Tracy had been gone for the better part of two work weeks and we were sitting on the patio enjoying an adult beverage Friday afternoon. Out of the blue she said she wanted me to do two things:
1) Contact our best friends and invite them over for dinner Saturday. I did and they accepted
2) Cook up some tomahawks and make a nice dinner. I did of course.
Although she asked specifically for the tomahawks I gave her options of prime rib on the rotisserie, chuck short ribs, and eye of round. She stuck with the tomahawk request. Far be it from me to complain
Got the steaks out of the freezer yesterday morning to defrost for a bit then thought through the rest of the menu. It started out being a simple, basic dinner but somehow expanded into a veritable feast.
The steaks were Certified Piedmontese beef and cut from the 103 sub primal rib sections I got not too long ago. Those were posted but for the benefit of those who may not have seen them, I'll toss a couple pics out there.
Almost 30# of gorgeous prime rib in one chunk
View attachment 435985
After breaking it down. Had 4 tomahawks, a rack of ribs, a 3-bone prime rib, and some "scraps" that went into a pot of chili not too long ago
View attachment 435986
Here are the steaks yesterday. One was 2 lbs 13 oz and the other was 3 lbs 3 oz. Total weight between the two is exactly 6 lbs. Should be enough to feed 4 old farts like us
View attachment 435987
Cut up some jalapenos and green onions to go into the cheesy corn casserole
View attachment 435988
All the stuff for the casserole
View attachment 435989
Mixed up and into a baking dish. This will go on the grill later
View attachment 435990
Appetizer plate with smoked extra sharp cheddar, homemade Cajun sausage, and club crackers
View attachment 435991
Steaks unpacked. These things are so huge they each get their own roasting pan to rest in
View attachment 435992
A hefty dose of my beef rub applied
View attachment 435993
Doing some portabellas in a port wine reduction
View attachment 435994
An Asiago and herb dipping sauce for the bread we will be having with dinner
View attachment 435996
The Porto that will go into the mushrooms
View attachment 435997
I don't think I need to tell y'all what this is
View attachment 435998
Been waiting all day to take this one!!
View attachment 435999
Corn casserole onto the grill
View attachment 436000
Mmmm mmmm good!! These steaks are at least 3 inches thick
View attachment 436001
Special treat for a very spoiled beagle
View attachment 436002
Wow. Thus far I'm happy
View attachment 436005
Bread on to cook a bit
View attachment 436006
Steaks done. Four pics from different angles
View attachment 436007
View attachment 436008
View attachment 436009
View attachment 436010
Mushrooms done
View attachment 436012
If ever there was a Heaven specifically for steak lovers, I just walked through the gates
View attachment 436014
The whole spread. Divided the dipping sauce into two small bowls, one for each couple. Got a nice salad to go along with dinner also.
View attachment 436015
Money shot
View attachment 436016
Recently I've gotten a lot more aggressive in cooking steaks. I used to cook them on the lowest heat possible. Was easier to get the temp and not have them get over done as quickly. An extra minute or two at 350* and you're still fine. A couple extra minutes at 1000* can be a disaster. This change in approach started with smoked and reverse seared roasts, them gravitated to steaks. All of us absolutely LOVE the sear / char on the steaks and this was perfect. It adds so much to the flavor I can't even begin to describe it. To a person, everybody said these were the best steaks they had ever eaten, and I have to agree. The meat was spectacular but add open fire, mesquite, and my beef rub, it's an unbeatable flavor combination. The cheesy corn casserole was supreme!! Two servings minimum were eaten bu everybody, except me. I had three. The mushrooms were exquisite!! I've been playing around with different things regarding 'shrooms and this is it. Just fantastic!! Of course, there's just no way to go wrong with a nice salad either. All of us love the fresh veggies in pretty much any form. What's kinda funny is these were the last two of the tomahawks I had in the freezer. I told Tracy that the larger one would be big enough to feed all four of us but she insisted that I do both of them. Glad I listened to her
I did tell her though that since we wouldn't have any more of the steaks I'd need to order more of the 103 rib sections. She was fine with that...whew!! Please don't tell her tough that I actually ordered TWO more of them yesterday morning. One will get cut into tomahawks and the other will get trimmed a bit and I plan to do the whole roast on the rotisserie of the Santa Maria. We're looking at about 25 pounds of world class prime rib all at one shot spinning in merry little circles. That should feed quite a few people. Anybody wanna join us for dinner?
Well gotta go get breakfast started for my dearly beloved. Thanks for dropping in and have a great day!!
Robert