Cheap Bastids Memorial Day Grilled Sirloin Steak

Memorial Day is the first 3 day weekend of the summer. Time for neighbors getting together and stoking up the grill. One of the things I do like about living here in Southern California is the ability to grill pretty much year round.

Back when my kids were young, we lived in a neighborhood in the small town of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. Summer holidays were always the perfect time to do what we called an “Alley Cats Picnic” in someone’s back yard inviting the families and all the kids who lived on our paved alley to party and enjoy. We would make shared dishes and bring our own meats and have a couple of grills going.

The kids would run around and have a good time and the adults would visit and laugh and play with the kids. And, lots of good food would be eaten.

But, this is a Cheap Bastid post on grilling sirloin. Now, sirloin is a pretty lean piece of meat so you generally don’t want to overcook it. It also works pretty well marinaded. I cook with it because, quite frankly, my favorite cut of steak—flank steak—as well as my other favorites, rib-eye and New York strip are just getting too expensive to buy. I have a hard time justifying $6 or more per pound for any food. So, I stock up on sirloin when it’s on special at the grocery store (a few times a year they’ll have it at $1.99) and then freeze it in about 1 ½ pound packages in freezer bags.

It’s really pretty simple. Thaw out your steak (skip this if it hasn’t been frozen). I like my sirloin to be at least an inch thick—preferably 1 ¼ to 1 ½ inches. Then put a really thin skim of cooking oil on the surface—just drizzle a few drops on each side and rub it with your fingers.

Then season your meat—it doesn’t come off the cow seasoned so adding a bit of flavor really makes a difference. Here’s a rub will add some good flavor to the meat. I’ve gotten to the point where I keep a big shaker on hand all the time of coarse Kosher salt, dried garlic chips and coarse ground black pepper (mixed in equal quantity). You get a bit of heat from the cracked pepper, flavor and aroma from the garlic and the coarse salt melts into the meat. Shake it pretty liberally over the sirloins and then pat it into the surface with your fingertips. Then let the meat sit for a few minutes while you get your grill ready.

Build a hot fire. If you’re using propane like I do or if you’re using charcoal, get yourself a nice hot fire going. The fire is ready when you can only hold your hand over the grill for about 3 or 4 seconds before it gets too hot. Now you’re ready for your meat. Put your meat on the grill directly over the heat. Now, close the lid. Leave it alone.

I’ve conditioned myself to cook based on time. I put the meat down. Personally, I time it for 3 minutes. Then I flip it. DO NOT, EVER use a meat fork. Use tongs. Or even a spatula. Stabbing a hunk of meat with a meat fork only lets the juices drain out, drying out the meat. What happens if the meat sticks to the grill? Don’t force it. Give it another minute. The meat will let go of the grill when it’s ready. Cooking, even caveman grilling over open flame, is chemistry. Flip the meat and let the other side have a shot at cooking. You should have some nice, sexy grill marks on the steaks you just flipped.

Cook the meat another 3 minutes. Now you’ve got some decisions to make. If you want a rare steak, you should be there. If you want it medium rare, give your meat about 2 more minutes per side. For medium to well done steak, put the meat on a cooler portion of the grill and let it roast so that the juices stay sealed in and it continues to cook. Medium should take about another 4 or so minutes per side and well done around 5 or 6. But hey, your cooking times are going to set by how many BTUs your grill throws out. Know your equipment and how it reacts to different air temperatures and humidity.

The only way to really learn it is to have done what I have done on more than one occasion—you have to have cremated some perfectly good meat and then had to chew the hell out of it soaked in A-1 to give it any moistness at all just to be able to choke it down. Like Tom Colicchio says when someone over cooks meat, “It was already dead and he killed it again.”

That's the Cheap Bastid Way: Eat Good! Eat Cheap! Be Grateful!

Oh, by the way--I LOVE to take a crust of bread and sop up the drippiings from the platter! Man, that's tasty! My Dad always called me a "gravy sopper"!

Is 9/11 the "New" Memorial Day? "Counting Flowers on the Wall" & Joe Wilson's Caput in Recto Award

Things have been too heavy this week. First a bunch of folks got their shorts twisted up into knots at the audacity of a black President wanting to give a speech to school kids about hope and goals.

Then some jackass has to holler out “You Lie” at that same President when he was talking about healthcare and how we can do better for the 15% of Americans who don’t have any health insurance. And now that cracker is being made out to be some kind of hero in his home state. That’s something I just don’t get.

And today. It’s as if 9/11 has become our actual Memorial Day. The one at the end of May is just a holiday anymore—a day off work—but the 9/11 Memorial Day is one where people actually reflect on our nation and honor those who have sacrificed. It’s become a day where we are more introspective, where we actually appreciate those who are so diligent on our behalf. And that’s a good thing. What do you think? Has 9/11 become our “true” Memorial Day?

So, the weekend is upon us. Those are pretty much just a couple of more days to me. When you’re not working and your days seem to be increasingly endless; when you’re afraid to spend a dollar because you don’t know when that dollar might be the last one you’ve got; when those things are in your life, you don’t look forward to the weekend too much.

With that out of the way, how about a little bit of music. There’s been some stuff about music here on OS lately. And, I was thinking about being “idle” this morning and thought that maybe I could share this old Statler Brothers song with you:


Enjoy and have a great weekend--kick back, relax and let go of the crap. What's the old saying? "Don't sweat the small stuff. And it's all small stuff." Hopefully this provided you with just a bit of a break from all the too serious stuff we’ve got going on.

And last but certainly not least, Congressman Joe Wilson, Rep, S.C. this award is for you: "The Caput in Recto" Award.

Memorial Day Meanderings

It’s the Saturday before Memorial Day and I’m kicking back, reading Jeff Shaara’s “Steel Wave”, his new novel about the Normandy Invasion and I’m also watching “Band of Brothers” on the History Channel (about the 4th or 5th time). And it gets me to thinking about Memorial Day.

My father spent 31 years in the military, first as a draftee in WWII--where he served on the ground in Europe from D-Day until after V-E Day—then, after a year or so hiatus back on the family farm, in the Air Force finally retiring as an E-8. After that he worked for the state of Florida until he passed away. He never spent a day fully “retired”.

He always described his military career as “being in the service”. That’s what he would tell people he would meet and how he would describe himself even at home. I’m sure that he would have described his 20 years as a food products inspector for the Florida Dept. of Agriculture as being in the service too.

Dad described himself as “poor white-trash from the hills of Kentucky”. He was a man who eventually earned a GED and, like so many of his generation, was articulate, knowledgeable and self-educated. This man with a GED trained people with MAs in science in how to do their jobs. Not bad for “poor white trash”. Except he overcame all that; worked hard and raised a family and ended up with a pretty good life.

When we take our 3 day weekend for Memorial Day we’re supposed to remember those who have served. Most of us don’t. We’re too busy grilling and sipping beer and watching sports on the tube. Relaxing with our paid days off.

And there’s that word again. Service. That always seemed to be important. To be OF service as well as IN the service. Not enough of us do that. And not enough of us appreciate it. And Dad did it back when the pay was far less compared to other occupations than what it is today (in other words when it really was a sacrifice to be a public servant).

Appreciate those who serve, no matter in what capacity. If you’re young and just starting out in your career, give serious consideration to being of service by engaging in an occupation where you actively serve others, the community and the nation. It’s one of the most noble callings on earth.