I hate summertime. There, I said it. It's too damn hot here in Louisiana, but somehow we manage to survive each year. Brandon and I rarely eat red meat at home, but I've been seeing so many great grilling pictures on Pinterest and Instagram that I finally caved. Well, to be honest ... the sale at Albertson's didn't hurt either. We got 3 packs of grilling steaks for the price of one; buy one, get TWO free! Yay!
When I got home I realized that I'm not as comfortable with red meat as I am with fish as far as my preferred method of cooking goes ... which is make-it-up-as-you-go, freestyle cooking. When I opened the package of meat I saw some grey areas [ew!] so I checked the wonderful internet and double checked by calling my mom, who is herself, a wonderful cook. She assured me that it's the smell you have to worry about, really. The grey is a chemical reaction that happens when the meat becomes oxidized. So, as long as you mind your sell by dates and watch for the stank.
I love Mexican food, so I decided to have a summery steak night with Mexican flavors. What comes to mind for me when I think of summer and grilling is cilantro, peppers, garlic ... all the garden goodness that is light on the tummy and fresh tasting to help beat the heat. [with a margarita or two, as well!]
For my delicious lime & garlic marinade I used extra virgin olive oil; white wine vinegar; the juice of 2 limes; plus two limes, quartered; a little bit of zest; a few large cloves of garlic, halved; cilantro; fresh cracked pepper; cumin & kosher salt. You should know by now that I'm not great at measuring, so use your own judgement. You'll need about equal parts of lime juice, oil and vinegar, if that helps.
If you don't have any WWV, you can use a vinaigrette dressing. It will be a little more rich, but you definitely need it rather than going without. Apply the spices directly to the meat, mix the liquid ingredients [including the oil, vinegar, juice & zest] in a separate bowl, whisk them together until blended. In a plastic freezer bag or Tupperware, place the seasoned steaks along with the halved garlic cloves and quartered limes. Pour the marinade over the steaks and make sure they're totally covered. Now wait! I only marinated this for about 4 hours, but you could probably marinate it over night as long as it's properly sealed.
My favorite part of the meal was grilling the halved garlic cloves and limes right along with the steak. I added some red onions as well and they made a great addition to the meal. I love grilled veggies! [I especially love blackened garlic.] We had our lime & garlic marinated steak with a large salad, chips & salsa ... and a Corona Extra. Delish!
