WING STEAK WITH MUSHROOMS PART TWO

Okay, we have the Wing Steak grilled to perfection at this point, and you can refer back to my last post to see how that was done. But I want to serve the steak with a nice mound of sauteed mushrooms and onions on top. And that is really simple to do provided you have one essential ingredient. Heat.

Browning anything in a pan requires enough heat to quickly sear whatever it is you are cooking. For instance, how many times have you ever started out a pork chop or a breast of chicken in a frying pan only to have it come out of the pan with no color whatsoever. Usually the chop or chicken ends up simmering in their own juices instead of browning, right?

Yeah...I know.

The reason for this is a lack of heat. In order to properly brown anything in a pan you need a smoking hot pan. Most of the time the average home range isn't capable of producing enough heat to sear anything. They have no guts.

If I want to brown anything - especially meat - I use a large cast iron pan to do it. This is because cast iron pans are made of thick, heavy steel and they absorb and hold a lot of heat. This steel gets nice and hot and transfers well to whatever you are cooking. Thinner pans hold less heat and transfer less heat as a result.

The other nice thing about a cast iron pan is that it can be put into the oven to finish a dish without having to worry about a handle melting. That's a great feature for braising meats or for finishing a one pan, two step dish.

So, mushrooms taste best when they have a little color on them. This is especially true when served with beef. And, as you might expect, I like to use a cast iron pan at home when I brown them.




Here the cast iron pan is set on the burner. You can see that the pan is lightly coated in oil. This is because the pan is seasoned well. What that means is that a film of oil has developed on the surface of the pan over time and has been maintained after each use. This ensures a non-stick surface.

I have used a lot of pans as a chef. I have used cheap pans that have been great and cheap pans that have been garbage; I have used expensive pans that have been great and expensive pans that have been garbage, but the most important thing to remember with pans is to use each pan for specific things.

This cast iron pan is used for frying. I say frying rather than sauteing because in order to saute, you must jump or flip the food. Nobody flips cast iron. It's just too heavy! So...I fry.

I turn the heat on under the pan and allow the iron to get really hot. This takes a bit of time because it is a thick chunk of steel. I allow 10 to 15 minutes for it to get hot. Yeah...I'm not kidding...I allow that long for the pan to heat. It isn't dangerous to do so. It won't melt, it won't explode and it won't catch on fire. There isn't anything in it. Trust me!


Once the pan is nice and hot, I add some oil for frying. Here I use a little olive oil. Once th eoil is added to the pan I allow it to get hot.


The oil is hitting the smoking point. An oil's smoking point is the temperature at which is begins to smoke. Kind of obvious, huh? This olive oil is an high end extra virgin olive oil and has a smoking point of 375 degrees. So, that is about how hot the oil is after being in the pan for about a minute. The pan, however, is much hotter than that.


I add the sliced mushrooms and julienne of white onion to the hot fat. I allow the mushrooms to brown. I stir periodically. Pretty simple stuff really. Just stir once in a while and allow even browning.


When they are browned enough, I season them with sea salt, cracked black pepper and fresh rosemary. Done deal!

And on the steak they go.

WING STEAK WITH MUSHROOMS

I think steak and mushrooms is about as basic as it gets. I grew up eating this perfect combination of beef and fungi and have always loved the simple goodness of the one with the other. I honestly can't think of a better match between two foods.

That being said, there are, of course, certain things to consider when attempting to bring the simple into the arena of the gods. It isn't a difficult thing to take a simple dish to a higher level than the ordinary; it just takes a little planning and a little know how.

My mom was a good cook. Actually, she was a really good cook and I have a lot of respect for her ability considering that she was a novice. She was a mom, and she cooked for her family out of necessity and with love. But she learned to cook recipe by recipe and perfected her repertoire over many years of repetition. I sometimes think she could have been a great culinarian had she had a bit of formal training because she had a feel for food.

I bring up my mother for two reasons. First, she passed away a couple of years ago and I really miss her sometimes. Second, she made steak and fried mushrooms often when I was growing up and I think my liking for the combination stems from that fact somewhat.

When I say that a simple dish such as this can be taken to a higher level than ordinary, I simpley mean that if the proper technique is employed for every phase of preparation, the dish can be perfect.

So, how do we make this simple dish perfect? Let's have a closer look!

Here I have two Wing Steaks marinating in a little extra virgin olive oil, freshly chopped rosemary, minced garlic and some freshly milled black pepper. It's a simple and perfect combination for adding a slow, aromatic boost to meats before they hit the grill, the pan or the oven.

