By Chef David “Smitty” Smith ·
Before I say anything, I have to ask you a question. Have you ever had a déjà vu? I’m guessing, yes.
I think most of us have had at least one or two episodes of déjà vu in our lifetime. I personally have had hundreds of them it seems like. So, now I have to ask one more question. Do you believe in reincarnation? Don’t worry, this won’t be one of those really deep thoughts about what came first: the chicken or the egg-type articles. Although I guess that would kind of be appropriate seeing how it would be easy to incorporate chickens or eggs into an article about food.
No, what I’m getting at is a kind of easy way to explain déjà vu. I have to throw in the disclaimer that what is said is not really 100 percent of the author’s thoughts.
If you answered yes to both questions then maybe you can think of them as maybe being slightly related. I think déjà vu is a way we are connecting our past lives to this one. OK, so here is my reasoning behind that thought. As you know, lately I’ve been talking a lot about super foods and how great they are for you. Well, the other day, I got that déjà vu feeling that I’ve done that before. Talk about super foods I mean. Then it totally came to me as when that happened.
It was one of my first lives. There I was, sitting around our newly discovered fire with my cave man buddies Groot and Uhgg. We were just finishing up our second helping of brontosaurus steaks, which I have to mention was only the third time we had ever had cooked meat because fire had just been invented by some cave-guy down the block. Uhgg (I can’t be sure which one of them said it because, after all, it was quite a few years ago and my memory isn’t the same anymore) mentioned how great he felt. We sat there on our rock recliners and thought about it. We all felt the same and at this point, I know it was me that said, in a series of grunts: “Yah, I think we have just discovered a super food.”
What’s the point, you ask? Well, just because all of a sudden people are throwing the term super foods on all these vegetables, that doesn’t mean you need to forget about meat, especially now during the height of grilling season.
For me, when I really feel weak, I know there is no way any amount of vegetables will give me my strength and energy back like a big piece of red meat cooked rare to medium rare, just like the good old cave days. Oh, how I sometimes long for those simpler days. Well, I guess it is a lot simpler to just go down to the local butcher and buy a steak than to hunt down a brontosaurus with a bunch of sticks and rocks while avoiding getting eaten by a Tyrannosaurus Rex, but that’s a story for another time.
For now though, here is a simple marinade for your steak. It will add flavor and help tenderize the meat. You only need to marinade your steak for 2 to 6 hours with this one, but if you are going to marinade overnight, double the oil and cut the vinegar and pineapple juice by half. Enjoy.
Marinade for steak
¼ C oil
6 T cider vinegar
6 T pineapple juice
¼ C brown sugar
¼ C soy sauce
1 T Dijon
1 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled & sliced thin
4 minced garlic cloves
2 T thyme
1½ T red pepper flakes or 1 T chili paste
Season the meat with salt and black pepper. Combine all ingredients well and place in a plastic bag with the meat. Try to get as much air out as possible. Place in the refrigerator and turn once in a while, marinating for 2 to 6 hours. (To marinade overnight, double the oil and cut the vinegar and pineapple juice by half.)
Bring the meat to room temperature before cooking.
Alternately, you may reduce the marinade by half and use it to baste the meat while grilling.
Smitty is a personal chef specializing in dinner parties, cooking classes and special events. Trained under Master Chef Anton Flory at Top Notch Resort in Stowe, Vt., Smitty is known for his creative use of fresh ingredients. He has been a chef for PGA’s Memorial Tournament for more than 15 years and ran the main kitchen at the World Games. For more information and archived copies of Stir it Up, visit chefsmitty.com. Smitty welcomes questions and comments at smitty@chefsmitty.com, tmmsmitty@gmail.com or (530) 412-3598.
