Scuttlebutt Pipeline

Welcome to Scuttlebutt Pipeline! If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed or sign up to receive email notifications of new entries.
Also, don't forget to check out Fifty for the Fall, your chance to win $50 cash - no strings attached!

It doesn’t matter if you’re fortunate enough to own a beautiful outdoor fireplace, bricked grill, or even just your cheap under ten dollars grill from Wal-Mart. The fact is that the summer is coming to an end and you need to enjoy it while you can. So bust out the materials and try this sizzling recipe:
Jerk Steak Kabobs With Pineapple Salsa
The hot Caribbean coating on the meat is the perfect foil for our cool tropical salsa. If you like, flame-cook pineapple wedges next to kabobs.

Ingredients:

• Pineapple Salsa:
• 2 limes
• ripe pineapple, rind removed, cored, and coarsely chopped
• 1 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
• 1 jalapeño chile, seeded and minced
• 1 green onion, sliced
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
• Jerk Steak Kabobs:
• 2 green onions, minced
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon grated, peeled fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)
• 1 boneless beef top sirloin steak, 1 1/4 inches thick (1 1/2 pounds), cut into 1 1/4-inch cubes
• 4 long metal skewers

Directions:

1. Prepare Pineapple Salsa: From limes, grate 1/2 teaspoon peel and squeeze 2 tablespoons juice. In medium bowl, mix lime peel and juice with remaining salsa ingredients. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Makes about 4 cups.

2. Meanwhile, in large bowl, mix all kabob ingredients except steak and skewers. Add steak cubes and toss to coat well; let stand 15 minutes to marinate.

3. Thread steak cubes on skewers. Place skewers on grill over medium heat; cook 8 to 10 minutes for medium-rare, turning occasionally. Serve kabobs with salsa.

Each serving kabobs only: About 295 calories, 34 g protein, 10 g carbohydrate, 13 g total fat (5 g saturated), 0 g fiber, 102 mg cholesterol, 650 mg sodium.

Each 1/4 cup salsa: About 20 calories, 0 g protein, 5 g carbohydrate, 0 g total fat, 1 g fiber, 0 mg cholesterol, 35 mg sodium.

For more tasty recipes to try please see this article. It’s actually pretty rare that the recipes offered up by MSN are actually worth trying and this is one of those few times.

Perhaps it’s just the area that I live in, but there are actually only a handful of restaurants in the Southern New Mexico and South East Texas that know how to cook a steak. Oh don’t get me wrong, plenty of restaurants have some very tasty steaks, but there are only two that I can name off the top of my head that know how to cook a mouth watering, succulent, juicy steak. Maybe it’s a regional thing? Perhaps if I went to Some Dallas, Chicago, New York, Denver, Houston, New Orleans, or even some San Diego restaurants I’d find some high quality steaks. Not here though, that’s for sure. So for the most part if I want a truly well prepared steak I have to cook it myself.

I found an excellent recipe online at www.reluctantgourmet.com that I think other steak lovers will like:

What You’ll Need:

4 medium sized New York Strip Steaks (Learn more about buying steaks here)
2 tablespoons shallots
2 oz. Butter (1/2 stick)
1 pound assorted wild mushrooms, (portabello,morel,shitake, cremini…whatever is available)
1/2 cup Red Wine
3 oz Demi-Glace Gold*
1 cup Hot Water
Salt and Pepper to taste

*If you can’t find Demi-Glace Gold, you can substitute 1 cup of homemade demi-glace or 2 cups of veal stock reduced by half and forget about the cup of hot water.

Preparations
Get your grill really hot. While that is happening, finely chop your shallots and slice your mushrooms. Have your red wine and demi glace or substitute ready to go

Prepare Steaks:

Preheat your grill until it’s really hot. Season the steaks with a little salt and pepper. The meat should be cooked approximately 3-4 minutes per side depending how you like your steaks. When done, slice the steaks into 1/4 inch strips, fan out on a warm plate and add your wild mushroom sauce.

Prepare Wild Mushroom Sauce:

Demi-Glace Gold comes with easy instructions, but here’s how I make it. Melt butter in a sauce pan and sauté shallots until transparent, approximately 2-3 minutes. Add red wine, preferably something you may be sipping while you are preparing this meal. Don’t use plain old cooking wine, big mistake.

Add mushrooms and cook until tender and wine has reduced to an essence. Add Demi-Glace Gold and stir (with a whisk if you have one) until dissolved. Add hot water and simmer until the sauce has thickened, approximately 8-10 minutes.

Salt and pepper to taste and serve over the steaks (and mashed potatoes).

Do you have any steak preparation tips or even some tasty recipes as well? Please share!