Funny how the mere mention of certain foods will take you back to a special place and time.
This last week I was reminiscing with some guys about trips we used to make from SLC up to the South Fork of the Snake in Idaho. This was back a few years when the South Fork didn’t get a hell of lot of attention; floats were fishy, unhurried affairs with little boat traffic on that gorgeous waterway.
We always camped in those days, most often right on the river, and some of those late summer evening meals were legendary.
One such fondly remembered meal was served up by friend Clay one evening. He fired up a kettle grill with hardwood charcoal (the only way to grill my friends) and pulled out a big plastic tub filled with skirt steaks, onions and bell peppers marinating in a dark elixir.
He grilled the steak to medium-rare, rested the meat while grilling the onions and peppers, and then thin-sliced the meat across the grain while six very hungry fishers watched his every move with wordless intent.
He then piled the goods into hollowed out baguettes and handed us each what was to become a most unforgettable sandwich.
Of course it helped that we were standing on the banks of a great Western river at 930 in the evening, tired and sunburned after a long day on the water with another 90 minutes of dusk yet to pass.
The beer was cold, the laughter frequent and the meal wondrous.
We’ve traded ciabatta buns for the baguettes since, though otherwise this is the way Clay made ‘em that night.
2 and 1/4 cups soy sauce
3 cups dry red wine
2 cups chopped sweet onion
1/2 cup olive oil
8 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp. whole grain French mustard
2 tbsp. fresh ginger, minced4-5 lb. skirt steaks, trimmed
3 large sweet onions, cut into 1/2-inch thick rings
6 large bells peppers (red, yellow, green) cut into 1/2-inch wide stripsGrilled ciabatta buns
Marinate those steaks. Combine the first 2 ingredients; mix well. Submerse the skirt steaks, sliced onions and bell peppers in the marinade for at least 4 hours and preferably overnight.
Fire the Grill.
Grill time. Grill the skirt steaks 4 to 5 minutes per side (medium rare); pull and let rest while grilling the onions and bell peppers until marked and beginning to caramelize.
Make a sandwich. Slice the meat thinly across the grain, pile high on a bun and top with a mound of grilled onions and peppers. Add a dash of salt and a cold beverage and you’re in tall cotton.
Enjoy.
