Let's Roll One Up!

If the title just piqued your interest, you may have been, or possibly still are, a Cheech and Chong fan.  Sorry but it's not directly that kind of post, although from what I have heard you might enjoy having the food a bit later, as this recipe is way better than potato chips or pizza.  This post is more about my recent obsession with rolling things up in various kinds of meat, and smoking it........ yep, that just happened!  Now for the purist we are actually rolling meat up and grilling it, not smoking it, but that isn't as fun to say, and sometimes one has to take a bit of artistic license to keep the flow of ideas going.

A while back a mentor and friend of mine, Chris Grove (@nibblemethis), turned me on to roulade making.  A roulade is the french word for roll, and can be savory or sweet.  Savory versions generally include meat, stuffed with various things then rolled up and cooked.  Sweet versions often involve sponge cake, stuffed with cream and fruit filling and rolled up, and we called them jellyrolls when I was a kid, they probably still do today.  I bet those still reading thinking it was an "Up in Smoke" type of post could answer that question for us.  Anyone?  Anyway, the savory versions that I have cooked over the last year or so have become my "go -to' dishes for when friends and family come over, and the main two cuts of meat I have been using are beef flank steak and pork loin.  You could do this with a beef tenderloin, but why would you do that to such a special cut of meat? For this post I want to focus on the flank steak roulade, everyone seems to love them and I have probably cooked more of these in the last year than just about anything else.

FLANK STEAK ROULADE:
First is buying the flank steak, I usually get the biggest one I can find, the closer to 2lbs you can get the better.  I have had to ask the butcher to go in the cooler and see if he/she has any that are bigger than the ones that were in the display cooler.  Now the next step or two can vary depending on your knife skills, and the level of tenderization you are seeking.  However you decide to accomplish this you ultimately need the flank steak butterflied or completely sliced in half, and tenderized.  My knife skills are awful, in fact I chop things only slightly better than the comedian Gallagher does with his Veg O Matic.  I typically ask the butcher to do this, and every now and then I will get one that happily takes it and grabs a knife and slices right through the middle without hesitation.  I am always impressed by this as flank steak is a thin cut of meat to begin with, and some of the "chain store" butchers balk at this practice.  In fact, I often send my wife, Liz, to get the flank steak sliced, typically because most "chain store" butchers always look at me like I have just slapped their momma when I ask them to do it, and often act like they can't.  This refusal rarely happens to Liz, I get it, she is much prettier than I am.  She has learned that if they even look like they are thinking about balking at the request she is quick to smile and suggest they put it on the slicer, you know the one that looks like its used for slicing deli meats.  Then after the slicing, she will get them to run each slice through the tenderizer.  The tenderizer runs along the direction of the grain of the meat.  This works out perfeclty because when you roll it up, and cut it after cooking, you are slicing against the grain, which also helps with making it more tender.  After slicing and tenderizing, don't worry if it's quite thin in places, as long it's more or less intact.  From this point on be careful handling each slice because if you pick up these slices like you would a normal flank steak, some of the meat fibers could pull apart causing a hole, it is that thin sometimes.  Now for the marinade.

Here is a flank steak that has been sliced in half, and tenderized.  The two halves are stacked in top of each other and that's why you can only see the top slice here.

 RECIPE:
2lb beef flank steak (butterflied, or cut in half, and tenderized)
1/4 cup soy sauce (consider low sodium soy if using a rub with salt)
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tps of favorite beef rub (we like to make our own rubs that are salt free to use with soy sauce)
8 oz thinly sliced provolone cheese
4 slices thick cut bacon
1 6-8 oz bag of fresh spinach leaves (we love the baby spinach)
8 oz box of fresh sliced mushrooms (we have used all types of mushrooms)
1 red bell pepper seeded and cut into pieces (we often roast it on grill before seeding and slicing)

