Can you believe it? The Fourth of July is almost upon us. Stock up on these three things for a great cookout.
Johnny Fleeman’s Steak Marinade and Seasoning
Johnny Fleeman is the proprietor of Legends Steakhouse restaurants in north Alabama and middle Tennessee. The low sodium steak marinade and seasoning he uses at his steakhouses is his own creation and he’s made it available for those of us who can’t get to his restaurants. The marinade is a mix of onion and garlic, soy sauce and tamarind (which makes it reminiscent of Worcestershire sauce) and vinegar and spices. We marinated steaks as instructed, resting them two days in the refrigerator and turning the steaks occasionally while they rested. But we also did the same with a whole chicken, cut into parts. Then we put the steaks on the grill and the chicken on the smoker. The results were absolutely delicious. Don’t tell Fleeman, but we think maybe we like the marinade with the chicken even more than with the steak! Either way, we’re making sure we have a few bottles at hand for grilling this summer.
$2.49 per 16-ounce bottle. Order at johnnyfleeman.com/.
O-Yaki Skewer System
This ingenious system from O-Yaki stands metal skewers upright in flared pattern around a stainless steel base. Thread meat and vegetables on your skewers, preheat your grill, put the base on the grill and load the skewers. Close the grill and whatever’s on the skewers cooks evenly. No more rotating skewers as they cook and the seven-inch skewers fit just fine in both our Big Green Egg and our gas grill. The whole system works as well in the oven as it does on the grill, and depending on how you arrange the skewers on the base, you can roast a whole chicken (like beer can chicken but without the beer can) or a large winter squash or pumpkin by nestling what you’re cooking inside a “ring” of skewers. All parts can go in the dishwasher and it breaks down to a few easily stored pieces.
$35.99. Available at https://www.o-yaki.com/.
“Mastering the Big Green Egg” by Craig Tabor
Planning for the Fourth of July starts with creating a menu. Sure, you can go with your tried and true favorites, but the newly published “Mastering the Big Green Egg” by Craig Tabor is not only an instruction manual for the Egg but includes 40 recipes. There’s a chapter titled “Things on a Stick” but it’s about more than kebabs. It’s about meat on the bone like chicken wings, tomahawk rib eyes and lamb shanks. “In Between the Buns” includes recipes for making pastrami from tri tip and Pork Belly Bao. And in “On the Side” we found our favorite, Twice-Smoked Taters. You won’t find us making baked potatoes any other way from now on. And in “Fully Baked” Tabor coaches you through baking a Chocolate Rum Cake and cookies on the Egg. We think you’ll find lots of inspiration here.
$21.99. Available on Amazon.
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