Monday, May 30, 2011

Southwest Steak and Eggs on the Grill


My mission to become a goddess of the grill continued today with our Memorial Day dinner.  We totally gorged ourselves on Southwestern scrambled eggs, flank steak and home fries on the grill.  Today was also The Runt's 19th birthday and her favorite breakfast food, aside from cereal, is pancakes.  Just for her, I incorporated pancakes into our breakfast-for-dinner lineup.

I have to give credit where credit is due and it would never have occurred to me to make eggs on the grill if it hadn't been for an episode of Grill It! with Bobby Flay.  Bobby's meal was an Argentinian breakfast with chorizo.  I went the Southwest route and used a tequila-lime marinated flank steak.  Do you think it was wrong of me to serve Italian bread with it?  Ha!  It was delicious, if just a tad multicultural.

Here's what you need to grill up your own breakfast:

Scrambled Eggs
6 large eggs
4 ounces of Monterrey Jack cheese, cubed
1 slice of bacon, well done and finely chopped
1 small sweet red pepper, finely chopped
2 tbsp finely chopped red onion
2 tbsp unsalted butter

In a bowl, beat the egg well with a wire whisk.  Add all of the other ingredients, except the butter, and mix well.  You'll need a cast iron or stainless steel skillet and the butter to cook them.

Flank Steak

1 1/2 lbs flank steak
3/4 cup tequila
Juice from 1/2 lime
2 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro
Dash of soy sauce
Sea salt to taste

In a bowl, combine the tequila, lime juice, cilantro, soy sauce and salt.  Mix well.  Pour the mixture into a gallon sized zipper bag.  Add the steak and shake the sealed bag until the meat is well coated.

Potatoes
3 medium baking potatoes, already baked and cooled
Olive oil
1/2 slice of red onions, diced
2 cloves fresh garlic

Cut the potatoes into cubes. Pour olive oil into a cast iron pan - just enough to cover the bottom of the pan well.  Add the onions and garlic to the oil.

Because timing is everything when you're cooking on the grill, you want to make sure you do things in the right order.  Start with the potatoes.  Put the cast iron skillet on the grill until the onions are soft and the garlic just begins to brown.  Add the potatoes and let them cook while you finish the rest of your prep work.

When the potatoes start browning on the bottom, it's time to put your flank steaks on to cook.  You can cook them directly on the grill if you want, but I use a cast-iron griddle.  In my opinion, cooking the meat on a flat surface seals in the juices.  Whatever method you choose, place the meat on the grill and don't touch it until you're ready to turn it over. 

When the meat is finished cooking, remove it from the grill and cover it with foil.  Depending on the size of your grill, you may need to remove the griddle (if you've used one).  Place your skillet with two tablespoons of butter in it on the grill.  When the butter is melted, pour your egg mixture into the skillet and scramble the eggs.

If you include bread in your meal, I recommend brushing it with olive oil and tossing it on the grill for a few minutes on each side. You can also drizzle some queso blanco over the eggs and the meat if you want.  Yum!

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