Hi all,
thought I'd try something new. I've been reading up on grilling and different cultures, and liked what I read about how they grill meat in South Ameria. Wikipedia has a great article on the subject: Asado grilling.
To me, the essence of it is to let the meat's natural flavor come through, and that means using just one spice: salt. And PLENTY of it.
I chose a cut of meat that I've come to love from the first bite: Hanger steak, or Butcher steak as it is also known. The name (Butcher steak) aledgedly comes from the fact that the butcher kept it for him/her self. I couldn't agree more.
The butcher steak, or hanger steak:
It is two muscles, "mounted" in a v-shaped fashion, see pics. It is tender, and has lots of flavor.
The two muscles, laid out flat:
The hanger steak seen from above, here you see the tendon/membrane (the "point" of the V):
In South America they do a lot of direct grilling, but from what I gather they're using the 2 zone concept to the point.
I have a Big Green Egg, which has a horizontal heat deflector 3 or so inches beneath the grate, but I didn't want to use it this time, as I figured it would take too long to switch from indirect heat to direct heat. Instead I put an old brick in the bottom. I got the idea from other smart forum members here. Thanks!
The egg with a brick:
Anyhow, I applied a dry brine two days before, and right before cooking I unloaded a jar of flaked sea salt on the steak. Both inside and out.
The steak with PLENTY of salt:

I gave it 20-30 minutes on direct heat, then seared it. After removing it from the grill I wrapped it in aluminum foil for a 10 minute rest, together with a few large pieces of butter.
Sliced and served, with the mandatory Chimichurri of course. I made it the day before. Great steak sauce, I must say.
The steak, ready to serve (click here for full-size image):

thought I'd try something new. I've been reading up on grilling and different cultures, and liked what I read about how they grill meat in South Ameria. Wikipedia has a great article on the subject: Asado grilling.
To me, the essence of it is to let the meat's natural flavor come through, and that means using just one spice: salt. And PLENTY of it.
I chose a cut of meat that I've come to love from the first bite: Hanger steak, or Butcher steak as it is also known. The name (Butcher steak) aledgedly comes from the fact that the butcher kept it for him/her self. I couldn't agree more.
The butcher steak, or hanger steak:
It is two muscles, "mounted" in a v-shaped fashion, see pics. It is tender, and has lots of flavor.
The two muscles, laid out flat:
The hanger steak seen from above, here you see the tendon/membrane (the "point" of the V):
In South America they do a lot of direct grilling, but from what I gather they're using the 2 zone concept to the point.
I have a Big Green Egg, which has a horizontal heat deflector 3 or so inches beneath the grate, but I didn't want to use it this time, as I figured it would take too long to switch from indirect heat to direct heat. Instead I put an old brick in the bottom. I got the idea from other smart forum members here. Thanks!
The egg with a brick:
Anyhow, I applied a dry brine two days before, and right before cooking I unloaded a jar of flaked sea salt on the steak. Both inside and out.
The steak with PLENTY of salt:
I gave it 20-30 minutes on direct heat, then seared it. After removing it from the grill I wrapped it in aluminum foil for a 10 minute rest, together with a few large pieces of butter.
Sliced and served, with the mandatory Chimichurri of course. I made it the day before. Great steak sauce, I must say.
The steak, ready to serve (click here for full-size image):
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