Three “K.I.S.S.” Experiments

So there are three experiments going on here – the rub, the spuds (potatoes) and the corn, but rather than being experiments in how to complicate things – this was all about preserving the “Keep It Simple Stupid” principle, with just a hint of new learning.

I actually used two steaks for this. The one in the picture above is a pretty good quality “regular steak” (can’t recall which cut – some sort of sirloin) but the star of the show was a Tri-Tip. The tri-tip is a Bottom Sirloin roast cut, best cooked on a high heat like a steak…because that’s basically what it is – a steak. Usually served cut up and shared (well, it is in our house). I remember ordering this once in a butcher along with a Picanha cut, and being asked by that professional what the difference was, as they pretty much come from the same part of the animal. To me, they’re both great “sharing steak” cuts, and also (to me) they’re just cooked differently. I reverse-sear my tri-tips while I rotisserie the picanha. A quick google search, however, gave me the following information…the pro was right – they’re pretty close.

In the U.S., the picanha is often called the top sirloin cap (culotte or coutlotte) but the most accurate translation is the rump cap. It is the smaller rump cap that is on the side opposite the tri tip cut. Thus, one can see that the tri tip and the picanha cuts are in fact different (albeit similarly located) cuts of beef.

The Internet

Experiment #1 : The Rub

I have way too many rubs. No question about that. I have rubs for beef, for lamb, for vegetables, for fish, for chicken. I have rubs for specific dishes. I have rubs for specific countries and cuisines. I have rubs I’ve bought. I have rub “box sets”. I have rubs I’ve made myself from scratch. I have books on rubs. I will never use them all up before each “Best By” date. That’s OK. One day I’ll probably find my favourites and rationalise down. I’ll stop experimenting and start perfecting.

Maybe.

Until then, I’ll have my bounty of different rubs….which I love to collect and try out.

So when I went to choose a rub for my steaks this time, I had a big choice. There was a nice smelling “chimmichurra” spice, there was something with some volcano heat, something with coffee, as well as a charcoal spice from Hardcore Carnivore which coats the steak in pure BLACK – looks great and tastes awesome too. But good meat is best accentuated with simple spices – salt, pepper, garlic. True Argentinian picanha “gauchos” will say “just salt”, so this choice was a compromise. Simple but just a bit different. Liberal sprinkling and a rest at room temperature before chucking on the grill.

The process, was of course, reverse sear on the trusty Kamado Joe Classic. You can see from the picture at the top that it was set up for half and half indirect and direct cooking. I used a Meater Thermometer, set the target Internal Temperature for 120F and put the steaks on the indirect side of the Joe. The KJ was at 300F which took about 30-40 minutes to stabilise.

A target temperature of 120F doesn’t require much cooking time and we were there in less than 20 minutes. Toward the end of the cook, the vents were opened to get to a high sear heat and once the meat was at 120F then they were moved to the direct “over the flame” side for a finish off. Few minutes, a rest and over to the chopping/serving board.

Experiment #2 : The Spuds

We have a great local French Market in the town just north of us. Being Europeans temporarily in residence in the American Midwest, a French Market is a welcome reminder of home(sort of). We found this place the first Spring we arrived and we’ve made a habit of going there frequently. One of the first stalls we discovered on our first visit was manned by two Brits selling English sausage and bacon sandwiches…complete with brown sauce. You can imagine we developed an affinity for Wheaton French Market from then on. We get all sorts of great stuff here. Fresh French bread, cakes, cheese of all kinds, charcuterie, crepes of course, secondhand books, jams, pickles and fresh, local veg. There’s often little predictability here, and these potatoes caught my eye. You can see why.

I had never had black potatoes….never seen them or heard of them. And the presentation as a “mixed bag” absolutely meant we were going to try them. Not really much of a cooking experiment this one, though. Boiled and served with butter.

Net result of this was that this makes great theatre. Black (or dark purple) potatoes taste no different to their yellow or red counterparts…but they’re fun to serve and watch people’s faces. Definitely one for the book.

Experiment #3 : The (Sweet)corn

So we have our simple meat and simple spuds. Wheaton Market also yielded a stack of great, local and CHEAP corn. Being in Illinois, its no surprise that when the season is in, you can get good and cheap corn. I’m talking about “corn on the cob” or sweetcorn of course…that’s not a word that’s used here in the USA, but in the UK, corn is some sort of seed that I suppose you buy dried in packets, and that cornflakes are made from. So the sweetcorn isn’t a new experiment but the grilling method (or more accurately, the cooking/serving method) is.

So, very simply, this was all about holding them. Handles.

Ordinarily I take fresh sweetcorn and take off all that corn husk and silk (I believe the technical term is “shuck”) and put a naked corn cob on the grill. It turns out this is very inefficient and unnecessary. The peeled back husks make great handles for the sweetcorn. Simply peel them and tie them back to form a very natural and convenient handle. Simples. Also theatre. With this, the process was also to plainly “just grill” – hardly an experiment really – but to be clear, I did avoid all the faffing about with boiling or wrapping in foil etc. I used the indirect and direct sides of the KJ while the steak was resting. Indirect side to make sure it was cooked…direct side for some char. Pull them off and also, as per spuds, serve with butter. The result was very acceptable…

So, KISS Experiments a success, although to be honest, there was not much risk involved in these experiments. I was playing with a couple of techniques and a couple of ingredient tweaks…while Keeping It Simple (Stupid !). I certainly felt I learned some new things, and refined a method or two.

Net result was nice, simple and popular Steak, Spuds and Sweetcorn, and a pleasant afternoon playing with fire 🙂 !