My 11-year old daughter attended a week-long cooking camp a couple of weeks ago. One of her favorite recipes was the "Korean-style beef". We made it last night and it really was very good. The recipe below is for appetizer-size portions on skewers. We skipped the skewers and did the last cooking in a grill pan on the stove with the sauce, then served over Jasmine rice with ginger and garlic. Since I have school-age kids, I like that this recipe allows for the majority of the prep to be done earlier in the day when the house is quiet!

(credit for the recipe: Cookology)

Korean-style BBQ Beef Satay
Yield: 16 servings
Ingredients
2 lbs beef skirt steak, trimmed and sliced to ½ inch thick slices
¼ cup hoisin sauce
¼ cup ketchup
¼ cup prepared barbecue sauce
1 Tbsp sweet chili sauce
¼ cup soy sauce
1 (2-inch) piece ginger, grated
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp chopped green onions
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp chopped cilantro leaves
Directions
1. Heat a sauté pan over high heat for 2 minutes and place the beef slices onto the surface for 1 minute per side. Remove immediately and set aside
2. Whisk the hoisin, ketchup, barbecue sauce, chili sauce, soy sauce, ginger, vegetable oil, scallions and cilantro together in a large bowl. Add the grilled beef and refrigerate at least 1 hour to let the flavors blend.
3. Remove from the refrigerator and thread 2-3 pieces at a time onto pre-soaked bamboo skewers. Repeat with the remaining beef and warm in oven just before serving

**Skirt steak was $12/lb. I may try it with another cut of beef next time for a weeknight meal, we will see!

-Patti

[color:"blue"]"**Skirt steak was $12/lb. I may try it with another cut of beef next time for a weeknight meal, we will see!"[/color]
WOW! That's EXPENSIVE!
Skirt Steak was on sale here in NJ for $4.99/lb. last week... (Stop and Shop)...
Not an unusual sale either... They run it about once a month...
Regular price is $8.99...
Try flank steak maybe? although that's usually more expensive here... and doesn't go on sale quite as often...

When we were in Korea in the early 70s, the restaurants used to serve what they called Bulgogi, which is actually the Korean word for beef, if I'm not mistaken. It was marinated and brought to your table raw, where you would cook it on a charcoal brazier which was in the middle of the table. Sooooo good! I have never been able to replicate the flavor. Your recipe sounds good, but it's got way too many ingredients in it to be what I remember. Of course, after almost 40 years, my memory might be a bit dim..... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

The chef at the cooking school said that this was modeled after Bulgogi, but not quite the same. I've been wanting to try Bulgogi- there's a restaurant nearby that serves it.

The price of the skirt steak that I quoted was at Wegman's, which was likely a bit higher than other stores. So I'll be comparison shopping in the days ahead. We were also wondering about flank steak.

I have really been enjoying Flat Iron Steak lately. It would be a good, less expensive substitute.

what's the differance between a falt iron steak & a strip steak?

Georgia would love to know your opinon of the following recipe [color:"blue"]Korean Grilled Meat on Skewers (Bulgogi)[/color]

By Pets'R'us on December 19, 2002

"Lots of flavor, I have made this also using pork tenderloin. Soak the wooden skewers in water for half an hour to prevent them burning. Marinating time not included. Freezing the meat slightly makes it easier to slice it thin."
Ingredients

o 1 1/2 lbs boneless sirloin beef (or other good beef)
o 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
o 1 -2 cloves crushed garlic
o 1/2 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
o 3 -4 green onions, finely chopped
o 1/3 cup soy sauce
o 2 tablespoons dry sherry
o 2 tablespoons sesame oil
o 2 teaspoons sugar
o 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, to taste

Directions

1. Toast the sesame seeds in a frying pan over medium heat until brown, let them cool.
2. Cut the beef in thin slices.
3. Mix all marinade ingredients together, add also the sesame seeds, and to this add the beef.
4. Leave to marinate at least 30 minutes, a few hours is preferred.
5. Thread the meat on wooden skewers, grill or barbecue a few minutes on each side, using the remaining marinade for basting

The flat iron is the second most tender steak, only behind the filet in tenderness. This steak comes from the top blade roast, which sits inside of the seven bone in the chuck. The muscle has a tough tendon running down the center, kind of like the bones on a whole salmon. When cut across the grain it has the tendon across the center and is called a top blad steak. When cut in half along the grain, removing the tendon, it is called a flat iron steak.

The flat iron is unusual since the grain runs along the steak. (All loin steaks have a cross grain.) This means that the very thin (1/2") steak puffs up when cooked making for a nice 1" thick steak that can be served very rare. It has wonderful flavor and yes, extremely tender. No marinade is necessary.

The flank and skirt may usually be substituted for each other in recipes. Both have a very obvious grain, are very flavorful and somewhat tough requiring a cut across the grain. Both come from muscles that get a lot of work. Both are normally braised but frequently marinaded and grilled.

The skirt is very thin and cooks in a few minutes. Being so thin it can be grilled and cut across the grain for wonderful flavor. The skirt is the muscle that holds the diaphragm; hence a skirt that runs around the steers mid-section.

The flank is much thicker and almost always placed in a marinade. This cut obvously comes from the flank.

That recipe sounds much more like what we had in Korea, with the exception of the skewers. Ours was cooked in a wok-style pan on a charcoal burner. It was definitely heavy on the sesame and had some heat to it as well. I'll have to try your recipe and see if it's what I remember. Thanks!!

My sister-in-law is Korean. Here's how she makes the Bulgogi marinade:

- 3/4 c. soy sauce
- 1 tsp. sesame seeds
- 2-3 tablespoons of sesame oil (you can substitute another oil if needed)
- 2-3 tablespoons of sugar (don't use a sugar substitute)
- garlic (she uses a lot)
- 1 green onion chopped fine (include the green stalk)

Pour over the meat and put in the refrig. until ready to use.

It tastes best on a BBQ grill, but you can do it in the oven. Don't pan fry it.

Karen