[Ed-Seth: You guys remember Joe Pichey, author of the barbecuing blog GloBlueBBQ, right? He's back this year with more recipes. This year he will also be doing recipes for Eat Well Embrace Life.
Have you seen this at Busch's or Kroger or Meijer or the Kroger that was Hiller's yet (map)? Also also they are the Official Hummus of your favorite sports blog. And they're paying Joe to write recipes.]
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I’ll go ahead and throw this out there right now. This recipe will not win any awards in the food photography category. Some of these pics are uglier than the first pass of the 2016 Michigan football season, but in the end, the results are the same. This one is flat out FUN and will make for a memorable tailgate. We get to cook CAVEMAN STYLE, which means directly on the coals. Just like the Caveman Style Flank steaks we did in October of 2014, everything cooked here will be done over LUMP charcoal without a grate. People also refer to this as a “DIRTY STEAK” because of the charred exterior on the meat. Either way, I had a BLAST making it.
INGREDIENTS:
- Eat Well Embrace Life Hummus - Black Bean
- Flat Iron Steak
- Onion
- Peppers - I like bell and jalapeños
- Tortillas
- Queso Fresco
- [Hit THE JUMP; you might get a lump.]
DIRECTIONS:
Start with a chimney full of FOGO lump Charcoal (you can order some online). As I mentioned a few weeks ago, this is the best lump on the market. The pieces are huge and the dust is minimal. Plus, the family has Michigan ties, so it’s a no brainer. If you don’t have a charcoal chimney, just light some paper towel that's been dampened with veggie oil. I’m using my weber kettle grill for this recipe. The eggs in the BO-B-Que Pit are having some work done at the moment.
As the coals are heating up, start prepping your veggies and meat. And by prepping, I mean remove them from the package. That’s all you really have to do on this one. Nothing fancy at all. As I said, this one is going to look rather gruesome when all is said and done, but it will still taste great.
Go ahead and season your flat iron with some salt and a little pepper. Don’t go overboard on the pepper as it will have a burnt bitter taste if you go heavy. If you want to skip it all together, that works as well. The salt is still needed. As you can see form the pic below, the grains run one direction. Remember which way they run so you cut against them later. It is important to cut across the grain on this cut of meat to ensure tenderness.
Once the coals are white hot, toss the veggies into the fire. These will go for about 7 - 10 minutes. You want to move them around every few minutes to char them evenly. These things come out looking like a hunk of coal when they’re done. As you can tell from the picture, you do not need a lot of charcoal for this recipe.
After about 7 minutes, this is what you have.
Don’t worry, we will scrape most of this off in a few minutes. We are trying to get that char on the exterior which helps flavor the veggies. After they are completely blackened, remove from the heat and set aside. Let them cool for about 5 minutes. Now it’s time to toss on the meat. Even the coals out so you have a relatively flat surface to grill on. Now, just place it on the coals. Remember, this must be cooked over LIUMP charcoal. This will not work using charcoal briquettes.
Do not use the lid on this one. We want the coals to get air and create some flare ups. As the steak is cooking, let’s remove the charred exterior from the veggies. A pair of gloves typically helps in this step. Just start by brushing off the burnt exterior until you have removed most of it. Once you are done, chop off the stem and the bottom of the pepper and remove as many seeds as you can. Jalapeños also work well in this recipe.
Once you have the seeds removed, slice them into strips and set aside. You can also wrap them in foil and stick them in the grill (away from the coals) to keep them warm. Ya, I missed a few seeds. I was focusing more on the beverage consumption than seed removal.
Depending on the thickness of your steak, you will want to flip it every few minutes. This 2 lb steak cooked for approx 10 minutes. I flipped it every 2 minutes until it reached an internal temperature of 135 degrees. The Thermapen instant read thermometer is a must on this one. This steak went from 124 degrees to 135 in about 90 seconds, so stay close.
Once you remove the steak, brush off any coals that are clinging to the meat.. I usually just grab the steak with my tongs and and bang it against the side of the grill. The coals will fall right off. Now, tent with foil and let rest for at least 5 minutes. If you can wait 10, even better. Slice against the grain and your ready to serve. Warm a few tortillas and load em up with your Eat Well Embrace Life Black Bean Hummus. This has a nice sweet and spicy kick that goes perfect with steak.
As you can see, the flat iron turned out medium rare and had a crispy coating that was packed with flavor. That char adds so much flavor!
If you like your steaks done a little more, just leave them on a little longer. (Thanks captain obvious) If they are getting a little too charred for your liking, just add a cooking grate to the grill and finish it above the coals. This recipe works great with a ribeye, t-bone, skirt or flank steaks. Anything under 2 inches thick will work.
The combination of the black bean hummus and the queso fresco was outstanding. I made a few cheese and hummus quesadillas as I waited and almost ran out of tortillas. Let me know if you give this one a shot and send pics. Keep those tailgate pics coming and have a great weekend! GO BLUE!
