Cherry/Balsamic Marinated Ribeyes & Corn: Q-View & Recipe (finished)

Without further delay....drum-roll, please!

Corn went into the Smoke Vault 24 @ 5:45 pm with cherry @ 250*:

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Ribeyes just out of the bag of marinade with most of the bigger chunks of red bell peppers and cherries knocked off...I had a couple steaks not take on as much marinade as others, most due to them not being fully defrosted...these were some thicker cuts...you can still see a bit of deeper red coloring, which is where the marinade didn't do so great...it happens:





I opted for a cold smoke/sear on the charcoal grill instead of smoking the ribeyes, as I wanted a different smoke combination for them to pull a bit more from the marinade I used...pecan/cherry/hickory...simple seasoning after the marinade with fresh ground black peppercorn, medium ground garlic and kosher salt in equal parts  ...:



Into the SNP @ 7:00 pm...the pecan/cherry chunks are starting out slower, while the hickery chips (that's all I have) are kicking it up...It'll mellow out in a few more minutes...oh, and the steaks which were still a bit frosty went on the far left to catch a tad more heat from the eight briqs I'm using to fire the smoke woods:  





A minute after closing the lid and about 5 seconds open lid...looks pretty smoky, but should calm down soon enough...the hickory won't last long and then the cherry/pecan will take over and smoke nice and slow:

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35 minutes into the cold smoke (approx 140* average grate temps), I fire two full chimneys to get ready to sear...I want nearly double layer under the steaks for a quick sear so they'll come off in the med/rare to med range. These are resting on my covered dutch oven table (old steel gas grill) so I can cover 'em up before messin' with coals.

This gives a better look at the cold smoke, and the seasoned steak itself...come to think of if, I need not say much else 'til the end from here...ENJOY!!!:

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Let's not forget these guys....2.5 hours @ 250*...nice firm kernals, great sweet smoke flavor...oh, and the particular field these came from seemed to be picked at the perfect time for when my wife brought them home...very, very sweet:

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The smoke was nice, even with the quick heavier blast of hickory...l knew it wouldn't be cause for alarm. The pecan had it's very slight pungent odor, the cherry took most of the credit, with a nice sweet background and a heavy enough backbone to bring it all home.

The marinade has a nice background in the beef...it was there, but was not a dominating flavor or aroma...that slight tanginess and deeper flavors from the balsamic vinegar...the cherries, red bells and simple background...we all loved it!

I apologize for the boo-boo earlier...wanted to get it all up and ready...too many distractions today, I guess. Well, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it! LOL!!!

Hope I made it worth your wait!

Eric

EDIT: for those who don't marinate often, don't forget that with a low sugar content, the marinate often seems to reduce the searing effect, so they may be more done than they look, or you think they are, until you probe or slice into them. I almost over-cooked a couple of these, and even my girls are leaning more and more towards the medium side of a good steak nowdays...hmm, they ate well-done just a year or so ago, so I guess with enough determination and samples, kids can be converted to eating a non-dry steak. My wife is a die-hard med-well...has been for as long as I've know her, and that's a long time...oops, don't tell her I said that...she looks alot younger than her age, so I'll keep her happy by shuting my steak-hole now...LOL!!!

Bearcarver said:

Another outstanding post from "The Great One"!!!!

Alright Eric, you can stop blushing now!!!

And some really nice BearViews at the end there too!!!

You never let me down!

Thanks Eric,

Bear

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Thanks Bear!

Ha-ha-ha! Aw, I'm not blushing...just another humble servant to the members and guests of SMF.

I figured I may as well kick it up when I can...can't send meat through PM's yet, so this'll have to do.

hfactor said:

This thread should be the prototype for posting a recipe....

Ooooouuuuuttttstanding...

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Thank-you, brother smoker...ah, I do my best to make my freshest goods available to all my friends here. This particular recipe was one of many spur-of-the-moent gigs I throw out...it's not like me to cook something the same way very many times, so I'm always getting hit with something a bit different...keeps dinner more interesting and fresh, I think, and the wife and kids love it 'cause they never know what I'm up to from one meal to the next. They seem to like the surprises I toss at 'em, and it's always good eating. I kinda went nuts with the camera on this one...burnt up a whole roll of film on one meal...LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks again, guys! Good eats to all!

Eric