Temperatures are rising, the outside beckons and our appetites are ramping up for meals cooked at the grill. According to Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association, July 4 is the most popular day to grill (seventy-three percent), followed by Memorial Day (60 percent), Father’s Day (45 percent), Mother’s Day (34 percent), and Thanksgiving (14 percent).
Clearly, many of us like to grill. Few folks, however, can declare the name of steak master. Brandon Mayor, 32, of Mt. Pleasant, a worker at the Hempfield LongHorn Steakhouse for seven years, has become named one of the United States’ top steak masters after triumphing over the local opposition in the Steak Master Series.
The Mayor is considered one of 60 group individuals from across the United States to reap this distinction out of the more than 5,000 invited to participate in the competition. After continuing to achieve excessive honors, he will be one of seven national finalists who will journey to LongHorn Steakhouse headquarters in Orlando to compete on May 16 for the identity of Steak Master Series Champion.
Mayor attributes his cooking hobby to his stepfather, Dave McConnell. After a stint as a dishwasher, he eventually moved directly to grilling in 2006. “It grew on me. I take delight in my paintings. Compliments mirror on me as someone,” he says. So, how do the amateurs among us grill so our plates elicit grins, not groans?
Mayor offers those simple grilling pointers to make every meal a super one:
Could you keep it clean and oiled?
“I could clean and oil whenever you use the grill,” Magyar says.
“Scrape the grill and, as it heats, oil it. You can use popular canola oil. That’s what we use,” Mayor says.
Season with a heavy hand
“Get a coating of seasoning on it,” the Mayor advises.
Demonstrating his approach, he points out that not all seasonings stick and some will fall through a grill’s grates. Nothing too exotic, he indicates. “Salt and pepper. Or you could make your own (combo of) cracked black pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder. That’s preferred; that’s what we use,” he adds.
Heat
“My goal temperature (for the grill) is 450 degrees; that’s about best whether well done or rare,” Mayor says.
He cautions that if one’s grill grates are on a mild incline, the temperature might be better in the lower back.
Could you give it a flip or two?
“Remember to turn a steak every three or four minutes, regardless of the temperature, so it cooks flippantly,” he says.
Internal temperatures
Checking a steak’s degree of “doneness” by cutting into it could bring about drying if it’s again to the grill, Mayor says. When he’s cooking, a purchaser’s rare steak is 95-105 levels, medium rare is 115-125, medium is 130-140, medium well is 150-160, and properly finished is 165-175. Grab the tongs and meat thermometer; you’re favored to reduce steak and tackle that grill with self-assurance.
