Vampires Beware - It's Herb and Garlic Steak Time

It's a beautiful weekend and my BBQ has been working hard lately. I've been barbecuing veggies, meat, potatoes, and pretty much everything else imaginable.

(Not peaches for dessert yet, but there's still plenty of summer left so just wait!)

I think that I am a decent barbecuer, but sometimes I am not sure about steaks.

I get a little nervous about cooking them because I don't want to overcook or undercook them and I'm not good enough to judge by the feel just yet.

Also, I hate checking to see that they're done and having to put them back on the grill if I'm wrong, because watching the juices run over my BBQ instead of in my stomach is a horrible feeling.

So when I was watching a tv show on grilling steaks, I stayed glued to the tv to take in every single bit of information I could. And I think I think I aced the test of barbecuing that followed right after.

First I'll start at the beginning of the steak preparation process, marinating the steak, and then in my recipe you'll find my new method on how to figure out how long to cook a steak.

I had never known when to use dry rubs or wet marinades and now that I do, I can share the knowledge with you. Wet marinades will flavour a steak, but they will also help the meat to tenderize. Dry rubs are for more tender steaks, like beef tenderloin, and give a whole lot of flavour.

Since I usually don't buy the pricy cuts, I'm going to use a wet marinade in my recipe today.

Herb and Garlic Steaks

1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons each of mint, oregano, and dill, finely chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon paprika
pinch of salt and pepper
3 strip loin steaks

1. Prepare your marinade but mixing everything except the steaks together in a medium sized baking dish.

2. Place your steaks in the baking dish and flip them around to get all the sides covered.

3. Cover your baking dish and let your steaks marinate for about 3 hours.

4. Now get your grill hot and clean and then listen for the sizzle when you place your steaks on the grill.

The secret to a good steak is to only flip it once on your hot grill. And since you used a yummy marinade, you won't even need BBQ sauce tonight. :)

5. Now get your grill on! For a medium rare steak, cook it about one minute for each quarter inch thickness on each side. For a medium steak, cook an extra minute on the first side.

For example, I like my steaks medium rare and my steaks were three quarter inches thick, so I cooked mine for 3 minutes on each side.

6. Let your meat rest for a few minutes, then plate up and enjoy!