Grilling: Steaks, Brisket and Hamburgers

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By Randall H. Harber
CNN News Editor

There is nothing like a good steak hot off the grill. Many people think of this is as the quintessential American grill dish. However, one of the easiest and most flavorful ways to prepare a grill steak is not American but Italian.

There are dozens of recipes for Bistecca alla Fiorentina, but they are all so simple they don't amount to a recipe at all.

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The cut of meat to use is a porterhouse steak. Cut at least 1 1/2 inches thick from the short loin of the cow, a porterhouse steak has a "T-bone" with a generous portion of what the French would call fillet on one side and contra-fillet on the other.

Build a hot fire or turn your gas grill up to high. When the fire is ready, you should be able to hold your hand over the fire for about five seconds. Oil the grate of the grill. Put the steak down on the grate. Let it cook for 5 to 6 minutes, turn and let the steak go for another 5 minutes for medium rare.

Remove the steak to a warm platter. Salt and pepper each side and let the steak rest for 2 to 3 minutes. Some people add a pat of butter to the steak, others rub the bone with a clove of garlic, some add a few drops of olive oil, and others do nothing at all.

In Florence, the meat is cut away from the bone, sliced on the bias and served. It's often accompanied by simmered cannellini beans sprinkled with dried sage leaves and splashed at the last moment with flavorful extra virgin olive oil. A crisp green salad with a tart dressing, and plenty of crunchy bread round out the meal. The wine of choice would be a young, robust Chianti. However, a deep, rich Barolo would also be nice, or a Sangiovese from either Italy or California.

Believe it or not, an Arizona cookout tradition uses an even more basic method. In this case 1-inch thick sirloins are used. Members of the cookout party drive out on the Sonoran desert to a dry riverbed, gather stray mesquite branches and build a fire. When the fire is red hot, the coals are spread to make a bed large enough to accommodate the steaks.

The steaks are thrown down on the glowing coals and left for about 2 to 3 minutes per side for medium rare. When the steaks are removed from the fire, there is no ash, and the pungent flavor of the mesquite has gone straight through the meat for an intense, smoky flavor. To accompany this uniquely American dish, try a robust Zinfandel from Sonoma County's Russian River Valley.

This method of cooking can be "domesticated" by simply building a fire in your grill using chunks of mesquite, oak or hickory. The method is the same. When the fire is glowing red-hot, spread the coals and toss the steaks down on top of them.

If a big crowd is coming and you have plenty of time, a barbecued Texas-style brisket is ideal. This tough, stringy cut of meat becomes flavorful and tender when cooked slowly over indirect heat or in the traditional barbecue method -- smoked for as long as 12 hours, depending on the size of the brisket.

In his recipe for Texas-style brisket, Steven Raichlen says the key is to get a medium sized brisket. Raichlen likes one 5 to 6 pounds -- with at least 1/4 inch or preferably 1/2 inch layer of fat.

The brisket is rubbed with a dry rub and allowed to marinate for a minimum of 4 hours, up to overnight.

Raichlen then puts the brisket in a shallow pan over indirect heat, which helps to retain the meat's juices and allows the maximum smoke penetration.

After 5 to 8 hours of cooking, the brisket will be tender enough to shred with your fingers, he says. Allowed to rest, the brisket is carved into thin slices and served along with pan juices or your favorite barbecue sauce.

A good wine to pare with this one? A robust California Cabernet Sauvignon.

Not much of a mystery here, but there are a few suggestions to make your burgers tasty and juicy. The first is to buy beef that has some fat in it because fat is flavor. Ground chuck is the meat of choice -- lean enough to be healthy but with enough fat (about 20 percent) not to give you a dry burger.

Raichlen advises, "Handle the meat as little as possible: a few pats to form it into a patty. Anything more will rob the burger of its juiciness and primal flavor."

Raichlen wets his hand before dividing the meat and forming it into patties. Others use a little vegetable oil.

Common mistakes that grillers make include not oiling the grate and not resisting the urge to press or poke the burgers. Oiling the grate, and buttering or oiling the patties, will keep them from sticking. Pressing the patties does nothing but extract the juice, leaving them dry and tasteless. Poking them with a fork also lets juice escape, so resist until the very end.

Grilling burgers about 4 minutes a side over high heat, and resisting the urge to needlessly turn them, will give you medium, well-formed burgers.

While tradition calls for the simplest meat mixtures, it's your hamburger -- so, if you want to mix in onion or garlic powder, oregano for an Italian flair, or baste them with Worcestershire sauce, go ahead.

Also don't forget to try unusual breads and toppings. Grilled onions or sautéed mushrooms along with slices of crisp bacon are nice touches. How about substituting Gruyere cheese or Italian Fontana for the usual American cheese.

Finally, spreading buns with butter and grilling them really intensifies the flavors. But don't forget about hoagie rolls or focaccia bread, grilled, rubbed with a garlic clove and sprinkled with oregano.

What to drink? You name it -- from beer to an Oregon Pinot Noir.

Beef
Pork
Poultry
Seafood
Shellfish
Vegetables

A layman's guide to better barbecue: Raichlen's new book targets master grillers, weekend chefs, even the grill-less
August 25, 2000
'Summertime' barbecue cook-off
July 3, 2000
Chat transcript: Chef Bobby Flay discusses great grilling
May 26, 1999

Meat Cuts Manual
The Barbecue Bible by Steven Raichlen
Workman Publishing
The Lyons Press
Ten Speed Press, Celestial Arts and Tricycle Press
Chronicle Books
Beef.Org
EatChicken.com
National Shellfisheries Association
National Pork Producers Council
US FDA/Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN)

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