Charcoal-Grilled Delmonico Steak Dinner Menu:

Sweet Cherry Cocktails ♦ Delmonico Steak ♦ Corn on the Cob ♦ Green Beans
Sweet Potatoes ♦ Triple Chocolate Pudding

Dinner for Four

This is a meal that every man should know how to make.

There’s no better way to remind your friends of your inescapable, yet effortless manhood than having them stand around and drink beer while you casually demonstrate how expertly you make fire and handle meat. But there’s always going to be that one guy who will challenge your right to alpha by pointing out that everything you’re doing is differe­nt from what he’ seen some celebrity chef do on TV. You could stab him in the ass with one of those heavy-duty grilling forks, but that could easily make you look like the bad guy. Instead, say, “Man, it’s getting really hot.” Then peel off your shirt to reveal your Joe-Manganiello-esque physique, guzzle down a huge swig of beer, wiping your brow with your forearm as you put the bottle down, and just go right back to cooking the steaks as if this is what you usually do. If that doesn’t send him scurrying off to find the crudités, you might actually have to wrestle him to the ground and pin him there until he cries like a baby. And that’s why I always start my steak prep by practicing a few double-leg takedowns.

I’m not one to perpetuate gender stereotypes, but I’m also not one to pretend they don’t exist. This is also a meal that every woman should know how to make, either because she enjoys a nice steak, or as a kind of test for a potential mate. Ladies, if he sees your expert handling of a big, fat, juicy piece of raw meat on a searing hot grill as a threat, that will tell you something. On the other hand, if it gives him an erection that lasts for more than four hours, remember that the key to slow-roasting is baste, baste, baste. On the third hand, if your potential mate is a woman who grabs the grilling tools and insists on taking over, find subtle ways to let her know that your roof could use some new shingles.

Planning

For a feast such as this, I prefer to spread the work out as much as possible. When I do, I find that I’m a lot less exhausted when it comes time to eat. So, I’d do the shopping one day, make anything in advance that would be as good or better that way, and do as much prep as possible prior to the big day. However, you could do this whole thing straight through if you wanted to, and you could still find ways to lighten the workload, such as purchasing a dessert instead of making one, or letting your guests make their own cocktails instead of making one for them, or just serving beer, or just chucking the whole thing and going out to eat.

This menu also allows for a lot of flexibility. Many other vegetables could easily undergo the same treatment as the potatoes or the corn, and many types of steaks as well as several kinds of fish can be prepared on a charcoal grill.

Hunting and Gathering

If you’ve ever wondered why it’s hard to cook a steak at home that’s as good as one from a steakhouse, it may be because the meat that winds up at grocery stores is usually a few grades lower than what winds up in restaurants. When you think about the experience of eating a really great steak: the tenderness, juiciness, richness, and flavor … these qualities were in the steak before it was cooked. The goal in cooking the steak is to retain these qualities. In a lower grade of steak, these qualities are simply not there to the same degree, and there’s no way you can cook them in. My suggestion: go to a butcher and plan to spend some money.

Serving Sizes

The serving sizes for this meal are easy to scale up or down to meet your needs. For instance, the difference in effort between roasting one sweet potato and six is negligible. Even though I put this meal together for four people, you’ll notice that I made drinks and desserts for six. That’s because the chef is automatically entitled to two extra cocktails. Everone knows that. And pudding will make a fantastic breakfast for the days that follow … it goes extremely well a cup of dark roast or cappuccino.

Recipes

Sweet Cherry Cocktails, Delmonico Steak, Corn on the Cob, Green Beans, Sweet Potatoes, and Triple Chocolate Pudding

Multitasking

One Day (or More) Before

1. Make syrup and cherry-lime cocktail mixture. Combine and refrigerate.
2. Make pudding.

Day-Of, Well in Advance

3. Prep grill.
4. Shuck corn.
5. Prep beans.
6. Prep potatoes.

A Little More than an Hour before Dinner

7. Take steaks out of the fridge.
8. Light charcoal and let flames burn off.
9. Roast the potatoes; keep warm.

Fifteen Minutes before Dinner

10. Put water on to boil.
11. Mix and serve drinks.

Dinner Time
Consider the moment you put the steaks on the grill to be “dinner time.” Your guests can sip cocktails; it won’t be long before dinner’s on the table. If your guests are late, add a handful of coals to the grill every 20 minutes to keep it going.

12. Rub grill, season steaks, and toss them on the grill.
13. Add corn to boiling water and set a timer for 7 minutes.
14. Meanwhile, flip steaks and temp-test as necessary.
15. When timer goes off, add beans and re-set timer for 5 minutes.
16. Strain veggies, return to the pot with butter and salt, and cover to keep warm.
17. When steaks are done, remove them to a platter, butter them, tent them, and let them rest.
18. Unwrap the potatoes, slice, butter, and salt them.

After Dinner

19. Whip cream and serve pudding.

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Charcoal-Grilled Delmonico Steak Dinner Menu