My first job out of college was at a tiny newspaper on a tiny island in Hawaii. Coming out of four years in the South, it was a huge change food-wise. The food there mixes the traditional island influences with the traditions of the large community of Asian-Americans that call the state home. Oh, and there’s Spam – Spam as far as the eye can see. They’ve got a serious jones for the stuff. It even shows up on the breakfast menu at McDonald’s. Though I kept an open mind about Hawaiian cuisine, I never did get to the root of that particular deep and abiding love.
While we’re used to grilling over a raging fire, my favorite part about Hawaiian food was when the fire burned itself down to embers. When the heat was winding down and the pit was glowing, it was time for pulehu. It’s where you sear a seasoned piece of meat right on the burning embers. The meat sears, the spice rub turns into a tasty crust, and when you cut it super-thin, you see that the center is still cool. I’ve heard it likened to beef sashimi. While that’s a bit of a stretch, it’s important to safeguard the rich, beefy flavor by not overcooking the thing.
Chicago’s my home and my favorite place to be, but a well-made pulehu steak can send me back to standing in a park on Molokai, a paper plate full of meat in one hand and a sweating can of Natural Light in the other. Not a bad place to be, beer choice aside.
The Setup
- 2 lb tri-tip, patted dry
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 c coarse-grained salt
- 2 cloves garlic, run through a press
- 1/2 tbsp whole peppercorns, cracked
- 1 tbsp sugar
The stuff we used was a red-clay rock salt, called alaea. It was easy to find and cheap enough. Here? Not so much. You can order it online if you want to be authentic, or just use the coarsest stuff you have. You want a really good coat of seasoning on it, and table salt will just dissolve – unless you really pack it on, in which case your steak will taste like robot tears.
Also, make sure you have a really sharp knife for this. I can’t stress how much this will help.
Cooking
1. If you’re going to be cooking this over open fire (which I recommend) then best start it early. You want embers, not roaring coals, by the time you’re ready to cook.
2. Mix the salt, garlic, sugar, and peppercorns thoroughly to create a rub.
3. Lightly brush the steak with oil and carefully press in seasoning rub. I know it’s called a rub, but don’t go manhandling it like Lenny from Of Mice and Men. Just make sure you get a good, even coat of spice over the meat. If you can spare the time, give the rub 45 minutes to work its way into the meat. Salt is one of the few things than can improve your steak if you leave it to do its work.
4. When the fire has turned to embers, fan off any ash that may be on the coals. (Alternately, sans fire,just heat the holy hell out of a cast iron pan).
5. Lay the steak on the embers (alt: in the pan) and leave it alone for four minutes. Flip it and leave it another four. Depending on the thickness, you can flip it once or twice more, depending on how well-done you like your meat. I usually go 12 minutes, but some cuts require 16 before it’s rare but not raw.
6. Set it aside to rest for ten minutes. If you don’t rest this, the vengeful spirit of King Kamehameha will go around your house licking all your doorknobs and throwing kleenex in with your dryer load.
7. When the steak’s nice and rested, cut it thin diagonally across the grain. Pile some on paper plates for your friends, grab a cold beer, and talk about how shitty the tourists drive while you eat standing outside. Hawaii or Chicago, some things are universal.