This past Sunday was one of the few glorious days we have had this year, and for 2011 glorious means that there was no rain. It was a perfect fall day for raking leaves and stokin' up some charcoal. Dinner was going to be baby back ribs so the outdoor test kitchen was in full swing early.
While the Brinkman offset was heating up I figured a little lunch on the Weber would be a great idea. Once again it was time to grill a big rib eye on a cedar plank. This time it was going to be a very thick 'slice' weighing in at a respectable 33 ounces!
To start I soaked a 15" X 5" X 1/2" plank in water for three hours. No specific reason for that time limit other than I remembered to put the plank in the water three hours before I was going to start the charcoal.
Before I started the charcoal the rib eye came out of the fridge and was lightly coated with Tango Spice Midnight Espresso. The last time I tried this combination the aroma and taste of the cedar worked like magic with the brown sugar, espresso ancho chile & coriander of the Midnight rub.
The charcoal of choice was Kingsford in the blue bag, one chimney worth. Got that fired up and poured it into a charcoal holder in the center of the Weber 22/5, placed the grates back on, and closed the lid. Once the temperature reached 520 degrees I placed the plank on the grill to heat up. It took just a minute on each side to heat up and scorch the plank. Once that was done moved it to the side and got ready to sear the rib eye. One minute thirty seconds per side to get nice grill marks and onto the plank it went.
This being such a large cut of beef it was going to take a little longer than a 'normal' rib eye. A temperature probe was inserted and the grilling commenced. The temperature in the weber, with the lid closed and vents opened hovered just around 500 degrees. At this temp you could smell the beef & cedar aroma and hear the plank cracklin'.
Once the rib eye was on the plank, it took 28 minutes to reach an internal temp of 130 degrees.
After a couple of minutes rest it was time to slice into this lunch time treat. As the knife slid through the meat you could really smell the Midnight rub & the cedar! The taste was amazing, everything a rib eye is supposed to be.
The grilling planks are still new to me and I have been having fun with them for sureI can see trying many different food stuffs on them, really stretch their capabilities. I also highly recommend Natures Choice Grilling Planks, so head on over and see Larry today!
As Always, Thank You For Reading!