PREP:
In a ziplock bag combine the soy sauce, olive oil, and the half the rub.  Mix well, then add the flank steak one slice at a time ensuring each slice is covered (remember to be careful handling the meat).  You may be tempted to add more soy here, as it may not seem like enough......don't, trust me, it will be too salty.  The slicing and tenderization really increases the surface area of the beef and it really absorbs the soy.  Now remove as much air as possible, put in fridge for as long as possible, shoot for at least 4 hours.  Squeeze, squish and turn bag occasionally while marinading. 
About an hour before you want to put on the grill, slice your bacon into small pieces and cook the bacon.  When the bacon is almost done add the mushrooms.  When the mushrooms have cooked down, add the bag of spinach and stir it all around in the bacon and mushrooms while wilting the spinach.  After all has cooked down remove from heat.  Time to light the grill!
For a traditional grill light a full chimney starter, and prep grill for 2 zone cooking.  I typically cook this on my big green egg, and I usually use any leftover lump in the grill assuming it is at least half full.
While the coals are getting ready, remove the flank steak from the marinade and lay out the two slices, aligning and overlapping the sides.  Sprinkle the rest of the rub over the slices.  Place the provolone slices over the beef slices leaving an uncovered edge all of the way around.  Now cover the cheese with the bacon, mushrooms, spinach and red pepper slices.

Lay the two slices side by side slightly overlapping so things stay together when rolling.  Spread out all of the ingredients as evenly as possible.  You can see in this picture we typically lay out the strings underneath the slices, the strings help keep everything rolled up.

Now start at the end closest to you and begin rolling away from you (think rolling up a sleeping bag), taking a large bread or brisket knife keeping it in front of where you are rolling to try and keep everything in.  This may take two people, I have tried it by myself and I needed one more hand to get it all done, so I used my foot! Just kidding just wanted to see if you were still paying attention, I actually ended up waiting until someone else got home to help.  Try and keep as much of the stuffing in while rolling, but if some stuffing falls out its no big deal just stuff it into the ends after you get it rolled.  Use the stings to tie it shut, so to speak. 

Get it rolled up and start tying tight knots with middle string being first, then the two end ones (tie one end then stuff anything that fell out into the other end before tying it), then one or two more strings between the middle and the end, should hold it all together.

COOKING:
It's finally time to cook, and I promise that all of this work will be worth it.  I sear it all over on the hot side first, then move it over to the indirect side.  When using my egg, I get the grill up to 450 degrees or so, and sear it all over then I take it off the grill and put in the plate setter and finish the cook, indirect at about 300 degrees, turning occasionally.  This usually takes around 45 minutes or until my Thermapen (not a sponsor, but they could be, they do make first class thermometers) reads at least 135 degrees all the way through the thickest part. Note: my experience is that the roulades have very little, if any, carryover cooking.  Meaning that they will not continue to cook after taking them off of the grill, so in this case 135 degrees means 135, and not 130 coasting up to 135.  Let rest just a few minutes and it's time to eat. Slice it so that the width of each piece is just under an inch or so, like the "pinwheels" you sometimes see in the butcher's display case.

Sometimes I put a chunk or two of hickory in with the lump and get just a touch of a smoke ring.

 Making this roulade is simpler in practice than my description makes it out to be, so do not be intimidated, you can do it.  It is worth all of the steps I assure you.  Your family and friends will be impressed not only with the taste, which is awesome, but with the presentation.  The look of "pinwheel" slices when plated will make even a novice griller look like pro!  I hope you will consider adding "let's roll one up" to your vernacular, and I don't mean Willy Nelson style!

