Grillers week
Nothing really slows down a true griller. On average, we go through a tank of gas about every month to 5 weeks give-or-take a week. Here’s this past weeks run-down.
Saturday - June 1st - Flat Iron steak thinly sliced for wraps. Our evening was spent on the deck bar around the grill drinking spritzers, beer and appletinis.
Sunday - Burgers (This one is of course a staple/comfort food at our house.) However, we had friends over to play “Rock-band” and sit around the patio.
Monday - No grilling today…
Tuesday - Pre-packaged sirloin steaks, down-and-dirty grilling small steaks for dinner. This is a great easy weekday event. Most grocers even have pre-packaged seasoned sirloins and roast perfect for quick grillings.
Wednesday - No grilling
Thursday - Bratwursts, nothing makes a bratwurst taste good like a good grilling. However, reminder, when you’re finished, turn the grill off. In my haste because rain was brewing, I turned my center two burners to “low” missing the “off” button. Next morning, a light smokey smell was lingering in the backyard. Another tank down the tubes. DOH.
Friday - No grilling, Panda Express did the cooking for us.
Saturday - Burgers. Nothing special, but we love burgers and nothing taste as good as the combination of liquid smoke AND being grilled.
Sunday - (Today) Ribs. We’re preparing dry-rubbed ribs. Stay tuned.
Go grill something! Every day of the week.
Hot-Cold-Hot-Cold
Welcome to the Colorado Front-Range. Spring is the MOST interesting time in Colorado. I lived in Texas for 35 years in various locations in the state and I swore Texas had the weirdest weather. Wait a few hours and it’ll change again, was the general MO. However, nothing compares to Colorado, nothing.
We start out with bright, cloudless, sunny mornings full of cheer and promise, then end the day with hail, large rain drops or even snow. Real hard to plan a grilling adventure at the end of any weekend day. I own a jeep, staple truck of Colorado, next to the Subaru Outback, and usually run around with the top down all summer. I once left the house on one of these bright sunny days, left the top at home only to have to drive home, 20 miles, later in a mix of snow and rain cranking the heater and trying to make all the lights so I wouldn’t be stopped. Now THAT’s mixed up.
All that said, grilling hasn’t slowed down in our house. In fact the other day, a Wednesday I think, I fired up the grill with a light drizzle to get some cheese bratwurst going. Half way through the cooking time, the rain drips turned into a mix of soft hail and drops the size of quarters. No stopping now, good thing heat melts snow and rain just sizzles on the grill hood. Cool! Sound affect added to the sizzle of the brats. Needless to say, I finished before the deluge really hit.
Awh… grilling in Colorado.
Coverup…
There’s nothing worse than a filthy dirty looking grill. Dirt, rain, water and snow can take years off your grill. So, I say, cover it up. When we purchased our grill a few years back, we purchased the associated plastic with felt cover. It’s taken it’s toll and we now need to replace it.
Truthfully, I should have replaced it last summer before winter set in. Due to the large cracks and nattiness, water, snow and ice leaked in and while it didn’t ruin the grill, I still had to spend some time cleaning and getting in shape for this summers usage.
So, I’m off to find a better cover than the one originally purchased. We own a Kenmore 4 burner unit that cost a pretty penny back a few years. Therefore, to save the investment, a cover is another well spent investment.
Stay tuned as I review several covers and try and determine the best whether it’s an OEM or third party unit. Knowing how weather will beat it down, I’m really going to scrutinize every aspect.
If you don’t have a cover, get one… hopefully in a few weeks, I’ll be able to recommend one that works for you.
Rain, Rain, Go away!
Memorial day is considered THE grillers day. Next to July 4th and Labor Day, Memorial Day is suppose to usher in the summer grilling season. Not SO here in Colorado. Well, we did some grilling, but in the cold rain. YES, it was drizzling all afternoon. Memorial Day here on the Front-Range was nothing short of WET.
While being wet didn’t deter anyone, it did put a damper on the day. I kept suggesting to pull a trick from my Brother-in-Law, Scott… I suggested to pull the grill up next to the sliding glass door. We were actually at friends who I’ve been helping with their new deck. Instead of showing it off, standing around on it drinking a cold beer and oowing and awwwing, we just stared at it from the windows watching the water pool. We knew it was cold when Brad’s breath could be seen from across the yard.
Still, being the hard-core grillers that we were, we still had burgers, sirloins and ribs. NOTHING deters a hardened griller.
Go grill something!! (Even if it’s drizzling.)
Hot and 21
Well, okay, the title may be a little deceiving. Truthfully, today has nothing to do with anything young and hot in the “sexy model” sense.
Today is our anniversary, 21 years, and it was HOT. That’s it, nothing more. 
While we have a special weekend planned in a few weeks, my wife, Jodi, isn’t that hung up on doing stuff on our “Anniversary Day” day. In fact, getting married on Memorial Weekend all those years ago really wasn’t a great idea. It’s hard to book events and actually do anything on the actual day we dove off the abyss and stated our vows.
I digress. We decided to leave the cooking to “The Lazy Dog” one of our favorite little sports bars on the Pearl Street Mall over in Boulder. We prefer the roof top dinning area and since I’d mentioned it was HOT, well, it was hot and sunny. While the cold beer really helped, we did forget the sunscreen.
Wouldn’t have it any other way, Hot and 21!!!
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY SWEETY!
Here come the ribs!
