butter, softened to room temperature
2 tablespoons smashed and chopped garlic (6 to 8 cloves)
2 teaspoons salt plus more to taste
1 teaspoon black pepper plus more to taste
2 small red onions, peeled, halved, and cut into very thin long strips
1 heaping tablespoon sumac
6 metal skewers
Three 10-inch rounds pita bread, cut in half
1. In a mixing bowl, toss the beef with the olive oil and oregano, and let it stand while you prepare a charcoal grill (see Grilling Tips, page 100) and make the butter.
2. Finely chop the parsley. Place it in a food processor, fitted with a metal blade, and process the parsley, butter, garlic, 2 teaspoons of the salt, and 1 teaspoon of the pepper until smooth. Place this mixture in a small bowl and set aside.
3. Place the onions in a small mixing bowl and toss with sumac. Let this rest for a few minutes, to give the sumac a chance to pickle the onion somewhat.
4. Using metal skewers, thread 4 cubes of marinated beef onto each and season with salt and pepper.
5. Over medium-high heat, grill each side of the beef for about 4 minutes until brown.
6. Remove the beef from the heat and place each skewer on a half of pita bread so that the pita bread catches the juice while it’s resting.
7. Immediately, dollop each skewer with 1 tablespoon of the soft parsley butter so that it soaks into the meat and bread. You can freeze the extra butter or wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator.
8. Remove the skewers and top the pita and beef with a generous amount of sumac onions.
GRILLING TIPS
I prefer to use natural lump charcoal when grilling. Natural charcoal is made from pure wood, with no chemical additives. I also like to throw some wet chips of apple, alder, or cherry wood on the grill to impart a sweet, pleasantly woody flavor. Gas grills are very convenient, but food cooked over a gas flame lacks the depth of flavor imparted from a wood fire. I also think that building and tending a natural charcoal fire is a wonderful ritual that enhances a meal.
Charcoal briquettes are convenient and available everywhere, but they are made from sawdust and scrap wood with starch binders and chemical additives, which produce oxygen for a longer and more even burn. The additives don’t burn off and therefore can affect the flavor of your food.
Lighter fluid is also convenient. It usually burns off by the time you are ready to cook, so that the chemicals do not affect the food’s flavor. However, I believe that I can taste the chemicals on food cooked over a fire started with lighter fluid. I prefer to start my grill fires in a metal chimney with a wooden handle. Good grilling chimneys are available at most hardware and kitchen stores.
Here’s a recipe for a great grill fire. I like to build a two-level fire, with one side hotter than the other, which creates a “high” and a “low” flame. Remember that natural charcoal burns hotter and faster than briquettes. A good brand of natural lump charcoal is Nature’s Own, which is available at most natural food and specialty kitchen stores. Or you can order your charcoal online at www.peopleswoods.com.
----
Grilling Supplies
Grill (my favorite is the Weber Kettle, 22.5 inch)
Natural lump charcoal
Chimney
Newspaper
Lighter
Good grill brush
Long tongs
----
1. Make sure the vents on your grill are open. Air feeds a fire.
2. Fill the bottom of your grill with charcoal (at least 4 inches high on one side and 2 inches high on the other) and set the chimney in the middle of the coals. The fire needs to be big enough in surface area to accommodate the amount of food you’re cooking.
3. Fill the bottom of the chimney with one sheet of loosely crumpled newspaper and fill the top with charcoal.
4. Light the newspaper and allow it to burn. When the coals have caught fire, release them from the chimney and allow them to light the rest of the coals.
5. When the fire is at maximum heat, usually after about 20 minutes, the coals will be gray. Place the iron
2 tablespoons smashed and chopped garlic (6 to 8 cloves)
2 teaspoons salt plus more to taste
1 teaspoon black pepper plus more to taste
2 small red onions, peeled, halved, and cut into very thin long strips
1 heaping tablespoon sumac
6 metal skewers
Three 10-inch rounds pita bread, cut in half
1. In a mixing bowl, toss the beef with the olive oil and oregano, and let it stand while you prepare a charcoal grill (see Grilling Tips, page 100) and make the butter.
2. Finely chop the parsley. Place it in a food processor, fitted with a metal blade, and process the parsley, butter, garlic, 2 teaspoons of the salt, and 1 teaspoon of the pepper until smooth. Place this mixture in a small bowl and set aside.
3. Place the onions in a small mixing bowl and toss with sumac. Let this rest for a few minutes, to give the sumac a chance to pickle the onion somewhat.
4. Using metal skewers, thread 4 cubes of marinated beef onto each and season with salt and pepper.
5. Over medium-high heat, grill each side of the beef for about 4 minutes until brown.
6. Remove the beef from the heat and place each skewer on a half of pita bread so that the pita bread catches the juice while it’s resting.
7. Immediately, dollop each skewer with 1 tablespoon of the soft parsley butter so that it soaks into the meat and bread. You can freeze the extra butter or wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator.
8. Remove the skewers and top the pita and beef with a generous amount of sumac onions.
GRILLING TIPS
I prefer to use natural lump charcoal when grilling. Natural charcoal is made from pure wood, with no chemical additives. I also like to throw some wet chips of apple, alder, or cherry wood on the grill to impart a sweet, pleasantly woody flavor. Gas grills are very convenient, but food cooked over a gas flame lacks the depth of flavor imparted from a wood fire. I also think that building and tending a natural charcoal fire is a wonderful ritual that enhances a meal.
Charcoal briquettes are convenient and available everywhere, but they are made from sawdust and scrap wood with starch binders and chemical additives, which produce oxygen for a longer and more even burn. The additives don’t burn off and therefore can affect the flavor of your food.
Lighter fluid is also convenient. It usually burns off by the time you are ready to cook, so that the chemicals do not affect the food’s flavor. However, I believe that I can taste the chemicals on food cooked over a fire started with lighter fluid. I prefer to start my grill fires in a metal chimney with a wooden handle. Good grilling chimneys are available at most hardware and kitchen stores.
Here’s a recipe for a great grill fire. I like to build a two-level fire, with one side hotter than the other, which creates a “high” and a “low” flame. Remember that natural charcoal burns hotter and faster than briquettes. A good brand of natural lump charcoal is Nature’s Own, which is available at most natural food and specialty kitchen stores. Or you can order your charcoal online at www.peopleswoods.com.
----
Grilling Supplies
Grill (my favorite is the Weber Kettle, 22.5 inch)
Natural lump charcoal
Chimney
Newspaper
Lighter
Good grill brush
Long tongs
----
1. Make sure the vents on your grill are open. Air feeds a fire.
2. Fill the bottom of your grill with charcoal (at least 4 inches high on one side and 2 inches high on the other) and set the chimney in the middle of the coals. The fire needs to be big enough in surface area to accommodate the amount of food you’re cooking.
3. Fill the bottom of the chimney with one sheet of loosely crumpled newspaper and fill the top with charcoal.
4. Light the newspaper and allow it to burn. When the coals have caught fire, release them from the chimney and allow them to light the rest of the coals.
5. When the fire is at maximum heat, usually after about 20 minutes, the coals will be gray. Place the iron
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