These Wing Steaks caught my eye in the grocery store for two reasons. First, I had never seen a Wing Steak before and therefore had never cooked one. Yes...this is true. I had never used this cut before in any restaurant I had cheffed in. It isn't that common here in Canada on restaurant menus so I had never ordered it in. And I have never seen it in the grocery store before either. The second reason this steak caught my eye is because it is a close cousin to the Rib Steak which is my favorite steak of all. So, I simply had to give this cut a try to see if it was good.

I have to say that the Wing Steaks were quite reasonable. They were $7.00 each. Now...I'm still getting accustomed to the difference in meat prices in Ontario as compared to British Columbia, but this was a deal in my experience so I was quite happy at the price.



These steaks are tender cuts. Usually we think of the tender cuts being Beef Tenderloin (fillet), New York Striploin and Rib Steaks. The Ribeye - my ultimate favorite steak - is the Rib Steak with the bone removed.

Another tender steak is the Sirloin, however it isn't truly a "tender cut" and is classed as a semi-tender cut because it can be somewhat chewy. But it is still a nice, flavorful steak.

But let's get back to the Wing Steak!



I prepare a nice bed of coals for the steak in the usual manner as set out in earlier posts. I allow it to burn down a bit and even out for good fast heat for grilling. Yes! I will be grilling these steaks rather than barbecuing them so I want a fast and furious heat.

Remember that barbecuing consists of slow cooking with indirect heat and smoke and grilling consists of fast cooking over direct high heat. The two are very different.


The coals are white hot and the iron is smokin'! . It's time for the steaks!



Psssss! Down they go to be instantly seared. The flame licks up and threatens to burn the steaks on the surface before they are cooked to medium rare in the center. Yikes! What to do?!?! Well...I close the air flow to the fire which in turn cools the flame. I also close the lid to further restrict the air supply and to trap the smoke inside the barbecue. And remember, smoke equals flavor!


Here's an unusual perspective - I took this shot of the action beneath the steaks. It sure looks hot and smokey, huh?



Here the steaks are cooked medium and are brushed with whole butter and are seasoned with sea salt.

Pretty nice, huh? And believe me...they were tasty too!!



The steaks are loaded up with browned mushrooms, onions and rosemary. My next post will deal with the mushrooms for this dish and how to use a cast iron skillet to get them really browned properly. I will also share how to clean a cast iron skillet to keep it seasoned properly. You'll never need another non-stick pan again!




Bon Appetit!

SCRATCHING THE SURFACE - PIT SMOKING 101!

Okay...here's the first attempt at cooking on the new barbecue. A few nights ago I burned some coals in the smoker box just for the fun of it and I'm ready to dive in now. Just for the sake of keeping things easy, I have decided to smoke some side ribs and some chicken thighs. I have chosen Hickory chips as my wood for smoking and have dusted the meat with a Greek style spice rub.

I decided to use briquettes rather than raw wood charcoal. I like the way briquettes burn and the flavor they give. So, I have mounded the coal in a nice stack in the smoker box and have opened up the damper full. This will allow maximum air flow to help the coals get really hot.


By mounding the coals for lighting, the coals will retain the heat in the middle of the mound and will transfer the heat from one coal to the next better than if they were spread out evenly. When the coals are evenly lit, they will be spread out to form a nice bed of even heat for cooking over

The coals are lit with lighter fluid and are allowed to catch. The fluid is allowed to burn off by letting the coals catch for a while after lighting.


Here you can see that the outer edges of the coals have turned white from the middle out to the outer edges of the mound. The heat is transferring from the center outwards.

Now the coals have lit thoroughly and can be spread out into an even bed for cooking over.

Here some Hickory chips are soaking in water to be used for smoking on the barbecue. The chips are soaked for 30 minutes and then drained well.

The chips are drained in a strainer and allowed to drip dry. They will be added to the fife every 20 minutes throughout the smoking process. In this case, smoking will take about two hours.

The temperature of the barbecue - the main barbecue, that is - should reach between 200 and 225 degrees for slow smoking. I am still a little shy of that target temperature here.

The ribs and chicken are rubbed down with Greek seasoning. That's mostly oregano, garlic and lemon if you didn't know.

The temperature looks good. It's time to place the meat on the grill in the main barbecue and let the smoking begin!

You can see the smoke billowing out of the smoke stack just after the meat is added. The majority of smoke comes from the handful of chips I added to the fire just after I added the meat.

The stack is still open.

Now I close the stack to retain the smoke. It's the smoke which will add the flavor to the meat so I want to keep as much smoke from escaping as I can. In two hours I will have nicely smoked ribs and chicken. A bit of waiting, yes...but the flavor is well worth the effort.

THE NEW PIT SMOKER

This is the new barbecue. I assembled it in about one hour with absolutely no trouble whatsoever. The assembly was a snap actually and the most difficult part of the job was holding the smoke box in place while getting the bolts in place. Not a big problem really.

