Happy Eats!

Make this full-flavored sirloin on a hot summer afternoon and watch the family gobble it up. (Don’t be surprised if the neighbors decide to stop by, too!) Good accompaniments would be a couple of loaves of garlic herb bread, Fresh Tasting Potato Salad, Grill Roasted Corn on the Cob, and Zen Carrot Salad. For drinks, serve fresh limeade or lemonade, a good full-flavored beer, or an inexpensive Merlot-Cabernet blend like Concha y Toro’s Frontera. A nice easy dessert would be Cherries Jubilee.

Make sure you rub the steak with the salt and bourbon at least three hours ahead of time. You can even prepare it and bag it up the night before. Don’t worry, the salt won’t make it too salty - just warn everyone not to salt their portion until they taste it! Make sure you take the steak out about 15 minutes before you start cooking.

I know 5-6 pounds of steak sounds like a lot of meat, but I find that this steak really gets eaten up fast. Allow at least one-half pound of meat per person, more if you’re serving big eaters. If you’re feeding a big crowd, get two big sirloins. It’s very important to get a boneless sirloin that’s two inches thick. Luckily, many supermarkets offer big thick slabs of sirloin on sale. While fresh meat is always a little juicier, sirloin freezes very successfully provided you have a good quality freezer.

• 1 5-6 pound boneless sirloin steak, 2 inches thick
• 2-3 tablespoons bourbon
• 1-1/2 teaspoons finely ground sea salt
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh marjoram leaves (or 1/4 teaspoon dried)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus a little extra for rubbing on the steak
• 2 tablespoons dry sherry
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Remove the steak from its wrapper and dry it thoroughly with paper towels. Have a freezer bag ready - it should be big enough to comfortably let the steak lie flat. Baste the steak with the bourbon on all sides using a clean basting brush. Let the steak sit for a few minutes, then sprinkle it lightly with the salt on all sides (you don’t have to use all of the salt). Pat the marjoram leaves evenly over the top of the steak, then place the steak in the plastic bag and seal well. Refrigerate for at least three hours.

Take the steak out of the fridge (it can stay in the plastic bag until you’re ready to cook). Whisk the olive oil, sherry, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce together, and set aside - this will be your basting sauce.

Heat the grill to a medium hot temperature (about 400-450 degrees). If you’re using wood chips, hickory or applewood chips are excellent choices. If you have a large hinged grilling box that the steak will fit into, brush it with an oil that will take high heat, like safflower oil. (Nonstick canola oil spray will work, too, but the safflower oil has a higher smoke point.)

When the grill is ready, pat the steak dry with paper towels, and rub it with a tiny bit of olive oil. Set it on the grill (or put it in the basket and place on the barbecue grill). After 5 minutes, brush it with the baste. Keep basting every 5 minutes with the sauce. Depending on how consistent your grill’s heat is, the ambient temperature, the wind, and a lot of other factors, you’ll need to grill the steak about 15 minutes per side for rare. It should take about 20 minutes per side for medium rare.

When the steak is almost done to your liking (but not quite), remove it from the grill, set it on a big cutting board (I like one with a well around the edge, to catch the juices). Cover it with foil, and let it sit 8-10 minutes to firm up the meat so it stays juicy. Slice the steak into 1/2-inch thick slices right at the table. Mmmm - happy!

Serves 5-6 meat lovers (or 8-10 if you’re serving fish or chicken, too).