Summertime Chillin’ & Grillin’

Growing up with a veggie mom, grilling wasn’t a thing.  Even when I’d satisfy infrequent meat cravings at my grandma’s house, she was more of a skillet cook than a grill master.  A lifetime of little-to-no experience with propane or charcoal left me a grilling novice, at best.

So when I saw that the Austin Food Blogger’s Alliance post a grilling how-to event with the Texas Beef Council, I couldn’t have been more on board.  Right away, Tiffany {pictured above} provided helpful tips for safe {and delicious} grilling.

We learned about the 4-4-4 rule for determining the correct grill heat: holding 4 fingertips, 4 inches above the grill, for 4 seconds.  If you have to remove your fingers before 4 seconds then the grill is too hot, longer than 4 seconds and the grill isn’t hot enough.

And we learned the proper way to test the temperature of the meat – sticking the thermometer into the side of the cut until the notch on the thermometer passes through the meat.  Luckily Tiffany sent us home with a meat thermometer, because the candy thermometer I’ve been using has no such notch.  Oops!

My grilling partners, Megan and Beverly, stacked the charcoal {a double row of 6 by 6}, lit each of the four corners, and then used the 4-4-4 rule to test the temperature.  And while the flame was doing its thing, we had a lesson on seasoning and cuts of beef

We were asked our favorite cut before Tiffany went through each one, describing their flavor, fat content, and best use.  I am also a novice beef eater, so a filet was my cut of choice for any and every occasion.  I kept this to myself as the crowd scoffed at the use of a filet in stir fry {FoodFash filet stir fry recipe here}.

We seasoned our assigned beef cut with salt, pepper, garlic, and smoked paprika and then placed on the grill until the thermometer read 138.  After everyone’s cuts had time to rest {did ya know this allows the temp to rise and keeps the juices in?}, the Texas Beef Council team sliced all of them up and set aside a bunch of grilled veggies for us to try.

After all was said and done {and stuffed}, I re-confirmed my like of filet, but discovered that I’d be open to a NY strip or flat iron as well.

A big thank you to the Austin Food Bloggers Alliance {and my grilling partners} for such a lovely afternoon – I’ll certainly be of the first to sign up for the next one!