Grill the chill away

We're halfway through January, and most of us in the midwest are starting to experience the stifling crush of winter cabin fever. One way to shrug off winter's doldrums is to throw something associated with summer onto the grill. In my case, that something is a robust thirty pounds of expertly trimmed, center cut pork steaks.

I went to the local farmer's market (I always try to support locally owned mom and pop type businesses whenever possible), and asked the butcher to trim most of the fat off of approximately thirty of his best center cut pork steaks. The center cut is the leanest and meatiest cut of pork steak, and properly cooked can yield a delicious, tender and affordable break from winter's endless series of soups and stews. James the butcher was happy and enthusiastic about the challenge I had laid in front of him, and several hours after my call to request the porcine treats he had them ready. In his enthusiasm though, James cut an extra five steaks to bring the total to thirty five. In the case of mid-winter barbequed pork steaks you really can't have too much of a good thing.

Delighted with my bounty, I rushed home and placed the steaks in various baking pans and dishes until all thirty five slabs were contained. I drenched the meat with a cheap yet flavorful raspberry vinagrette salad dressing to marinate overnight. The blend of spices and vinegar in the salad dressing tenderizes the meat and leaves a delicately sweet and tangy flavor. Obviously, finding room in the fridge for four large containers of meat is a challenge, but where there's a woman, there's a way, and my wife is a master at making room in the fridge.

Saturday is game day, and along with AFC and NFC playoff games, it is also time to sharpen my grilling utensils and scrape the crud off of the dormant grilling surface. Once the grill is nice and hot, I place as many of the thoroughly marinated steaks on the grill as will fit (about a third of the total). I grill the steaks about 8-10 minutes on each side until the meat is mostly cooked and the thin rim of fat is crisped. After all thirty five steaks have been similarly cooked, I place them into a huge roasting pan and douse them with barbeque sauce. Doctoring the barbeque sauce according to your taste is as personal and unique as the way you brush your teeth, and everyone who grills has their own favorite additives for their sauce. For me, it's a couple tablespoons of Sriracha sauce (I love the stuff), three or four ounces of what's this here sauce (also called worstershire), a few dashes of low sodium soy sauce and a teaspoon each of black pepper and garlic powder. Keep in mind that those amounts are added to a gallon of Sweet Baby Ray's barbeque sauce to cover those thirty five tasty pork steaks.

Finally, I bake the sauce-laden pork steaks in the covered roasting pan at 325 degrees for two and a half to three hours. When the steaks are completely done and ready to serve, I usually pour off the excess grease and barbeque sauce into a bowl so that the steaks aren't swimming. For those who love their sauce, they can ladle the excess back onto their individual steak. Upon serving, you will find the steaks to be extremely tender and a wonderful respite from winter's chill. Throw in some brown rice and a crisply chilled salad, and you've got another beautiful example of if you can imagine it, somebody can cook it.