following:

• 2 heaping teaspoons Kosher salt
• 1 heaping teaspoon fresh ground black pepper (never from a can...grind it always!)
• 9 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 4 heaping teaspoons minced garlic (I use the kind already done in the jar)

Put the steaks in a glass dish that you can cover and refrigerate.  Pour 1/2 of this mixture on the top of the steaks and spread it.  Turn the steaks an use the rest to completely coat the meat.  Cover with plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour (a bit longer won't hurt anything).  30 minutes prior to cooking, place in the freezer.

Remove from freezer and immediately cook on intense heat.  Watch out for flame as the olive oil can flame up pretty easily.  I prefer medium rare.  Just use the directions you got with your grill for appropriate cooking times for how you like your meat.  Just remember to let your steaks "rest" for about 5 minutes or more after you remove them from the grill.  And remember that they'll still continue to cook a bit after taking them off the fire.

With this marinade, I never use any other kind of sauce.  The flavor is perfect for my tastes!  Hope you enjoy it as much as me.  Bon appetit!

Now, click the link to Wikipedia and check this out for some cool info on OUTDOOR COOKING and EATING.

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