Above is the main part if the barbecue. That is where all grilling will be done and when the smoking of meats will take place. It's a good sized grill too and can hold a lot of food.

This is the smoke box waiting to be mounted to the side of the barbecue. Grilling on a small scale can be done in the smoke box (say, for two or three people) and the fire for smoking will be built in it as well.
Here's a shot of the smoke stack. The stack allows for smoke and heat control during slow smoking.

And there she is waiting to be put into action. I plan to learn as much as I can about smoking this summer and I can't wait to try a brisket and pulled pork in it. Keep an eye out for those and other great summer barbecuing tips.

SWITCHING IT UP

You'll remember my posts last summer concerning barbecuing. If you don't, follow this link to one of my barbecuing posts in which I discuss heat and smoke control: http://livingstoncooks.blogspot.com/2008/08/bbq-chicken-101.html This is important and relevant to what I am about to discuss.

I own a state-of-the-art barbecue. It is a stainless steel monolith that has given me endless hours of happy grilling and has produced much great food for many friends and loved ones. I love this barbecue. Actually, I traded my decorating services for this rig to a man who owns a barbecue store in British Columbia where I use to live. It was a $1700.00 win fall for me. It was a good trade.

The barbecue is the Enviro Bistro 4500. She bangs! It has 3 burners plus one long back burner for indirect heat during spit roasting. It is nice and big for pumping out the food for a lot of guests. And it gets hot fast. As I said earlier...I love this grill.

I've had a dilemma for quite some time however. You see, where I live now there is no natural gas hookup. And, I don't want to convert the Enviro over to propane just yet. So, I've been cooking on a shitty little barbecue over hot coals for the past two summers. But I'll tell you...the food has tasted much better on that shitty little barbecue than on the Enviro! And that has led to a change in my thinking.

What I have been doing on the Enviro is grilling, not barbecuing. There is a huge difference between the two. Grilling is cooking over high heat quickly. Barbecuing is cooking over low heat slowly. And, there is the smoke.

Barbecuing involves slowly smoking meat over an indirect wood or coal fed fire that releases smoke and flavors the meat as a result. The smoke flavor cannot be achieved by gas grills because no smoke is generated by gas.

So...here is our new barbecue. It is the CHAR-GRILLER Super Pro.

It is know in the barbecue world as a "pit smoker." That's kind of like pit fighter or pit bull, huh? Sounds sort of tough, right? "Hey dude, whatcha doin'?" "Ahhh...just throwing some meat down on my pit smoker...you?"

Anyway, it sort of looks like two barbecues in one, right? Well it is and it isn't. The big can on the left is the barbecue. You can load it up with coals and cook on it no problem. But when you want to slow smoke something, you build your fire on the fire box and leave the big cannister cool. The fire box is the little can on the right.

I'm going to get into this in more depth in future posts. Actually I think quite a few of my next posts will deal with the smoking aspect of barbecuing. It should be interesting.

As a chef I appreciate the skill that goes into producing great tasting food. I have to admit, however, that I'm in new territory here. I am not a pro barbecuer. I am learning a new skill on this one. But I am very excited and confident that I will do my homework and be producing some great meals in no time.

Future dishes will include slow smoked ribs and chicken, brisket, pulled pork and salmon for sure.

Well...it'll be fun. Ya'll take care now.

THE BEST HOT SANDWICHES EVER!!

I remember a long time ago (probable at least 25 years ago) I use to eat hot veal sandwiches with roasted peppers from this Italian deli. I can't even remember where it was now. But a couple of my friends and I use to get really high and go racing on our motorcycles along the highway and we'd always end up at this deli with the munchies and we'd chow down on a major veal sandwich. That was a lot of fun!

Anyway, living in British Columbia in smaller towns for the past fifteen years I haven't seen hide nor hair of a hot veal sandwich (actually there were a lot of my favorites missing in the small towns but the mountains, clean air and stress-free living made up for it!) and I was wanting one in a sort of passive way for quite some time.

Well...Lola decided to take me to a small Italian sandwich shop the other day for a hot veal sandwich and all I can say is, "Oh yeah."

California Sandwich makes kick-ass Italian sandwiches! They have it down to a science, really. And they should because they have been at it since the late 1960's. According to the old math, that's like...40 plus years. That's a lotta sandaweechs Pisano!

And the cool thing is that it is a family business. They seem to have everyone in the family working in one location or another.

So, I go in for my sandwich and I order it just the way I did years ago, with roasted peppers and mushrooms. I wait about five minutes and they bring me a sandwich as big as my head. They're fast! You place your order and badda-bing-badda-boom, your eatin' it! But besides the speed factor, that's the first thing that gets you - the size. Then...the flavor takes you by the cajones. and drives the point home. This is a great fricken sandwich!!

