Grilling at its best

The celebrations of the glorious grilling season bring together some of the best things in life: beautiful weather, your favorite people and, of course, great food. While the harvest has plenty to offer in terms of side dishes, the centerpiece of your outdoor gatherings is the meat that you choose to grill.

While it might seem as simple as picking up something to put on the grill, putting a bit more thought into what you choose as your main dish can set the tone of the party – and keep your guests talking about it for a long time to come. Opting for quality meats should be your first consideration; purveyors like Allen Brothers offer a wide range of cuts that can turn your backyard barbecue into a steakhouse. Before you light the flames, think about these options for grilling beef.

* Filet mignon – If a tender steak is your top priority, you can’t go wrong with a filet mignon. Select USDA Prime filets are trimmed of exterior fat, but still have good interior marbling for full flavor. A rare but coveted variant of the standard boneless filet is the bone-in version. Allen Brothers offers slow-aged, hand-cut steaks that combine the trademark tenderness of filet mignon with the extra flavor that can only come from meat cooked on the bone.

* Sirloin strips – Sirloin strip steaks go by a number of names (including New York strip and Kansas City strip), but whatever you call them, they’re great grilling steaks, featuring rich flavor and a silky texture. Under the sirloin strip heading, you’ve got plenty of options: dry-aged sirloins offer the concentrated flavor imparted by the dry-aging process, Wagyu sirloins are sourced from specialized cattle breeds that produce exceptional marbling, and bone-in, long-tail sirloins have just a little bit more of what you love, with the “tail” meat left on the cut.

* Skirt steak – If you want to do something a little different, like grilling fajitas for a Mexican-themed fiesta, consider the skirt steak. It’s ideally suited to grilling, and develops a robust, full flavor over coals or gas. It has a firm, juicy texture and as great as it is with grilled vegetables and tortillas, it’s also perfect served simply, with an herbal Argentine chimichurri sauce, or sliced across the grain and served over a salad.

* Wagyu steak burgers – You’ve seen it all over the best restaurant menus, so why not bring Wagyu beef to your back yard? Wagyu beef comes from cattle breeds that are bred for the rich marbling in their muscle, which, on the grill, translates into tons of juicy flavor. Using this specialized beef takes the classic American burger from great to unforgettable – you might not even want to touch it with ketchup and mustard; let the beef speak for itself.

* Korean beef ribs – Korean food is on the lips of food lovers across the nation, and people are falling hard for its bold flavors and simple preparations. Korean beef ribs are thinly cross-cut short ribs with bones for extra flavor. They grill up quickly and make a tasty conversation piece.

Whichever cut you choose, remember to let your meat come up to room temperature before grilling. Once you’ve pulled the steaks off the grill, let them rest for 5 minutes before slicing. For more steak grilling tips or to buy steaks and prepared meals online, visit www.allenbrothers.com.

Bill & Sheila’s Barbecue and Grilling