With Covid cases blowing up once again in the Wisconsin area, we decided to stay in and enjoy an afternoon in our backyard and grill some steak. Apologizes ahead of time to any vegans or vegetarians reading this...I definitely don't mean any disrespect.
The plan was simple for me; grill up these delicious T-bone steaks on my Weber grill, have a few beers, and enjoy the beautiful October weather with my family. First up, the steaks; we use a local CSA called Mastodon Valley Farms. I heard about this farm through the HigherSideChats about a year and half ago, and we've been using them ever since. Their belief is that animals should be raised humanely and be treated to a natural, grazing, healthy diet. They employ an Oak Savanna ecosystem for their land and animals...it's actually a quite fascinating story. Check them out if you are interested.
Next up, I got the lump charcoal going in the chimney:
And then of course grabbed a Toppling Goliath IPA in my favorite 'sconnie pint glass:
Even our rescue dog, Miss Mabel, fresh off of a grooming adventure of her own earlier in the day was enjoying the adventure thus far:
I then arranged the grill to set up a two heat system; my plan with these steaks is always to reverse sear the food:
Then on went the steaks to the cold side:
At this point I believe I was on to IPA number two. We probably drink too quickly up here in the cheese state. I let the meat go for about 10 minutes on the cold side, until it reaches an internal temperature of about 110 F, so with the downtime we decided to bring out a ceramic jack-o-lantern we'd bought the weekend before for our daughter and place it on our back steps:
I placed an emergency candle in the lantern to be lit for later in the pumpkin. I then moved the steaks to the hot side and let them sear for two minutes on each side:
I then grabbed another IPA, let the meat go for a bit longer, and then pulled them off to rest. Not bad, if I say so myself:
We then added some roasted Brussel sprouts, fresh from our garden, and some baked squash in maple syrup:
Not a bad dinner at all! A perfect October feast. Mabel enjoyed a few pieces of the steak too; our daughter, not so much. Once dishes were done, my daughter and started a new Halloween tradition. We go outside, light the emergency candle, and then place it in the pumpkin. It's been a nice dad/daughter tradition the past three evenings...and I'm hoping to keep it going through Halloween.
And a perfect Saturday afternoon complete! I was hoping to get a more exciting #engagetheweekend post together for my first entry, but I'll save that for next weekend if the weather cooperates. Thanks for reading, apologizes again for the red meat photos and beer references if you found them offensive, and I do hope everyone is safe and sound out in the world!