Yes, Chef’s love to grill at home too.
In fact, Cattleman’s own Executive Chef, Michael Keys, admits that on average, he grills at home, as often as 4 times a week!
Even through the winter! (Albeit while standing in a comfortable sheltered area just barely outside his kitchen’s door wall).
As Memorial Day is right around the corner, we sat down with “Chef”, just to talk grilling.
Here’s what he had to say.
So, Chef, just what kind of grill do you have at home?
“I have built-in AOG 36” (American Outdoor Grill Co.) stainless steel with regular grates and flame tamers. It’ll go up to 650 F… It’s a 3 burner, with clickers and a back rotisserie…I just rebuilt it. I also have a pizza oven a grill wok and a paella pan that I like to use”.
And what are your go to meats that you most often grill?
“Well, when people ask me what cut of beef I like steak I like, I tell them that I still go for a Ribeye. That’s my steak, and, I like it cut about an inch and a half to 2 inches thick. I recommend it because I think it’s the most economical cut for the flavor and the quality that you get.”
Is there any personal “secret” to how you prepare it?
“I like to Sous Vide it”, (* Editor’s Note …Sous Vide means vacuum seal it, then poaching the vacuum sealed steak in a hot water bath. In the Chef’s case for his Ribeye Steak, that happens to be 125 F for 90 minutes).
Anova Sous Vide is available on Amazon CLICK HERE.
I’m kind of a purist. I season the steak with a little olive oil, kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper before sealing in bag, that way, the pressure of the Vac Chamber draws the flavor right into the steak itself.
After the 90 minutes of Sous Vide, I remove it from the pouch and just char-grilling on a HOT grill, about 500 F.
I do filets and other cuts of beef the same way.”
“I sous vide a lot, including chicken breasts, pork and even salmon.”
Of course, one of the most popular meats to grill throughout the summer are pork ribs. What is your go-to rib?
“That’s a double edge sword there, I really prefer a Baby Back but I also like a St. Louis cut. I use two different techniques depending on which rib I am using. If I do a Baby Back, I like to smoke them first in a wood chip smoker that I have. If it’s a St. Louis rib, because they are a bit thinner and flatter, I don’t smoke them but I just char-grill them. I don’t do a rub, just some olive oil, salt and pepper and slow grill them, then start basting them with my house barbecue sauce towards the end and let the sauce to the talking.”
And chicken? You said that you also Sous Vide chicken breasts. How do you finish those on the grill?
“Usually with chicken breasts, I’m gonna go with white wine, lemon, salt pepper and a little splash of olive oil in there”. For chicken thighs, I love using the bone-in, skin on and marinate them for at least a day in either Wishbone Italian or Catalina dressing. Then, on the grill, what I do is start off skin side down on a good hot grill, when they are nice and crispy on the skin side I turn them over and slowly start bringing them closer and closer together on the grill as they cook. Then, when they are about three quarters of the way done, I start dunking them in my barbecue sauce, putting them back on a nice low grill and start piling them close together to both grill and sort of steam them.”
What about kabobs?
“Yeah, I like kabobs. For those, I use different cuts of sirloin”
Anything you like to do with fish or shellfish?
“Actually, we’ve got something coming up, we got a great buy on some U-15 shrimp and some sea scallops and we’re going to grill the shrimp after soaking them for an hour or so with a spicy aioli and then grill them. And I’m careful NOT to over-cook them, actually, I don’t mind cooking them to a doneness of medium and then place them on a hot plate let them slowly finish. They’ll be just fine that way.”
“For the scallops, I like to sometimes cook them on a large sea salt block. We’ve been using it quite a lot lately, it’s kinda fun. They’re messy, but they’re fun. Actually, I kept that sea salt block on my grill all through the winter and cooked some turkey burgers on it!”
“I personally don’t grill a lot of fish but occasionally, I’ll grill a salmon fillet for my wife though. I’m a meat and a potato kind guy.
Do you ever grill with cedar planks?
“Yeah!, I have planks at the house and I use those for milder, flakier fish like whitefish or pickerel. I soak the planks overnight so they won’t burn. They give the fish a nice smoky finish.”
Any other grilling thoughts?
“ I also like to mess around with Jamaican Jerk seasonings which are also great with chicken thighs, and of course, grilling vegetables and even grilling bread to go with one of my favorite summer dips which is a smoked whitefish dip, made with whitefish that I smoke myself.”
As you can see, Chef Keys has a passion for grilling and knows first-hand that one of the best decisions you can make, before firing up your grill this season, is to make Cattleman’s your grilling ingredients destination.
From every cut of beef, pork, chicken, and lamb imaginable, to sausages, burgers, dogs and all your produce, grocery and seasonings, it’s a thrilling, grilling wonderland.
