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. 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 is just so good, I had to cook it again this year. When I cooked it last year, I loved it, and this year is the same story. One bonus for the casual reader is that you can get this recipe for free on Weber’s site.

I have to give credit to Colonel Stewart Navarre, who took first place at MCB Camp Pendleton with this recipe.

Take some mushrooms, sauté them with some garlic, red wine and butter, then put them on an already delectable rib eye, bone in of course. Sprinkle with blue cheese crumbles or feta.

Simple right? Yes it is, but it doesn’t taste simple.

The cheese is strong enough to kick you in the taste bud, but the steak isn’t overpowered by the strong flavor. I couldn’t find portabello mushrooms, so I used “baby Bella” mushrooms. It still tasted great.

Have any doubts about buying the book? Try this recipe and tell me it isn’t worth $10.

Posted in Grilling, Command of the Grill, Charity 3 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. 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!

While I was thinking about using Disco’s Recipe on some different meats, this one seemed like a no brainer. Amy time I think about meat on a stick, I have to think about chicken.

The original recipe took third place in the MCBH Hawaii competition, and was concocted by Major Kevin McCoullough. I cooked it last year, and used a flank steak, just like the recipe wants. This year I figured, heck, let’s try it with some chicken.

The sauce is made up of Soy Sauce, Rice vinegar, and a host of other ingredients. This is one of the recipes that is only in the book. It’s also one of the recipes that I would have paid $10 for by itself.

The recipe calls for the meat to marinate for 20 to 30 minutes. I would go at least 3 – 4  hours, maybe even overnight. One other note, after the meat is removed from the marinade, the marinade is discarded. The next time I make this recipe, I’m going to boil the  marinade, and use it as a basting sauce. Although if you do so, remember that sugar burns really easy, so be careful.

The end result? Delicious. Really really delicious. It reminded me of Yakitori. I love the crispy pieces, and the sweet flavor. The next time I make this with chicken, I will make sure to let it marinate a good while longer, but it was really good the way it was.

Now, I know all of you steak lovers are yelling wondering where’s the beef. Don’t worry, this was the last of the alternate meats I used. All the recipes from here on out are with wonderful, delicious steak.

Posted in Grilling, Command of the Grill, Charity 2 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. 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!

When I first cooked Disco’s Hot and Tangy New York Strips, the recipe just blew my mind. I loved it so much, that I figured that this sauce would be oh so good on other meats besides New York Strip Steaks.

If you’re new to Command of the Grill Week, Disco’s Hot and Tangy Strip Steaks is the second one of the free recipes, so try it out and let me know what you think. I decided I would see what it would taste like on some pork.

The sauce, not shown, consists of Cola (Pepsi in my case), Soy Sauce, Teriyaki Sauce, Orange Zest, and 1 Habanero Chili Pepper, and some other ingredients.

The result is a sweet, salty, spicy sauce that is delicious. Now, if you aren’t familiar with the Habanero Chili, it is very spicy. No really, it’s spicy. If you told me you wore gloves to work with it, I would consider you prudent.

But just like any pepper, if you remove the seeds and the white “ribs” before dicing the pepper, you’ll take the majority of the heat away from it. I usually save these in case I want to add them later to spice things up.

Now In the off season, I’ve actually used the Disco’s recipe on Chuck Roasts, and have been pretty pleased with the result. I figured, why not try it on some pork?

So, pictured above is two Pork Loins, that I grilled directly, after soaking in Disco’s Marinade. Although a little on the salty side, they were still delicious.

This was a great post to illustrate two very important points that I want the reader to keep in mind:

1. I am not a perfect grill jockey. I did have to put the pork loin back on the grill and cook it a little longer. Although pink is OK with pork, the meat should still hit a internal temperature of 160 Degrees Farenheight. Unfortunatly, my thermometer is broken, and I need to find another one. There’s no shame in having to go back to the grill. When in doubt, cook it a little longer.

2. I am not a expert photographer. The pictures I took just didn’t come out like I wanted them to. The one I used above is pretty fuzzy when you look at the full sized version. Looks pretty good smaller though.

I do plan on trying his recipe on some chicken, I’m willing to bet it’s very tasty.

Posted in Grilling, Command of the Grill, Charity 1 Comment »

You may remember that last year I did a week of recipes to promote “Command of the Grill”. Well I’m getting ready to do it again this year, and I would like to get some others involved too. Last year, the wonderful Kellypea did a delicious version of “Disco’s Hot and Tangy New York Strip Steaks” on her blog, Sass and Veracity.

All this involves on your part is picking a recipe, cooking it, taking a few pictures. Of course, you get to eat the tasty beef as well.

All of the proceeds to the book go to charity, and these are charities which help our troops.

The book itself is a whopping $10, and I don’t get a penny of it. It makes a great gift, and with Christmas coming up, it makes a wonderful present. I bet you know someone who is either a Marine, Loves grilling, or even both.

There are two recipes on the internet already, and I can email others to willing participants. If you want to help, comment here, or email me at Mike AT port16 DOT com. I’m starting on November 4th, and finishing on November 10th, the birthday of the United States Marine Corps.

Support your troops, cook a steak.

Semper Fi!

Posted in Grilling, Command of the Grill, Charity, LinkLove 2 Comments »

Whew! Command of the grill week is over, well, I still wanted to do a little wrap up post on that, but I should finish that up pretty soon and I’ll be able to get back to my regular posting topics.

Near the end of Command of the Grill Week, I finally gave up on my old grill. It was a little Sunbeam Kettle grill, which has served me well over the years that I’ve had it, but finally the ash bucket rusted out.

I’ve been growing a little frustrated with it, because it has a standard wire grate, rather than a nice heavy duty cast iron grate. The wire grate makes it really hard to leave any grill marks at all.

The timing couldn’t have been better. My wife had been asking me what I wanted for my birthday, and although I had been kicking around some ideas, I didn’t know for sure.

This grill is made by BBQ Grillware, who I hadn’t heard of before. Although it is stainless steel, it is still a charcoal grill with a cast iron grill grates. The grill marks are exquisite. I’m not sure how often I’ll have to light the whole grill, but it sure is nice to have a little extra space.

Phil posted about old friends and new friends, in his case a new computer. So this is my new friend. I’m looking forward to doing some serious grilling on it.

Posted in Rambling, Grilling 4 Comments »