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Showing posts with label Barbecue. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Barbecue. Show all posts

Sunday

A Grill-Off Against The Wife #SteakOver

When it comes to cooking in the kitchen of my home it is an undisputed fact that my wife reigns supreme. And this isn't because she spends all her time in the kitchen. In fact as a Senior Marketing Manager at her company she has been spending the majority of her time checking emails on her phone. Cooking is just something she likes to do. It soothes her and she is a foodie. She spends a good amount of time on Pinterest making the food she likes to pin.

When it comes to the grill it is presumed that I am king in my castle, but that's primarily because I'm the only one who uses it. At family gatherings, parties we throw and just dinner when we want barbecue, she seasons and I fire it up on the grill.

The Challenge

Heading into the weekend, I wondered if we went head to head who would come out on top. I posed the challenge and of course, she was game. With the rainy weekend ahead of us, getting company over would be impossible so I selected the best of all possible impartial judges: my self-indulged, eating food by the package seventeen year-old son. If it's food, he eats it. If the food is good, he eats all of it before any of us get a chance.

Since we haven't had red meat in a while I opted for our barbecue challenge meat to be Walmart's new USDA Choice Premium Steaks, specifically, a lean looking pair of New York Strip steaks. Our recipes are as following:

Steak A - The Wife's Lime-Chile Rub:
  • a pinch of salt and pepper
  • a pinch of cayenne powder
  • a pinch of chili powder
  • lime juice
  • butter
The steak was massaged with lime juice, followed by the seasonings and the butter and thrown on the grill for twelve minutes, six minutes each side.

Steak B - E.Payne's Basic Dry Rub:

When it comes to tentpole items, like coffee, hot dogs and steak I don't believe in fanciful I believe in keeping it simple and memorable.
  • 1 teaspoon of cumin
  • 1 teaspoon of pepper
  • 1 teaspoon of steak seasoning (generic anywhere and everywhere)
  • 1 teaspoon of Mediterranean sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon of paprika
  • 1/2 lemon
  • olive oil cooking spray
The steak was rubbed down with the lemon, then the seasonings and the steak were dumped into a gallon-size storage bag and then it was shaken (think Shake and Bake - if you're from that generation) until the seasonings are evenly coated on the steak. After removing the steak from the bag, lightly spray it with olive oil cooking spray on both sides and put on the grill for fifteen minutes (7-8 minutes each side).

The Results

Pictured below from left to right, are Steak A and Steak B. Before sitting down to dinner our son was called from the man cave where he was playing video games and asked to test each. He liked Steak A, but he LOVED Steak B and declared it the winner, citing its crispiness and explosion of flavor with smoke as the reasons for his picking it the winner. Personally, I believe that by not massaging the meat doing the "shake and bake" my steak preserved its original shape and consistency allowing the fire to benefit from the fat that dripped onto it.

Steak A (l); The Champion (r)

I did a little happy dance in the kitchen. My wife smiled briefly in her best effort of sportsmanship and then told us all to get out of her kitchen. After belting out Accapella rendition of Queen's "We Are The Champions" I finished doing my share of cooking. The steaks as well as the rest of the food that had been prepared for the evening were divvied up appropriately and we enjoyed our meal around the table on a rainy Saturday night.

About Walmart USDA Choice Premium Steaks - Just in time for early grilling season and Memorial Day, Walmart is helping shoppers take their grilling up a notch with its top-quality selection of delicious, juicy and tender USDA Choice Premium Beef available in a variety of cuts. Only one in five steaks is good enough to call Walmart Choice Premium Beef, which has been approved by the USDA for quality. For more recipes, tips and to find a store near you, visit www.walmart.com/steak.

Attend A Steak-Over Challenge In Your Town

Local firefighters from eight different cities will compete in the Wal-Mart Steak-Over Challenge presented by Kingsford® Charcoal, Dr. Pepper® and A.1.® steak sauce to determine who has the best steak-grilling chops in town.

Shoppers who attend will have the chance to join in the festivities, taste test Wal-Mart USDA Choice Premium steaks, sample Dr. Pepper and A.1. steak sauce for free, and cast their vote for best steak.
The firefighter finalist from each city will compete on behalf of their station for a $20,000 grand prize in Los Angeles, the week of May 20.

What is your favorite way to grill a steak?

Are you ready to experience Walmart’s Steak-Over for yourself? Find out why you should choose your steaks at Walmart here. We shared our winning grilling tip - now tell us yours!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Walmart. The opinions and text are all mine.

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Thursday

How To: BBQ Tips From EPayne

In case you didn't know, I am referred to in my house as "Grill Master" when it comes to barbecuing. I guess I should add that I insist that everyone in my home call me,
"Grill Master" when it comes to barbecuing at home. I guess I should also mention that no one is will and in the case of my kids, able, to mess around with hot flames in this hot, oppressive weather.


With summertime in full swing and having already hosted a barbecue not too long ago I jumped at the opportunity to enter the Nature's Own Thrill of the Grill Dad Blogger's Challenge. I entered if for no other reason than the fact that the challenge referred to fathers as "Dads" and not "Daddies". And there is a lot on the line:



  1. The title of Nature's Own Grill Master (real respect)
  2. The chance to win a Big Green Egg© Grill (a grill that is so Bad-A*& that it causes so much envy amongst grills that it turned green with envy, envying itself)

And you can help too! Here's how:

  • After watching the video (that suffered so many onset technical difficulties it almost took me 3 days to make) below please leave a comment here on this post. One that makes reference to a grilling tip or a recipe ("hey I hope you win" will not be accepted as entries).
  • Encourage your friends and social networks to comment as well (you can only comment one time, any addition comments from the same person will not be counted).
  • Comment before 11:59pm EST on July 8 (7/8).
  • If you have Nature's Own products at your local grocery store, please contact me via my Contact Page. I have coupons for FREE Nature's Own products to give away to 20 lucky people.



If you are a Grill Master yourself, be sure to head on over to Facebook to enter the Nature's Own Thrill of the Grill Challenge. But, please, leave your comment here first.


Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter at @EPayneTheDad.

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