Kick steaks
It’s the 90s and we’re in a Boston restaurant that’s famous for its charcoal grill. The chef, after learning that Michel Huard, the man behind Basques Hardwood Charcoal, is eating in his restaurant, invites him into the kitchen. To show his admiration, the chef puts on a spectacular demonstration. He takes off the grills and throws a fantastic steak straight onto the hot charcoal embers. A few minutes later, the chef pulls the steak off and thinly slices it, everyone takes a piece. That was the first we’d heard about kick steaks.
Ingredients
1 bag of Basques Hardwood Charcoal
Coarse salt
Ground pepper
Vegetable oil
Your favourite steak: BONES, FAT and THICKNESS!
The bone is a support that helps your handle the steaks on the charcoal. It prevents the lean pieces of meat around it from being overexposed to the heat and from drying out. Select a marbled meat that has been aged for at least 25 days and that is at least 3-cm-thick. Ask your butcher to remove some of the fat around the steak. You can then expose your precious pieces of meat to a high heat and get the cook you’re looking for.
Notes about the cooking equipment needed for this recipe:
A Kamado might be too small if you’re cooking more than two steaks at once. If you can, opt for space and use a metal, Weber Kettle type grill. We STRONGLY suggest wearing barbecue gloves with up-to- elbow coverage and long tongs! Careful, it’s hot!
Method
20 to 60 minutes before cooking, lightly baste the steaks on each side with oil then add a pinch of coarse salt and ground pepper. Retain the meat’s temperature: An essential step, especially if your pieces of meat are thick. Please note that bacteria love room temperature. So, we can only do this with beef!
Heat your barbecue to the maximum temperature. We’re talking about charcoals so hot that your plastic porch railings buckle! Throw your steak on and cook them for a few minutes, until the blood comes up to the surface. Turn the steaks and continue cooking until the texture is perfect to the touch. Remember that when you’re cooking steaks, you can easily put them back on the grill if they’re too rare. It’s an expensive lesson to learn if you overcook them!
Cover the meat with aluminium foil and keep it warm for 10 minutes in the oven at the lowest possible temperature. Leave your steaks to rest before cutting them and prevent them from cooling. This step allows the juices to come to the surface and the heat to continue to reach the centre of the meat. This technique also makes the meat more tender.
Slice your steaks with your knife at a 45-degree angle to obtain slices no more than 1-cm-thick. Stack your strips of steak and pour over the cooking juices (the blood left on your chopping board). Your guests choose how much they want and how they want it cooking.
Treat yourself!
P.S.: Save the leftover slices. They’re perfect for a stir-fry, fajitas or sandwiches the next day.
Bon appétit!