Yanet Garcia Releases Her Own Swimsuit Edition, John Daly Being Awesome & Tiger Celebrates Rory's Divorce
Do you fake it at the grill by flipping the meat around and hoping for the best?
On Tuesday, I challenged readers to admit whether they actually know what they're doing like a Lone Star Steakhouse employee or whether they're just faking it and hoping for the best.
- Guy G. in western New York writes:
As you know, I'm on the grill as often as I can, even with snow on the ground. Nothing beats cooking over fire. I cooked wings over charcoal Monday night, and finished them on the Blackstone to crisp up. While I know what I'm doing there, and can cruise through with just about any meat, I will admit something.
I used to fake it, and hope it was right! Don't get me wrong. I started cooking burgers at 12, and figured that out quick. Once I started getting into chicken, I would have to hide the chicken is sauce, to cover up the dryness. The first time I cooked a packer brisket, I never left the smoker! The first time I cooked brisket for our Labor Day party, and had 4 briskets on the smoker....that emptied the bank account...I was scared to death! I was checking every 30 minutes! The first time I smoked a full pig was for a wedding. I had no idea if it was going to be worth anything by the time the reception started.
Thankfully, it worked out, and I learned a ton of valuable lessons. Now, I'm the guy that my buddies call when they are cooking on their own. How long before I flip? How long will this take to cook? What temp do I cook the ribs?
I love cooking over fire, and glad I learned some lessons the hard way.
- Mike L. says:
So, my wife has a meat thermometer that she has me use with the thicker cuts (Tri-tip, Brisket, etc.), but for burgers and dogs, ribeyes and strips, I pretty much guess. Half a beer, flip. When the beer's done it's usually time to bring 'em off.
- Doug wants to help those of you who are faking it:
I know enough about grilling to have learned a few tricks. I hope this helps others.
Ask questions:
Most people have NO idea what rare vs. medium rare vs medium vs. medium well (Ask the medium well people to leave your house. Ha ha.) Pull up a Google search photo showing the differences. Write down what each person wants. This same photo will also show your goal temperature for each doness level. Now you know how many medium rare, etc. you need.
Preparation:
Have a high quality instaread cooking thermometer. If you don’t have one, nothing else matters. I don’t care what anyone says about "feel your hand" as a reference. MEH. I’ll use a thermometer and take all the guesswork out of the process. I prefer the ThermoPro stuff. Get one with a long probe that measure in 3 seconds or less.
Remove the steaks an hour before you want to grill.
Light the gas grill 20 minutes before you need it.
Make little "flags" for each person with medium rare, medium, etc. It is also helpful to put your target temperature on each flag. Lots of confusion happens in the smoke of grilling. I just use toothpicks with a little piece of masking tape on each one.
Get the right cut of steak. 1.5" seems to be the sweet spot where they cook fast enough but not too fast. This thickness seems to be a little more "forgiving".
Too thin- No room for any errors. Get distracted by a shiny object or a squirrel? Burnt.
Too thick- Risks the outside being too done for the center to reach temperature.
Work it baby:
Every grill cooks differently. No reason to fight it, use it to your advantage. Instead of predetermining who gets which steak at the beginning, just start cooking and pull the rarest ones first.
Pull them 5ish degrees before your target temperature. It is better to push your temperature probe in from the side vs from the top. Just eyeball where center is.
Put your "doneness indicator" in each steak as you remove from the grill. Place on a plate covered with aluminum foil. I place the plate right beside the grill to keep everything warm. Repeat all the way to the last one (there will always be ONE) at medium well.
- Greg S. in Pinetop, AZ writes:
Can't we all do both? Some things I'm and expert, some not so much. However it's always important to act like I know what I'm doing!
- Hunter checks in:
I don’t at all claim to be an expert, but for the most part I know the time and temp needed to get a good medium rare steak from my grill. I’ve been cooking on it for 11(?) years now and it’s usually pretty consistent on holding temp so it makes it much easier.
However, the biggest thing for me that made my end result much more consistent was an instant read meat thermometer.
I will usually check once at the end to verify that I’m on track if it’s a cut I’m used to cooking, but on something new or a cut that you don’t cook very often it is invaluable, at least for me. I’m about to get flamed by the purist, I’m sure, for using one, but I very much enjoy not overcooking meat or having to take the walk of shame and put it back on the grill to finish cooking.
Reader needs help planning an NCAA college baseball regionals trip from the southerners
- John writes:
Hey Joe. I’m planning a trip with my two daughters (23 and 19) to the NCAA baseball regionals May 31-June 4th and had a bunch of questions that I figured were right up Screencaps nation’s alley.
It’s tough to plan too much ahead because the regionals(with 16 teams hosting-4 teams at each regional site) don’t get announced until May 27. We will be driving from Pennsylvania and definitely want to get to the south because the college baseball atmosphere in the South is incredible.
Potential sites we are looking at are Tennessee, Mississippi State, Arkansas, Clemson, or Wake Forest, with Arkansas or Mississippi State first on the list.
Just looking for answers from Screencaps nation on how to get tickets, as college baseball tickets in the South can be very difficult to get, but just as importantly, what other stops along the way in the Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee area for a dad and two daughters who love anything adventurous and unique.
Sorry for the long-winded email, but I really wanna make this trip great for the girls as my oldest one is now married and just graduated and starting her first "real job" as a nurse in July so may not get to take a trip like this again.
Thanks for your help. Feel free to share my email with anyone that would need to contact me directly. Keep up the great work.
Kinsey:
First, congratulations to John for his college-aged daughters wanting to go on a bucket list baseball trip with him. What an honor that must be for him.
