Guest Post! Cedar-Planked Southwestern Steak

Hi all! I am very excited about this guest post. My big sister, Jen, is known as the Betty Crocker of our family. She is always cooking up something I only dream about making, and this post is a perfect example!  Jen lives in our home state of Michigan and it's too bad because otherwise I'd be at her house ALL THE TIME for dinner! Before I let her take it away, I had to share this one picture I found from when she hosted Thanksgiving a few years ago...

Duke got plenty of turkey that night! And with that...here's Jen!

Hey, hey Khaos fans! How about a shout out from the ‘D’? I’ll be your guest blogger for the day and I present, a fire in your grill! Not only will you walk away smelling like a cedar sauna, but you’ll have a great steak to go with your aroma.

Suggestions ahead of time – you want a spray bottle filled with water and a great pair of sunglasses to protect your eyes from the smoke! You will need to buy your cedar plank ahead of time and soak it overnight in water. Also, you can pick up smaller planks if you want to grill some veggies alongside (we chose an onion). Kudos to “Healthy Living” on www.kraftfoods.com for today’s meal!

Cedar-Planked Southwestern Steak

Makes: 4 servings (1 1/2lb skirt steak)

Cook time according to Kraft Foods: About 1 hour and 45 minutes (not counting the overnight soaking of the plank(s))

Cook time according to Jen: Usually 1 hour and 45 minutes. Tonight, we ran out of propane!

How difficult was this for Rachel: She wouldn’t let me try it in California.

How difficult was this for Jen: Never had a problem… I love playing firefighter while cooking!

Ingredients:
1 untreated cedar plank (14x7x1 in.) (*buy extras for veggies if you want to try that too)
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 ½ tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder 
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tbsp oil
3/4 cup Kraft Bulls-Eye BBQ Sauce
1 boneless beef sirloin steak (1 1/2lb) Note, we use skirt flank steak for better cut of meat, same size
                                                                                                                       

Prior to grilling

Overnight or at least for 4 hours, immerse plank(s) in water.

At least 1 hour prior to grilling…

Mix brown sugar and all seasonings in a small bowl. Rub the mixture onto both sides of the steak. Then cover tightly and refrigerate at least 1 hour (no more than 2 hours).

Directions:

1. Preheat grill to high heat and place water bottle nearby. Sunglasses should already be on your head.

2. Grill steak for 2 minutes on each side

3. Remove the meat from the grill

4. Remove plank from water and brush the top lightly with oil (this will be your cooking surface) and top with steak.

5. Place on the grill and cover with lid. Reduce the grill to medium heat.

6. Stay nearby. You should notice smoke coming from the grill. Every now and then grab your spray bottle and put out those fires. Aim to cut them off low down on the flame – hitting the wood directly should put them out fast!

7. Grill for 15 minutes or until medium doneness (160 degrees) and brush with ¼ c. of BBQ sauce for last 5 minutes of grilling time.

8. Continue to put out small fires. Have fun and yell, “FIRE IN THE HOLE!!”

9. Remove the steak from the grill and carefully discard plank. We soak ours on our driveway… makes a tasty treat for the nearby ants (hundreds) and safe place to leave a burned piece of wood!

10. Cover steak loosely with foil, let stand 5 minutes before cutting into thin strips. Serve with BBQ sauce.

Enjoy!!!