Easter Grilling

So, it's Easter Sunday and I woke up to a dusting of that white stuff on the newly-green lawn, but such is life in the Northwest. The sun has managed to come out and melt away the snow to provide optimal grilling weather, but the weather wouldn't have deterred me anyway. Like the Postal Service, neither rain, nor sleet, nor gloom of night prevents the OG from doing what the OG does. Unlike the Postal Service, we get our grill on seven days a week.

As is the case with any holiday, I take the opportunity to make it all about food. And this Easter the menu is…

Crimini Mushroom Soup

Spring Spinach Salad with Strawberries

Alder Planked Prime Rib with Lemon Zest Asparagus

Lemon Tart with Meringue

( Lemon Tart compliments of my pastrily-endowed sister Amy)

First things first: With these large cuts of meat, the golden rule is LOW and SLOW, so I needed my plank to absorb as much moisture as possible for this extended grilling time. I soaked a couple 1 inch thick Outdoor Gourmet Alder Grilling plank for about six hours to insure they were good and saturated.

My cut of beef had a lovely layer of fat running over the top of the ribs and some good marbling throughout, so I sliced right along the fat to create a cavity for the fresh rosemary, thyme and garlic cloves. I used a whole bulb of garlic and liberal amounts of herbs, then rubbed the roast with coarse kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper.

I preheated my grill to medium heat (350-400º) and stuck my plank on the grill for 5 minutes to heat it thoroughly before the beef makes it to the plank. Once I had the prime rib on the plank, I cranked the grill up to high heat (500º-ish) and let it go for 20 minutes. I did this for two reasons: to get a nice char on the bottom of the plank (char equals smoke, which equals alder flavor) and to allow the meat to form a crust that holds in moisture.

Ok, twenty minutes is up and I just headed out to the deck take the heat back down to 350º and try out a new gadget: an Oregon Scientific Wireless Meat Thermometer. I placed the thermometer needle in my prime rib and closed the grill lid and wandered back to my computer to continue blogging. The cool thing is I have a remote that I program to my specific needs. I programmed in: Beef, Medium Rare (or 145º) and it monitors the internal temperature of my entrée.

This is so rad because I don’t have to open the lid of my grill each time I want to check on my food, therefore releasing all that good heat and smoke. You gotta get one of these.

So, here I sit, with my Oregon Scientific remote that tells me I have 8 degrees to go until Medium Rare perfection, so I have just enough time to slice some strawberries for the salad before I grab my prime rib off the grill, cover with foil, and allow it to rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Letting beef rest allows the meat to cook for another couple moments while locking in the moisture.

Below is a link about the Oregon Pacific Wireless Meat Thermometer! Check it out.

http://www.oregonscientificstore.com/oregon_scientific/product.asp?itmky=70477&model=AW131&cat=5&subcat=&sortby=&filtermfg=&page=

Happy Easter! -KB