Bulgogi: Korean BBQ

A couple of years ago my wife, Liz, mentioned to me that we should find a bulgogi (pronounced bull go gee, with hard g's) recipe, and I was like Bull-whatty?  She rolled her eyes, and said "bulgogi, it's Korean".  My stomach instantly dropped as my only real previous experience with Korean food ( I was a picky eater growing up, but that is a story for another day)  involved kimchi, and I was not a fan.  Look my intention here is not to infuriate all of my Korean readers, but rather to relate my opinions and experiences.  When Liz was in grad school she had a Korean friend named Yeoung,  and her dad was a minister and the family was a very traditional Korean family that often got together, at the church or the Korean market,  and made traditional Korean dishes.  Once Liz tagged along on one of the gimbap making party's, and along with the gimbap she brought home kimchee, and a lot of it.  For those that don't know, kimchi is a very traditional Korean dish with many variations, but basically it is fermented cabbage, that smells and taste about like you think it would.  Many westerners propagate stories of Koreans putting cabbage in jars and burying them in the ground in the fall and leaving it there until the spring.  Now I do not believe this is actually how it is made but after smelling and tasting it, initially, you would have had a tough time convincing me otherwise.  She loved it, but me....not so much, in fact I was glad when it finally made an exit from the fridge.  Not sure if it actually went bad, if that is possible, or if she ate it all.   Liz still remembered this "kimchee incident" when she suggested we find a bulgogi recipe, and then very nonchalantly added "it's Korean".   She also knows me well enough to know what I was thinking when I replied, "nah I'm good" and walked out of the kitchen.  "It's Korean barbecue you goofball", and she knows I love it when she calls me a goofball! Wait.... what?  I mean she knows I love it when she utters those three magic words.... Bar-B-Cue! I stopped in my tracks! It all was slowly coming into focus, as my BBQ brain was racing trying to process all that I had just heard.  Could it be? I began to realized this whole interaction was a set up, she knew how I would react, she knew just what to say to get the responses she wanted.  She was toying with me, like a cat will do to a lizard sometimes, rather than going straight in for the kill,  and I loved her for it.

A quick google search told me all I need to know.  It is beef, spices, marinade and involves a grill.  That was all I needed to know, I just had to try it, so I started searching for recipes.  I found a recipe that I could start with which began my bulgogi evolution.   I have tried many different recipes and various cooking techniques, and the recipe I share here with you is the culmination of several years of trail and error, well mostly trail as I never really had a version that was unfit to eat, just some versions that were better than others.

GETTING STARTED:
I always start with a decent cut of meat, as using good meat is good foundation to any recipe.  On this particular day I chose a couple of good looking sirloin steaks which I know isn't always the most tender of cuts, but for this recipe it's fine, tenderization, is a major part of the recipe.  First I covered the steaks with some plastic wrap and pounded them into submission with my meat mallet.  After being taught a lesson the steaks were immediately sent to the freezer for 30 min!  Why? You may ask, especially since the steaks had already been punished, with a mallet, for some unknown transgression.  The steaks need to be cleanly sliced, against the grain, into thin strips.  This is hard to do with room temperature meat, so I like to put the steak into the freezer for about 30 min, which allows it to firm up just enough to slice with ease.  Now the meat is ready for the marinade.  Now here is your chance to "Dean it up", that is a reference to my last blog post, which only my family read apparently, but it basically means that you should feel free to take what I give you, and do your own thing with it.  My recipe is a combination of several different ones that I have found over the years. 

Tip: Put the steaks in the freezer for about 30 minutes to firm them up.  This should make it much easier to cleanly slice into thin strips, which is a must for this recipe.  Always slice against the grain for tenderness.

RECIPE: (serves 4)
1-1.5 lb ribeye or sirloin steak
1/3 cup soy sauce (use less if worried it will be too salty)
1/2 cup of crushed Korean or Asian pear (a Bosc pear will do.  Don't skip this ingredient, as pear is a natural meat tenderizer.
1/4 of a medium yellow onion, halved and sliced into medium moon shaped silvers.
2 tbl of toasted sesame oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tbl white sugar
1 tsp ginger, minced
3 chopped green onions (use all of one except the roots, including the white, for the marinade.  Use the green parts of the others for a garnish before serving)
1 pinch of black pepper
2 tsp roasted sesame seeds

Combine all of the ingredients, except the steak, into a med sized mixing bowl.  After that mix it all up and add the meat, making sure all of the strips are covered.  Now I typically pour all of this mixture into a gallon size zip lock bag and remove as much air as possible.  Squish it around  or give it a squeeze and refrigerate for at least 30 min but the longer the better, I typically shoot for at least 4 hours.