It’s Friday, the day before Memorial Weekend. It’s THE first 3 day weekend of the summer and traditionally, we fire up the grill no matter where we are. A few years ago, I’d been at a family members on Memorial Weekend and it SNOWED. Well, that’s what happens sometimes. However, we didn’t let it deter our ability to fire up the grill. We just had to really heat it up and of course there was a hissing of flakes dying on the cover.
Anyway, I digress and the forecast for Colorado is suppose to be hot and sunny all weekend. We’re heading to Brads and Sages for a traditional Memorial Day cook out on, “hopefully” their finished deck.
They’re having several couples over and it’s a BYOM (Bring Your Own Meat). Brads planning on grilling dry rubbed ribs and I can’t wait. Now, dry rubbed ribs on the grill HAS to be one of the high-lights of any grilling.
THE DECK - a work of art - Part2
I finally was able to grab some shots of the deck I’m helping Brad, my friend build. Initially, when I’d signed on to the project, I envisioned basic wood materials like treated lumber or red wood, the usual Lowes or Home Depot stock stuff. However, the project took on another life as Brad investigated other options like Treks and eventually he settled on IPE, a Brazilian hard wood.
When he’d mentioned this material I didn’t give it much thought. I figured it was just harder and that it would be fun to tackle something different. So, I agreed to help and even suggested we put it on a 45-degree angle to make it interesting.
Little did I know that we were building a “work-of-art”. Besides the wood being beautiful, very distinguished and over all different, I was in for a shock as we had to “pre-drill” every single hole and point of attachment. This and the fact that you had to “seal” every cut, really slowed the progress.
We’re still not finished and have some of the hand-railing to go. However, the photo in this post shows the work-in-progress. It’s coming together, but it’s going much SLOWER than I originally figured.
Once it’s done, it will be truly a “Work-of-Art”. Stay tuned.
THE Perfect Salad
Eating off the grill, well, not literally, can be healthy as well as just plain good. Looking for a great salad option? Well, here’s the perfect salad that can be fully prepared and ready to go in about 30 minutes. Great for fast quick evening dinner any day of the week.
First, start with a good cut of “Flat Iron Steak”. This is a tender cut of meat and is perfect for adding to the salad to give it protein kick.
This is where you fire up the grill to about 450. If you have a 4 burner grill, then leave the sides on high and two middle burners on medium. Flat Iron steak is great medium rare to medium depending on your taste. It’s VERY juicy cut and is great for supplementing various dishes. It also has two smaller ends which if cooked right, they are the mediums and the center cut can be on the rarer side.
Using your handy temperature gauge, set grill the meat to your taste. Sprinkle a little seasoning on top, or just some ground pepper. A good burger or steak seasoning works as well. Cajun style can give it a definite kick.
Second, make a salad. As corny as this sounds, it’s pretty basic and salads can include just about anything you like, but don’t forget the lettuce. Here’s a quick salad mix we typically throw together. The best plan is to work on the salad while the Flat Iron Steak is grilling. This gives you the quick 30 minute meal.
Start with bowl, glass is nice for presentation & add the following:
- Various greens - Spinach leaf & romaine are very tasty and make a great foundation.
- Chives are great for adding a little extra kick
- Sesame seeds. Adds texture and some protein
- Throw in some crutons, if diet allows for crunchiness
- Cherry tomatoes are nice and add color
- or Slice a few bell peppers or the smaller sweet peppers. Yellow and red add that “just right” color
- Lastly throw in some bacon bits if desired and/or possibly even some blue cheese if you’d like
Once you have your salad prepared, take your Flat Iron Steak off the grill at the temperature of your choice.
Using a good quality cutting board and VERY sharp knife, slice the steak into very thin slices or cut them as thin as possible. Flat Iron steak is very juicy and tender, but thin is in.
Now that you have your Flat Iron Steak all sliced, you can add it to the main salad bowl or prepare a few plates for each of the dinner guests and include a few slices of the steak per plate.
Either way, you’ve just made a fantastic steak salad in less than 30 minutes that will rival any local restaurant. If you use the second preparation method, some guest who are not “into” steak, can opt to just go for the salad.
Now, go grill something, for salad!
The Deck - Part1
Well, a good friend of mine has opted to add their own “deck-hang-out” on the back of their house. Being one to promote the on-going endeavorer of outdoor living and grilling, I couldn’t help but offer to help. With the labor savings in the bag, they decided to upgrade and we’re installing IPE, a Brazilian hardwood.
Today we really made progress. After 3 weekends of the drudgery of focusing on the frame, BORING, we finally started seeing some real “Deck” progress. After extreme amounts of planning, thinking through every detail and over analysis every piece of wood, my friend is finally seeing the deck come together. His wife and their youngest were excited over the look.
I have to say, the clip system and wood, IPE really looks awesome. It’s tedious and slow going on the decking portion, but I know once it’s done, it’ll really look good.
Crap, it’s cold outside…
Friday, end of the week, PERFECT evening to fire up the grill and cook something. Or, is it? Well, it snowed last night in Longmont and most of Colorado. Well, more like it tried to snow, spritz, rain and throw some ice pelts down on everyone, but moisture is moisture.
Still, it is a bit too cold and dreary to get out and cook something. I was actually looking forward to sitting on the deck on Friday with a cold one in hand and enjoying the smell of something crackling and smelling down right mouth watering. Oh well.