Hickory Smoked Teriyaki Pepper Sirloin Steaks

I was up in Portland for a month so tonight we had some friends over and really did it up. We grilled a ton of teriyaki-pepper marinade steaks, twice baked bacon cheddar potatoes, Elephant garlic, baked beans and peaches. A special treat is our baked beans that have been in the family for over 30 years…

Ingredients: Steaks

3 large 2” thick sirloin steaks

3 zip lock freezer bags

3 cups teriyaki marinade

3 Tbsp. dried chopped onion

3 Tbsp. cracked peppercorns

3 Tbsp. dried chopped garlic

Directions:

Place 1 cup of marinade along with 1 Tbsp. onion, peppercorns, garlic into a large zip lock bag mixing well. Add steak and place back into the refrigerator for 2 to 6 hours. Remove an hour before ready to grill to bring down to room temperature. Because of the crowd here for dinner you can cut the steaks using the natural flow of the meat for easier handling. The meat will go on last for 8 minutes per side; they will be almost medium-rare. Remember these steaks are 2 inches thick so you cook them a little longer.

These hickory smoked twice baked potatoes are stuffed with sweet onion, garlic, cheddar cheese, and bacon. These potatoes are smoky rich, creamy and full of flavor. They are great. Plus, you can make them anyway you can dream. Tonight we are doing bacon & cheese stuffed potatoes with a sprinkle on top of chipotle chili powder.

Ingredients: for 1 Potato

1 large baking potato

2 strips of bacon, crumbled

3 Tbsp. sour cream

¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese

3 Tbsp. sweet onion, minced

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp. crushed garlic

1 Tsp. coarse black pepper

Sprinkle top with Chipotle chili powder

Directions: Potatoes

Wash your potato and poke some holes in it so it does not explode when you put it into the microwave. Coat with olive oil and put it into the microwave for 5-7 minutes. Let cool enough to handle. Cut in half length wise using a spoon to scoop the insides into a bowl. Add all the ingredients into the bowl with the scooped out potato. Using a fork mash the potato and mix until smooth. Use a spoon to pack the potato mixture back into the potato skins and pile high. You’re set… Tonight the potatoes go on the grill first.

Ingredients: Elephant Garlic

3 bulbs of Elephant Garlic

Directions:

The Elephant garlic is not as strong as most garlic and is much easier to work with because of its size. Break up the garlic into cloves and cut in half length wise. Drizzle with olive oil then salt and pepper to taste. Place onto a piece of foil and set onto a cool spot on the grill. Watch them as they will be ready to come off soon. I can’t say when because I don’t know how hot your grill is. Just keep an eye on them until they are soft and tender, maybe 10 minutes or so.

Ingredients: Baked Beans

½ lb. bacon

1 large sweet onion chopped

2 1 lb. cans of baked beans

1 Tbsp. minced garlic

½ Tbsp. Liquid smoke

1 cup brown sugar

3 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

2 Tbsp. prepared mustard

Note: Any bean will do…

But, keep in mind that the better bean you start with…

The better the bean you’ll end with…

Directions: Baked Beans

2 hours before you light your grill start your beans. Fry your bacon until crisp, remove while reserving about 2 Tbsp. of the drippings. Sauté the onions and garlic in the bacon drippings until tender. Crumble bacon add it with the rest of the ingredients into a casserole dish. Mix well and bake uncovered for 2 hours at 325…

Hickory Smoked Grilled Peaches.

The ingredients for smoked peaches sounds a little odd. You would not think that blue cheese, honey and black pepper would go together on anything, much less a peach. But they dance. This is a dessert from Heaven…

Ingredients: Grilled Peaches

1 Peach per person

Blue Cheese

 Honey

Pinch of fresh ground black pepper

Directions: Peaches

Cut peach in half and remove pit. Place cut side down on the grill with high direct heat for 2-3 minutes. Then turn over again for 2-3 minutes. Cover with cheese and close BBQ. When the cheese is melted plate the peaches and drizzle honey over them. Finish off with a good sprinkle of course black pepper.

Preparing Grill:

Preheat your grill to medium heat (350). Add your wet hickory chips to the fire and oil the grill. A cooking spray is easiest for this. (Note: you can add your hickory directly to the grill or you can use foil smoke packets.(Two handfuls wet chips and one dry, fold foil into a packet, poke holes in it with a fork and you’re good to go.) Note: I use a spray bottle when cooking on the grill filled with a Worcestershire sauce and liquid smoke mix that keeps things moist and adds tons of flavors. (Mix is 3 parts Worcestershire with 1 part liquid smoke)

Directions: Cooking

This being such a big meal that timing is important for everything to be ready to eat at the same time. So start your beans at least 2 hours before you light the grill. After you light the grill and bring it up to medium heat add your hickory and potatoes and garlic. This will take the better part of 20 minutes for them to cook. Put the oven on warm (beans) and pull the potatoes and garlic placing them into the oven with the beans to keep them warm. Turn the grill up to HIGH heat, add more hickory, oil the grates (cooking spray) and put on the steaks. Meat this thick will talk some time to cook. I use a timer at 8 minutes per side and they come off rare to medium rare. They can rest as you plate because you have already cut them.

Leave one side of the grill on high while you eat. Add a little more hickory, then place the peaches flesh side down until you get good grill marks (3-4 minutes) turn over filling the hole from the pit with cheese. Continue to cook until soft. Plate it and drizzle with the honey, sprinkle them with the pepper and serve.

Now you can sit down and listen to everyone talking about what wonderful tastes just happened to them…

Remember that a recipe is simply an outline; it is not written in stone. Don’t be afraid to make changes to suit your taste.

Take it and run with it….

Enjoy,

Ken & Patti