The purpose of Command of the Grill week is to promote the book “Command of the Grill”, whose proceeds benefit charities that support Marines. I’m not making any money off of this, and anything made from traffic during the month of November will be donated to Toys for Tots. You can read more here, or follow this link to purchase your own copy. This is a really easy way to support our troops. Semper Fi!

Sorry for the delay in posting this recipe, but some family emergencies came up, and I just didn’t get to this recipe in time. Without any more of a delay, I present to you, Steak Satays.

These are about the ultimate in marinated meat. Although the recipe wants the meat to marinates for a mere 20 to 30 minutes, I’m a big fan of extra marinating time, so ours were in there for about 3 or 4 hours. Since the meat is cut oh so thin, that marinade just soaks right in there.

The meat is originally a flank steak, and is cut into thin strips at a 45 degree angle, then placed on skewers. The skewers are put into a dish with the marinade.

The marinade itself is made up of soy sauce, rice vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice, and other ingredients.

Cooking is quick, about 3 to 5 minutes with one turn.

This is another recipe that is going to go on my list of favorites. The only thing I am going to change is that I’ll buy two flank steaks instead of just one.

For this recipe, we have Major Kevin McCoullough to thank. He was the second runner up at the MCB Hawaii competition. Thank you sir, may I have another!

Posted in barbecue, Books, Charity, Command of the Grill, Grilling, Semper Fi 5 Comments »

The purpose of Command of the Grill week is to promote the book “Command of the Grill”, whose proceeds benefit charities that support Marines. I’m not making any money off of this, and anything made from traffic during the month of November will be donated to Toys for Tots. You can read more here, or follow this link to purchase your own copy. This is a really easy way to support our troops. Semper Fi!

This particular recipe is one of the “Celebrity Recipes” that gets featured for each competition. Dan Lauria, who has been in a long list of shows and movies, but I still remember best as the dad from The Wonder Years, submitted this recipe.

We usually don’t eat flank or skirt steak by itself, instead the family favorite is to use it in Fajitas. There are few things that smell as aromatic on the grill as the Anaheim peppers roasting in preparation to be peeled.

With this particular recipe, the steak marinades for 2 to 4 hours in a mix of fresh parsley, lemon juice, olive oil, and some other ingredients.

I’ve never thought that parsley had a taste of it’s own, because I’ve only tasted  dried parsley from a spice jar. Fresh parsley is a totally different animal though, and has a really fresh flavor.

After leaving the marinade, the steak gets dropped in some searing heat on the grill for about 10 minutes, turning once, and then gets pulled off.

The recipe also calls for some Lemon Garlic butter which is made by mixing  softened butter with chopped fresh parsley, lemon zest, and other ingredients. The butter gets smeared on the still hot steak while you let it stand.

If you haven’t cooked flank or skirt steak before, it’s important to cut the steak against the grain, or you’ll be chewing it forever. In the picture you can make out the direction of the grain in the meat, it is pretty easily seen on the surface.

Now, I don’t want you to get the wrong idea, this recipe was pretty darn tasty, it just didn’t knock my socks off like all the other recipes have so far. The butter, although good, just didn’t have any kick or seasoning to it, and that’s what the steak really needed.

Posted in barbecue, Books, Charity, Command of the Grill, Grilling, Semper Fi No Comments »

The purpose of Command of the Grill week is to promote the book “Command of the Grill”, whose proceeds benefit charities that support Marines. I’m not making any money off of this, and anything made from traffic during the month of November will be donated to Toys for Tots. You can read more here, or follow this link to purchase your own copy. This is a really easy way to support our troops. Semper Fi!

Combat Steaks is going to be another favorite, because it’s the second recipe I’ve done which is available for free on Weber’s Command of the grill site.

I hate to say the same thing over and over, but man, is this a tasty steak! The stuff on top of it is portabello mushrooms, which were cooked with garlic, butter and red wine. They really add to the flavor of the steak.

This recipe took first place at MCB Camp Pendleton. Colonel Stewart Navarre came up with the recipe, and it is just outstanding!

Posted in barbecue, Books, Charity, Command of the Grill, Grilling, Semper Fi No Comments »

The purpose of Command of the Grill week is to promote the book “Command of the Grill”, whose proceeds benefit charities that support Marines. I’m not making any money off of this, and anything made from traffic during the month of November will be donated to Toys for Tots. You can read more here, or follow this link to purchase your own copy. This is a really easy way to support our troops. Semper Fi!

Shish Kabobs have been a grilling / campfire favorite since infantry used swords to cook their food over the evening fire because someone forgot the paper plates.

You can tell from the photo, that I cheat a little when it comes to shish kabobs. I usually put each food item on its own skewer, since like items tend to require the same amount of cooking. When the meal is served, I just take everything off and put it on a plate, then let everyone grab what they want.

I’m the lucky one because I love peppers, onions and mushrooms, so there’s usually some really good food left for me.

 You can also tell from the picture that I like to get my peppers and onions really charred up. I love the caramelization that you get when they can char up like that. The most surprising transformation is the red onions, which are really strong raw, become so very sweet and mild after they are cooked.

Usually when I cook shish kabobs, I go for the cheap meat, marinade it forever, and just live with the fact that its chewy. Not anymore. This meat was so delicious, I will have to think twice before not using New York strip again.

Sergeant James R. Cicero Jr. presented this as his entry for the MCB Camp Pendleton competition, and he was the first runner up. Nothing to be ashamed of, and the dish certainly wasn’t either.

The marinade on this was really straight forward, and the skewers were lined with Green and Red Bell peppers, a Red onion, and that glorious beef. Very, very tasty.

Posted in barbecue, Books, Charity, Command of the Grill, Grilling, Semper Fi No Comments »

The purpose of Command of the Grill week is to promote the book “Command of the Grill”, whose proceeds benefit charities that support Marines. I am not making any money off of this, and anything made from traffic during the month of November will be donated to Toys for Tots. You can read more here, or follow this link to purchase your own copy. This is a really easy way to support our troops. Semper Fi!

This recipe was the winner at the 29 Palms competition, and Captain Phillip Woodard is the hard charger who came up with it.

I figured that I would have to botch at least one of the recipes, and on this one, I actually cooked it just a wee bit too much. I usually shoot for medium rare, and this time it was more like well done. What can I say, nobody’s perfect.

The taste of this steak was really terrific! Even though I cooked it just little too much.

Capt Woodard’s philosophy is to get the steak as tender as he can, using a marinade.  The marinade had lemon juice, soy sauce, Worcestershire, brown sugar, and some other ingredients.

I know I said it once, but this was a really tasty steak. This recipe is going to be on of our favorites from here on out.

Posted in barbecue, Books, Charity, Command of the Grill, Grilling, Semper Fi No Comments »