Servin' Up Savory Steaks

Dear Suzy,

Today for dinner I took a rack of ribs, rubbed it with oil and rib rub, wrapped it in foil, then let it sit in the fridge. 2.5 hours before I wanted to serve dinner, I took it out, opened the foil, poured some coke on it, and cooked it in the oven for 2 hours at 325. It was one of the easiest and most delicious entree recipes I've ever made. I enjoy making recipes that are stupidly easy, and while that back story doesn't have much to do with my question, I am just humbly patting myself on the back for how awesome I am. Do you have any other suggestions for a quick, easy, foolproof way to cook various cuts of meat?

Hungry,

Kashmir in the Kitchen

Dear Kashmir,

I'm glad to post your question, self-promotion and all, because you've provided a great recipe for my readers to try! I'll add a few more simple ways to cook meat that I've found helpful as a lazy creature who loves food. There are multiple styles of cooking represented, so if you're not interested in reading the recipe, just move on until you reach black text again.

Stuffed Chicken:

- Chicken breasts (one per person, or according to personal serving size preferences)
- Pepperonis or other italian meat such as sausage or pastrami (bologna not recommended)
- Mozzerella, swiss, gouda, or even provalone cheese (a few thin slices per serving)
- 1 egg, whisked or shaken
- 1/2-1/3 cup grated Parmesian
- 1/4 cup of flour
- 3-4 dashes pepper
- 4-5 dashes italian seasonings (its worth it to buy them pre-mixed, but typically basil, rosemary, garlic powder, parsley)
- 2 dashes salt
- 4-5 tbsp olive oil
- Optional: sauce (basil pesto, marinara, even alfredo!)

• If breasts are thick, simply slice it halfway down most of the way through and lay open- if they are pretty thin, (less than 1 inch) place on a cutting board and smack all over with something flat, such as a tenderizing hammer, measuring cup, rolling pin, or forehead until chicken is thin and flat enough to fold in half easily without tearing.
• Place cheese and meat in the middle of the chicken breast towards one side, leaving a small outer edge uncovered.
• Fold the chicken over the stuffing, leaving as few gaps as possible between the layers of chicken (this is not an exact science, nothing will die if you have a leaky chicken breast, I promise!)
• In a wide bowl or on a plate, combine parmesan, flour, pepper, salt, and herbs.
• Put olive oil into a skillet and begin heating on low to medium heat.
• Carefully dip chicken breasts into egg, (this is called dredging) and then coat in flour mixture.
• Test the heat of your oil by dripping just one small drop of water into the oil. If it does nothing, it is not hot enough- if it pops really loud and splatters over a foot high, take it off the heat for about 2 minutes, then move it back on and it should be perfect, crackling and moderately splattering when contacted with a tiny drop of water. 
• At this point, place the chicken carefully into the oil in the pan, CAREFUL NOT TO TOUCH THE OIL!
• When the bottom layer of your stuffed chicken has turned completely white, use tongs or two forks to flip the chicken. The chicken should be completely cooked, white and brown. If you aren't experienced, cut the thickest part of the chicken and make sure there is no pink left in the meat.
• Place the chicken onto a paper towel while you lightly dress the plate with your sauce, then serve!

***This dish is not only italian; you can use the same techniques with a few changes to make a whole new dish! for instance, if you use chorizo rather than italian sausage, cheddar or monterey for the cheese, taco seasoning in place of the italian seasonings, and dress it with salsa or ranchero sauce, it will be delicious, latin, and noone will know its the same dish!

My favorite simple way of cooking MOST types of meat is stir-fry or skillet saute. You can use strip-steak, chicken, pork, shrimp, crawfish, scallops, even more daring seafood such as squid and octopus! In the interest of giving you as much information as I can without making this post torturously long, I am going to give you a few lists of ingredients that go well together with meats in a stir-fry style. You don't necessarily need a wok to do this style of cooking! A (preferably non-stick), greased skillet that adequately fits the quantity of meat you are cooking is perfectly fine to do the job.

I will color code the ingredients so that if you use at least one of each color you will get the desired flavor, but ideally you will experiment and mix and match the ingredients to make new and different flavors! Those ingredients in BLUE are purely optional, just for added awesomeness.

Sweet and Spicy:

Soy Sauce

Teryaki Sauce

Grape juice 

Orange juice 

Pineapple juice

Frozen juice concentrate (only a tablespoon or so)

Garlic Powder

Minced Garlic

Onion Powder

Chili Powder

Chili Pepper Flakes

Sriracha Sauce

Chili Paste (found in a lot of Korean dishes)

Fresh Jalapenos

Pickled Jalapenos

Sweet Pickled Peppers

Fresh Bell Peppers

Fresh Pineapple pieces

mandarin oranges

Hot and Sour:

Vinagarette Salad Dressing (Italian works well, too)

Vinegar (Apple Cider or Red Wine are best)

Lemon Juice

Lime Juice

Lemon Pepper

Sriracha Sauce

Chili Powder

Chili Paste

Cayenne
Spicy Mustard
Jalapeno or habanero Salt

Fresh Jalapenos

Fresh Hot Peppers (poblano, habanero, chilis, etc)

Pickled Jalapenos (preferably not sweet, but if that's what you like, go for it!)

Green and Red Bell Peppers

Fresh Pineapple

Garlic powder

Minced Garlic

Soy Sauce

Now what I love about this style of cooking is you can marinate the meat in these ingredients and cook it as-is, you can marinate it and then further flavor it by adding the same ingredients fresh to the pan, or if you're in a real hurry you can just toss it all into a hot skillet and cook it together with no forethought required. 

My favorite trick with this type of cooking is the use of Vinegarette Salad Dressings. Something about the combination of vinegar and oil reacts with the heat to not only create an exciting punch of flavor, but also makes little crisplettes in the pan of what appears to be burned bits, but it's actually just power-packed, exciting bites of flavor that you can serve and eat intermingled with the meats and veggies.

The flavors listed above work together in general, not only for stir-fry. You can combine the dry ingredients and make a rub for grilling, any of the ingredients as a marinade for searing or baking, and you can use more of the liquid ingredients, seasoned with the other ingredients, in a saucepan, reduce and let it steep a little while, and serve it on top or on the side of your less seasoned entrees. In THIS context, these flavors could even be used in preparing Tuna Steaks (one of my personal favorites.)

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