Grilled Beef Satay

By Thom7747

By Cook’s Illustrated
Published September 2011

Why This Recipe Works: In the hands of American cooks, satay often comes out thick and chewy or overly marinated and mealy. To return this dish to its streetwise roots, we sliced beefy-flavored flank steak thinly across the grain and threaded it onto bamboo skewers. To add flavor, we used an aromatic basting sauce consisting of authentic Thai ingredients, rather than the over tenderizing marinade used in many recipes. And to ensure that the quick-cooking beef achieved a burnished exterior, we corralled the coals in an aluminum pan in the center of the grill to bring them closer to the meat.

Ingredients

• Grilled Beef Satay Ingredients:
• . Basting Sauce Ingredients:
• 3/4 cup light or regular coconut milk
• 3 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 shallots, minced
• 2 stalks lemon grass, trimmed to bottom 6 inches and minced
• 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 3/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• . Beef Ingredients:
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 (1 1/2- to 1 3/4-pound) flank steak, halved lengthwise, then sliced on slight angle against grain into 1/4- inch thick slices
• disposable aluminum roasting pan
• . Cucumber Relish Ingredients:
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped coarse
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• Peanut Sauce Ingredients:
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste
• 1 tablespoon packed dark brown sugar
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup regular or light coconut milk
• 1/3 cup chunky peanut butter
• 1/4 cup roasted unsalted peanuts, chopped
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce

Details

Servings 4
Adapted from americastestkitchen.com

Preparation

Step 1

Cucumber Relish

Why This Cucumber Relish Recipe Works
Cucumber relish is a traditional garnish for beef satay recipes. Starting the recipe by dissolving the sugar in vinegar sweetened the base but rid it of any grittiness. Red pepper flakes lent it a little heat, while mint added freshness.

Peanut Sauce

Why This Peanut Sauce Recipe Works: Using chunky peanut butter as a base, we spiced things up with Thai red curry paste and garlic. Coconut milk contributed body, and chopped roasted peanuts offered additional texture. A final hit of lime juice, coupled with soy and fish sauce, lent brightness.

Instructions for Grilled Beef Satay

NOTE FROM THE TEST KITCHEN: See below for tips on prepping lemon grass. Bamboo skewers soaked in water for 30 minutes can be substituted for metal skewers. The aluminum pan used for charcoal grilling should be at least 2 3/4 inches deep; you will not need the pan for a gas grill. Note: Unless you have a very high-powered gas grill, these skewers will not be as well seared as they would be with charcoal.

FOR THE BASTING SAUCE: Whisk all ingredients together in bowl. Reserve one-third of sauce in separate bowl. (Use reserved sauce to apply to raw beef.)

FOR THE BEEF: Whisk oil, sugar, and fish sauce together in medium bowl. Toss beef with marinade and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Weave beef onto 12-inch metal skewers, 2 pieces per skewer, leaving 1 1/2 inches at top and bottom of skewer exposed. You should have 10 to 12 skewers.

FOR A CHARCOAL GRILL: Poke twelve 1/2-inch holes in bottom of roasting pan. Open bottom vent completely and place roasting pan in center of grill. Light large chimney starter mounded with charcoal briquettes (7 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour into roasting pan. Set cooking grate over coals with grates parallel to long side of roasting pan, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.

FOR A GAS GRILL: Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until very hot, about 15 minutes. Leave all burners on high.

Clean and oil cooking grate. Place beef skewers on grill (directly over coals if using charcoal) perpendicular to grate. Brush meat with one-third basting sauce (portion reserved for raw meat) and cook (covered if using gas) until browned, about 3 minutes. Flip skewers, brush with half of remaining basting sauce, and cook until browned on second side, about 3 minutes. Brush meat with remaining basting sauce and cook 1 minute longer. Transfer to large platter and serve with peanut sauce.

TECHNIQUES

1. How to Prep Lemon Grass: The tender heart of the lemon grass stalk is used to flavor many Southeast Asian dishes, including our Grilled Beef Satay. While lemon grass is often steeped in soups and stews and removed before serving, it can also be minced and left in the dish. When buying lemon grass, look for green (not brown) stalks that are firm and fragrant.

A. Trim dry leafy top (this part is usually green) and tough bottom of each stalk.

B. Peel and discard dry outer layer until moist, tender inner stalk is exposed.

C. Smash peeled stalk with bottom of heavy saucepan to release maximum flavor from fibrous stalk.

D. Cut smashed stalk into long, thin strips; cut crosswise to mince.

2. Grill Setup for Satay: East Meets West: THAI WAY - The trough-shaped grills used by Thai street-food vendors concentrate the firepower but require flipping the skewered meat constantly so it doesn't burn.

OUR WAY We corralled the coals in an aluminum pan in the center of the grill to bring them closer to the meat, but not so close that we needed to flip it more than once.

3. Rooting Out Mealiness
We find that acidic ingredients and certain juices, like papaya and pineapple, often added to marinades to tenderize meat, actually turn the exterior mushy. We avoided these in our marinades—but the meat still turned mealy. Could fresh ginger be the culprit?

EXPERIMENT: We soaked beef in three different marinades for 30 minutes and then grilled each sample. The first marinade contained 2 tablespoons of ginger (per our recipe), the second contained 4 tablespoons, and the third contained no ginger.

RESULTS: The beef marinated in 2 tablespoons of ginger was markedly mealy, 4 tablespoons was even worse. Only the beef without ginger in its marinade had the proper tender- but not mushy- texture.

EXPLANATION: Fresh ginger contains and enzyme known as zingibain that, if left too long on meat, breaks down collagen on the meat's surface, producing the same mealy effect as acids and some juices. We expunged ginger from the marinade, saving it for the basting sauce instead.

DON'T MARINATE WITH GINGER

Instructions for Cucumber Relish

MAKES ABOUT 1 1/2 CUPS

Bring vinegar and sugar to boil in small saucepan over high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Transfer vinegar mixture to bowl and cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Stir in cucumber, red pepper, mint, shallot, and fish sauce. Refrigerate until needed.

Instructions for Peanut Sauce

MAKES ABOUT 1 1/2 CUPS

Heat oil in small saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add curry paste, sugar, and garlic; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add coconut milk and bring to simmer. Whisk in peanut butter until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in peanuts, lime juice, fish sauce, and soy sauce. Cool to room temperature.