California Sandwich claims to be Toronto's favorite Italian sandwich shop. I can't really say because I haven't eaten at any other Italian sandwich shop in Toronto. But I know this. I don't have to. I love this place!

California has a simple menu. A breaded veal sandwich which is to die for and a few others. They serve a breaded chicken sandwich which I tried. It was very nice but I prefer the veal. I think I'm just veal deprived after not having it for so long. And there are a few others...including meatball.

Anyway, I had to tell you all about it. Everyone knows anyway. I think I'm the last to find out.

Here's the link to CALIFORNIA SANDWICHES: http://californiasandwiches.ca/home.htm

Lola and I plan to take my kids for their first experience at California this weekend. I'll be taking pictures of the food and adding it into this post right after. So be patient, pictures are coming!!

In the meantime, check out the link to their website and make plans to try this place for yourself.

Ciao for now!

THE BEST BBQ IN TORONTO?

I haven't posted on my blog in over three months now. Where the hell did three months go anyway? It slipped by fast! Anyway, I figured it was high time that I got back in the saddle again and I just hope I haven't lost anyone along the way by such a long lul in posting.

I've been a chef for quite a few years and most of my experience has been on the finer dining side of things. I say that because I in my earlier days I was a bit of a snob when it came to food and I have since come to appreciate all food for what it is. So in my reference to the finer side of dining, I guess I inadvertently acknowledge that which is not finer. But as I say, I have come to appreciate all food.

Lately, I've been watching a show on The FOOD Network called "Diners, Drive Ins and Dives." The show, hosted by Guy Fieri, revolves around food that is served up in some of the best diners in the United States.


The food that is featured on the show is pretty simple in comparison to what you would expect to find in high end restaurants. You'll see dishes like meatloaf, pot roast, braised short ribs, burgers, ribs, chicken...you know...DINER FOOD! Simple, home-style cooking. But the places featured do it the best, and what I like about the show is that it shows how these places have refined their systems and their recipes over the years and how the consistency of what they do has made them successful. And a lot of the time it's the lined up out the door kind of successful.

I think it was Anthony Bourdin who said, "Anyone can grill a steak, but it takes real skill to braise the shit out of a tough piece of meat and transform it into a masterpiece." It was something like that anyway. But he's right, and that's why I have become interested in home-style cooking lately. There is a lot of skill required to prepare the simplest of dishes properly no matter how commonplace.

As you may remember from my summer posts, I enjoy barbecuing. (Who doesn't besides the "barbecuing is carcinogenic" whiners, right?) And because I have such a fondness for good barbecue, I have to take notice when I see someone who has mastered the art and made a successful business out of it. Such a place is Phil's Original BBQ on College Street.



I have been passing Phil's Original BBQ for a year now ever since I moved to Toronto from BC. I never really thought it looked like much from the outside, but for some reason I always thought I would like to eat there some day. I finally took the opportunity a couple of weeks ago on the spur of the moment after work on a Friday evening.

First of all...the place was packed! I was surprised at how busy it was. I also couldn't help noticing that the smell of smoke filled the room and there was a pretty loud murmer of people talking and laughing as they enjoyed their food. Talk about an attack on the senses!

The decor is pretty cool, but to me something felt out of place about it. It wasn't what I'd choose for a BBQ joint, but then again, who the hell am I? I did like the fact that place was tidy and clean. That's a good quality when food is the product being sold in my book!

I ordered the combo plate which consisted of 1/4 chicken, some brisken and a few ribs. It came with baked beans and cole slaw. Nothing fancy here!

All I can say is, "Wow!" This was really exceptional grub! The beans were so good that I couldn't believe it. Seriously. No, really. Now, I'm no bean expert, but the flavor in these beans blew me away because I wasn't expecting them to be that good. The smokiness...the sweetness and the tanginess worked together like a dance in my mouth. I think it was the Tango!

Next up was the brisket. I'm not even going to go there because it was...too good! It was mind blasting!

The ribs...well...they were almost as good as the brisket in my book and to date are the best ribs I have ever eaten in a restaurant.

The chicken way okay. I found it to be the least impressive but it was still really well prepared and tasty.

The big thing at Phil's is the fact that they smoke all of their meats before they are finished on the grill with their signiture sauces. The smoke is intense in the flavor of everything I had and is really what makes barbecue what it is. Without the smoke, your just grilling kid!

Anyway, Phil's seems to have the reputation of being the best Barbecue in Toronto. I can't argue with that because it's the only barbecue I have had here. It may even be the only real barbecue I have had anywhere. But best in Toronto or not, Phil's is killer good and you have to try it if you have the chance.

Here is a link to Phil's Original BBQ: http://www.philsoriginalbbq.com/