Strip Steak with Red Bliss Potato Salad

The 4^th of July is one of my absolute favorite holidays. I love having a big barbeque, which of course always involves a great cut of meat and terrific sides.  I was a guest on Martha Stewart Radio last week discussing fresh Greenmarket potatoes and how to turn them into potato salad and casual dishes perfect for a day outdoors. I'll share those recipes here and also talk about how to grill a steak your family and friends are sure to love.

This year, at home I'm going to go with a nice strip steak with Red Bliss Potato Salad, I love the classic matchup of meat and potatoes.  You could spend a lot of money and get a prime sirloin but I personally think for a back yard bbq that is unnecessary.  I feel that going with a USDA certified angus beef grade of sirloin is well worth it.  It will be more expensive than your normal choice grade but the difference is noticeable. Certified Angus beef is normally a choice product but it is an upper 2/3 rd’s choice so you tend to get more marbling and a steak that has a lot more flavor.  If you haven’t tried it already I highly recommend doing so

Cooking a great steak takes patience and skill, but if you start out with a good cut its not necessary to marinate and tenderize.  The first step is to buy a good piece of meat whether that be certified angus beef or Prime.  Before cooking your steak take them out of the fridge and let them come up to room temperature, this will allow them to cook more evenly.  Next put a light coating of vegetable oil on both sides and generously sprinkle with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Be sure to use kosher salt and not sea or ionized salt, kosher salt will yield a better crust on your steak. 

Next, preheat your grill, covered, and give it a good brushing to prepare it for your steak.  Once your grill grates are clean and hot, place your steak down and leave them.  Resist the urge to play with them, turn them, check them or anything else.  Just let them be.  They will form a nice char on the surface.  If your grill isn’t that hot you may want to cover them to get a better char but this will also bake them so if you want medium rare to medium I don’t recommend doing this.

After 4-6 minutes depending on how hot your grill is a crust should be formed and they will easily release from the grill.  You can give them a ¼ turn to get those nice cross hatch marks or just give them a flip.  Again don’t fuss with them for another 4-6 minutes.  By now you should have medium to medium rare and you can remove them from the grill onto a platter.  The final stage is to let them rest.  This allows the meat to absorb all the juices that would normally come flowing out if you cut into it right away. Let them rest for at least five minutes, then enjoy.