These tender beef skewers get their flavor from Ray Sheehan’s savory, molasses-like Asian barbecue sauce, which is made with hoisin sauce, soy sauce, fresh ginger and fermented black garlic. Use it to layer on flavor or for dunking your meat.
For this recipe, from Sheehan’s new cook book, “Award-Winning BBQ Sauces and How to Use Them” (Page Street; $22), the pitmaster and brains behind the BBQ Buddha line of sauces suggests using skirt steak for its higher fat content, but flank steak works, too. Black garlic can be found at some specialty grocers, but if you have trouble sourcing it, roasted regular garlic will work, too.
Asian BBQ Beef Skewers
Serves about 15
Ingredients:
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
¼ cup honey
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1-inch piece fresh ginger, sliced
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1½ to 2 pounds skirt steak, silver skin removed, cut into 6- by 1½-inch pieces
Asian BBQ Sauce, warmed for brushing (see below)
Sesame seeds
Wooden skewers
Directions
Place the wooden skewers in a shallow dish and cover them with water to soak for 1 hour prior to cooking.
In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the olive oil, soy sauce, honey, garlic, vinegar, ginger, red pepper flakes and black pepper to form a marinade.
Place the steak strips in a large zip-top bag and cover them with the marinade. Seal the bag and refrigerate it for 1½ to 2 hours.
Set up a charcoal grill for two-zone cooking. Light a charcoal chimney, and when the edges of the charcoal at the top of the chimney begin to ash over, dump the pile of hot coals onto one side of the grill to form your hot side (direct cooking), leaving the other side empty to form your cool zone (indirect cooking).
Remove the meat from the marinade and discard the marinade; thread the steak strips onto the skewers.
Working in batches, if necessary, place the skewers on the direct heat side of the grill and cook for about 3 minutes per side. Move the skewers to the indirect heat side of the grill and brush them with the warm BBQ sauce. Close the lid on the grill and continue to cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
Remove the skewers from the grill and arrange them on a platter to serve. Garnish with sesame seeds.
Asian BBQ Sauce
½ cup all-natural hoisin sauce, such as Joyce Chen
¼ cup dry sherry
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup sugar
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
2/3 cup ketchup, such as Simply Heinz
¼ cup seasoned rice vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cloves black garlic, minced
¼ teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
2 green onions, minced
2 teaspoons sesame oil
Directions
In a medium-sized saucepan, combine all the sauce ingredients, except the sesame oil. Simmer over medium-low heat for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the sauce has slightly thickened. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the sesame oil. Let the sauce cool, then transfer it to a jar and store it in the
refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
— From “Award-Winning BBQ Sauces and How to Use Them” by Ray Sheehan, Page Street Publishing Co.; $22)