COOKING DIRECTIONS:
I have cooked bulgolgi several different ways.  The first was right on the grill grate over med-high heat coals with the juices dripping down on to the coals getting vaporized adding flavor to the meat as it cooks.  The down side to this is you loose all of the tasty juices that my family likes to add back to the meat and over the rice when it's time to eat.  I know many folks frown on cooking with the marinade that was used to flavor the meat.  I get it, it is likely contaminated.  However, I did this time, but I made sure that the marinade more than boiled the appropriate amount of time while cooking to be safe to eat.  However, if this practice concerns you please please please do not try it at home.  I would suggest making double the marinade and holding half of it in reserve to cook with, or cook the strips using a totally different method than I describe.  

Once you have decided on your cooking method, it is time for the FIRE! I usually fill a chimney starter full Kingsford Charcoal (not a sponsor but, I am open to negotiation for the right price, just have your people call my people to set up a meeting of all of the people), and light it.  When the coals are ready I dump them out on one side of the grill, like any other 2 zone cooking set up, that I'm sure you have done before.  Then I dumped the ziplock bag of bulgogi strips and marinade into a sheet/baking pan as I was ready to cook.  Once the coals are ready and the grill is good and hot, place the pan full of meat slices and marinade on the indirect side to the grill and shut the lid.  I left things alone, except for the occasional "stirring", for about 15 minutes and came back to the grill.  The marinade was boiling like crazy.  I stirred the meat around and then spun the pan around 180 degrees, and let it cook for another 10 min with the lid shut, all the while the liquid is boiling vigorously. 

Place the beef strips and marinade on the "cool" or indirect side of the grill and close the lid

Now the real fun begins!  I used tongs and pulled out the meat and spread it all out on the grate, right over the coals on the hot side of the grill, and it immediately starts to steam, sear and sizzle, and I truly love all of the sights and sounds this generates, I bet you do too! After the initial fun the work begins, start moving the strips around trying to get as much of each strip seared as possible.  You have to keep moving, it is a fine balance between searing for the taste (think maillard reaction and grill marks), and getting the meat over done.  The meat is plenty cooked before you even put it on the hot side of the grill, and this quick searing is for flavor only, rapid moving and flipping of the strips allows for the meat to not get well done.  When you are satisfied with the doneness/browness of the bulgogi, remove from the hot side and place back into the pan.  This helps with moisture as the bulgogi strips have likely dried out some from the high heat.  If you did not use the original marinade in the pan, you probably now want to use your reserve marinade in the pan (new/clean pan), and place the bulgolgi into the liquid of the pan, still on the indirect side, and let simmer just another minute or two.  Remove pan from grill.  It is easy to see why this method works so well, it is the best of both worlds really.  The meat basically "braises" in the pan which makes it tender and moist.  Then with the searing you get the vaporization of the juices, and the browning of the maillard reaction, combining to producing oh so tasty goodness.  

The real fun is all of the sights, sounds and smells of the beef when placing on the "hot" or direct side of the grill, right over the hot coals. I love all of the steaming, searing and sizzling that goes on.

Now it's time to eat.  We like to eat ours over rice, using the cooked juices poured over the bulgogi and rice, then garnished with the reserve green onion.  Although this is all I need, my wife insists on vegetables to accompany the bulgogi and rice.  We typically use some form of steamed or sauteed vegetable or vegetable medley of whatever moves us on that particular day.  We have a nice balanced sweet and smokey Asian rub that we lightly sprinkle on the vegetables.  I will leave the sides and such up to you, I basically wanted to share with you my experiences cooking Korean BBQ, and let you decide your path for this wonderful dish.

Side Note:  In the years since I was first introduced to bulgogi, my palate and my belly have expanded, and have discovered that Korean food is generally wonderful, with many flavors that I love, and use often at home in the kitchen.  However, I still have not developed a taste for kimchee.  I'm still trying, I'm hoping it will grow on me, like the taste of beer did as a teenager, I mean in my early 20's! See y'all next time.