ROUSES_Summer2021_Magazine_PAGES

I t's steak season and the time has come to fire up your grill. It has been a hard, lonely, interminable year, but as vaccines are doled out and the pandemic recedes, the fullness of summer promises to bring together our friends, families and neighbors at long last. In 2021, we might eat and celebrate as though we never knew what wonders could be created by applying heat to meat. To keep your grill busy, Rouses maintains a robust stock of choice and prime beef— the two highest grades of beef by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Grades are de- termined by marbling (fat spread through- out the beef), tenderness and cattle feeding practices. “Other companies will buy select beef and ungraded beef—which is the low- est quality beef that you can buy—and then push it cheap,” says Nick Acosta, the meat director for Rouses Markets. “For us, it’s only choice beef—which tends to be most popular—and prime beef, both sold at great prices every day.” Once you choose a cut and buy it, it’s time to prepare and cook your steak. The big three options are charcoal, propane and stovetop. (Sorry, smoker people. Maybe next time.) No matter which method of heat you choose, general steak preparation is universal. Never poke your steak with a fork or use a fork to flip it. It’s tongs or nothing in this game, as puncture wounds will cause moisture loss. You didn’t go all the way to Rouses to buy the best steaks in town just to eat the dry stuff some other stores sell. And just as certain grill, oven and stovetop tem- peratures are vital, so too is the temperature of the raw meat. “You don’t want to take your steak directly from the fridge and put it straight onto the barbecue pit,” says Nick. You want to let the meat reach room temperature before cook- ing it. “If it’s still cold when you put it on the grill or cooktop, it will burn by the time you reach your desired doneness.” SWEET LADY PROPANE As Hank Hill would happily tell you, the best way to prepare a steak is on a propane grill, using propane accessories. In terms of cooking accuracy and even heating, you just can’t beat a gas grill. The secret is to give the grill a good half-hour, at least, to reach the proper temperature. Preparation of the gas grill in many ways is the same as

HAVE YOUR STEAK & EAT IT, TOO

preparation for the charcoal variety. It’s a good idea to clean the grates before grilling, and to oil them up so your steaks flip easily. If you trimmed fat from the steaks, you can use the fat to grease your grill, which is the sort of next-level grill master move that will impress your friends and earn the respect of your enemies. Paint a little avocado oil on both sides of your steak before grilling and season them with rosemary. If barbecue sauce is your thing, have at it, but there’s no need; the whole point of steak is to taste the steak. Save the sauce for the burgers. When grilling on a propane stove, be sure to avoid laying your steaks directly over the flames, as dripping fat will cause flames to well up and singe the beef, undermining the whole point of your gas grill: an even cook. For a standard-issue inch-and-a-half thick steak, grill it for five minutes on each side on a propane stove to get it to rare. For medium, you’re looking at nine minutes on each side. For well done, find some other free grocery store magazine for advice, because I want no part of your awful decision-making. Some people swear by charcoal, because making fire is fun and cooking meat is fun and cooking meat while making fire is just the cat’s pajamas. As with a propane grill, make sure you get those grates extra clean before slapping on the steak, and the steak fat grease method is still a winning plan. As for the charcoal itself, we need to talk about charcoal chimneys. Growing up, I had never heard of such a thing, but somewhere along the line, charcoal chimneys became ubiquitous: the avocado toast of the grilling world. (I blame Food Network for this, but I bet social media hasn’t helped.) In short, rather than heat your charcoal in the grill, you heat it in a big metal canister. Note: Be sure to buy an actual charcoal chimney from the hardware store; do not just find a big metal container and improvise. We don’t need a repeat of the Thanksgiving fried turkey emergency room visit. Once the charcoal in the chimney is totally ashed, dump it into the pit. I do not know why a chimney is necessary for this, but it seems to be the consensus, and who am I to argue CHARCOAL AND MEAT: A LOVE STORY

By David W. Brown Photos by Romney Caruso

Marchand de Vin Sauce Makes 1 cup This red wine reduction sauce only takes a few minutes to make.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED: 1 tablespoon butter ¼ cup chopped shallots 1 tablespoon garlic Salt and pepper, to taste ¼ cup dry red wine Sprig of fresh thyme 1 cup demi-glace or beef stock

HOW TO PREP: Melt the butter in a saucepan over

medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic. Season with salt and pepper, and sauté for 1 minute. Add the red wine and thyme, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the demi-glace. Simmer for 2 minutes and remove from the heat, keeping warm until ready to serve with steak. Remove thyme before serving.

FLIP TO PAGE 41 FOR MORE GREAT STEAK SAUCE RECIPES!

13 WWW. ROUSES . COM