Friday, June 25, 2010

Roasting Thermometer

If you don't have one of these thermometers, you are REALLY missing out (not to mention making things way too hard on yourself). Forget about guessing how much longer until the Thanksgiving turkey's cheap thermometer pops up. Stop cutting into your roasted chicken or steak to see if the middle is done yet. With one of these bad boys, you just set the alert temperature on the display unit, stick the probe in the meat, put the meat in the oven or on the grill and sit back and relax until the internal temperature reaches the desired setting.

Go ahead and treat yourself to something nice...you (and your dinner guests) deserve it. It'll be the best $20 you'll ever spend on a kitchen gadget.

Tri-tip Tacos

I have to admit that tri-tip is a new discovery for me. Sure, I've heard people mention how much they love tri-tip, but I never tried cooking one...until last weekend. Now I am hooked and don't think I'll spend much money on any other cuts of beef anytime soon. If cooked and cut correctly (which ain't very hard at all), this is about as good as beef gets.

My personal favorite so far is to slice it thin and throw it into a soft, toasted corn tortilla along with my favorite taco fixin's (black beans, avocado, cilantro, diced onion, cilantro dressing, and a squeeze of lime).


Ingredients:
2-3 lbs Tri-tip roast (pre-marinated from Costco are tasty and fool-proof)
Seasoning to taste (i.e. Salt & pepper, Spade L Ranch dry rub, etc.)
Soft corn tortillas
Taco fixin's

Directions:
Step 1: Preheat one side of a barbeque grill on high.

Step 2: Trim off any unwanted fat from the outside of the tri-tip. Pat dry, and then liberally apply your favorite seasoning (unless using a pre-marinated roast).


Step 3: Sear the roast on all sides over high heat until dark brown, then move off the direct heat and slowly roast until internal temperature reaches 135 degrees (after the meat rests, it will climb to around 140-145 degrees for a perfect medium-rare to medium internal temperature).


Step 4: Remove roast from grill, cover tightly with aluminum foil and let rest for 15 minutes before slicing.


Step 5: Toast soft corn tortillas on the grill for one or two minutes per side, then remove from grill and cover with damp towel to keep warm and moist.


Step 6: Thinly slice the roast across the grain, put a couple of slices in each tortilla, and garnish with whatever taco fixin's tickle your fancy.