Second, if you've never seen Nashville, you might as well knock that off the list on the way through, if you're heading to Arkansas or down to Stark-Vegas. If you're looking for unique, go show them Graceland in Memphis. Wait until they see Elvis' man cave.
As a northerner, I have no idea on NCAA regionals tickets. I have no idea if scalping is a good idea or whether you should just buy off a ticket reseller, but you've come to the right place because I have a feeling one of these readers will have answers.
I'll forward advice emails to John.
Email: joekinsey@gmail.com
The Dale Earnhardt documentary is coming
- Steve in Oregon, OH writes:
Thought you and the Dale Sr fans might appreciate a little FYI about something awesome coming soon. Amazon Prime has a 4-part documentary of our favorite driver premiering sometime in 2025. NFI at this time, but there should be snippets coming as we get closer to the event.
Kinsey:
I have to be honest, Steve, I am nervous. On one hand, I'm happy for new Dale Sr. content, but then I start to get nervous over how Amazon Prime will use its allotted time. I can't remember a single Amazon Prime documentary that I've watched. This is typically Netflix's game.
That has me on edge.
On the other hand, I learned that Amazon Prime will get into the NASCAR broadcasting game in 2025 with its broadcast of the Coca-Cola 600 and they've hired Dale Jr.
I'm just going to attempt to relax and hope for the best. It's up to Amazon to deliver or never take on such a challenge again.
It's National Restaurant Association show time! Who's going to be there?
Who's going to be in Chicago this weekend at McCormick Place for the NRA (not a gun association) for the annual event that I describe as Costco's Sample Saturday on the PEDs that bloated Barry Bonds into a cyborg.
The National Restaurant Association show is where restaurant suppliers show off what's new in the industry. Mrs. Screencaps' day job includes set design for her company which means we make the trip to see her design in action and what she can do in following years to make it better.
While it's great and all to see what Mrs. Screencaps has been working on in the other room while I'm blogging about mowing, the real show at the NRA is the samples.
Will the gelato distributors bring 50 flavors? Will the Jack & Coke Icee machine be there? How many MEAT samples will I be able to stomach? Will the company with the full-sized cookies be there like in past years?
It's game-on this weekend in Chicago.
If you're going to be a vendor, let me know. I'll stop by your booth to say hello.
Email: joekinsey@gmail.com
How does Vegas keep the lights on?
Caitlin Clark had 20 of her team's 71 points last night. She was 5-of-15 from the floor (4-of-11 from 3) and had TEN turnovers. It's only up from here.
I'm so happy things worked out at the Augusta Hooters back in April – JD couldn't have been nicer and fun to hang with for a few minutes
Costco Air BBQ 2024s shoe review
- Hans writes:
Thanks for sharing the link about the shoes from Costco. My local store didn't have them so I ordered a pair online. Can't beat the all in delivered price of 35 bucks. Super comfortable and perfect for a guy like me whose on his feet all day at work. Highly recommend these.
The ultimate IN/MO/IL five-day summer trip that is very, very tempting
- Jason D. in Illinois spent his time coming up with a trip some of you might want to consider:
Lived in the 217 my whole life, so I’ve done numerous roadtrips within a 3-4 hour range. I’ve got a couple boys 13/10 and have taken them to all of the suggested places. The restaurants/breweries all are kid friendly and have great food and beer. Drafted up a quick 5 day roadtrip for you. Could easily add or subtract from the activities pending on how long you stay at each.
The summer road trip:
Day One: Indianapolis
Just three hours away from the Burg, arrive at lunchtime and eat at Four Day Ray Brewery
After Lunch hit up the Carmel-Clay Parks Water Park (best public park water park I’ve ever been to.)
Get a hotel in Fishers or Carmel.
Dinner at Sun King Brewery in Carmel.
Nighttime, could hit up an Indy Indians game (AAA baseball) or Top Golf
Day Two: Indy/STL
Indianapolis Childrens Museum, get there right at opening, coolest outdoor sports area, easily can spend 3 hours here.
Late lunch at The Dugout, #1 dive bar in Indy.
Leave for St. Louis 3.5 hours away, gain an hour though heading into the CST.
Dinner at Fitz’s on Delmar
Hotel either in Clayton or Central West End
Nighttime-PuttShack and/or the Armory
Day Three: STL
City Museum
Pappy’s for Lunch
The Arch
The Science Center
Dinner Urban Chestnut or Four Hands Brewery
Nighttime-Cardinal game
Day Four: Springfield
Head to Springfield IL, 1.5 hours away
Hit up Scheels right when you get into town.
Lunch at Darcy’s Pint- must get a horseshoe.
Abraham Lincoln Museum and his Home in the afternoon
Nighttime, Lucky Horseshoe baseball game or Malibu Jacks (indoor amusement park) or the Drive-in Movie Theatre
Dinner-Obed and Isaac’s Brewery
Stay out by Scheels.
Day Five: Springfield/Head Home
Charlie Parker’s for breakfast
Knights Action Park, waterpark, go carts, minigolf etc.
Head home
Hit up Wally’s in Pontiac on your way back to the Burg to break up the long trip home
Kinsey:
What a trip. I got chills the second Jason mentioned the Indy Children's Museum sports complex. You guys are really selling me on a multi-day trip from here to Illinois. Would I consider Springfield, IL without my Abraham Lincoln connection and how hard you guys are selling me on Scheels?
Probably not.
But the more and more you guys push, the weaker I become. It feels like I have no choice but to knock out both of these hotspots.
Here we go
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That's it. What a packed Wednesday. Let's get after it. Make sure you don't fall into the trap of wasting your day arguing with the maniacs attacking Harrison Butker and calling for him to be banned from the NFL.
Go have a productive day of life whether that's at work or at retirement. Take care.
Email: joekinsey@gmail.com