Salt Block Grilling - Mini Surf and Turf Appetizer

[FTC Disclaimer]  I have a business relationship with SABER Grills to provide content for their website. 

Here's an appetizer idea that I made for SABER Grills' website this month.  They are Salt Block Grilled Steak and Shrimp Skewers Appetizer.

This gets your guests involved - sort of like a fondue appetizer, but instead of a big pot of cheese or oil, the centerpiece is a Himalayan salt block.

Heating the salt block up on my SABER Grills 1500 Elite SSE.  You have to gently heat up the salt blocks, so I started with it at low temps and raised off of the main cooking grates.

I marinated the shrimp in citrus and a Southwestern dry rub.

Look for a beef fillet that has good marbling like the one that I used.

The full recipe is available on the SABER Grills website.

Peppered Beef Tenderloin with Red Wine Portobello Sauce

A beef tenderloin roast can be a meal that your guests remember for years to come.  Additionally, beef tenderloin roasts are faster cooking, smaller, leaner, and more tender than a rib roast. 

My December assignment for SABER Grills, our gas grill sponsor, was beef tenderloin for the holiday table.  I came up with this straightforward yet delicious Peppered Beef Tenderloin with Red Wine Portobello Sauce.

I used a "reverse pan seared" technique.  In addition to the usual benefits of a reverse sear, the reverse pan searing has a few advantages.  

• Using cast iron gets an even crust when searing. 
• Using the cast iron as your indirect shield preheats it for the sear.  
• Best of all, you can use the sucs (brown bits in the pan) to create delicious pan sauces.

The reverse pan sear set up that I used on my SABER 1500 Elite SSE.  

You will find the full recipe for Peppered Beef Tenderloin with Red Wine Portobello Sauce on the SABER Grills website.

Steak, Black Bean and Rice Burritos

[FTC Standard Disclaimer]  We received no compensation for this post. Smithfield and SABER Grills are two of our partner brands but this isn't a sponsored post for either brand.

This is one of our "go to" recipes when we want something quick, delicious, and satisfying.  Even our ultra picky, in house food critic (aka our son) loves these steak, black bean, and rice burritos.

The Components

• Steak - We use whatever looks the best and is the least expensive between flank steak, flat iron, skirt, and sirloin flap.  I have really become a fan of the sirloin flap in the last year or two, we just can't get it all of the time. The main thing is that the steak has to be thin sliced and medium rare.
• Rice - Sometimes we use a version of this Mexican Rice recipe.  Other times I'll just do regular basmati rice with some fire roasted poblano tossed in while it cooks.  If I have leftover plain white rice, I'll even use that just to get rid of the leftovers.
• Cheese - Ideally, this should be fresh shredded and something like Monterey jack, pepper jack, Chihuahua, or our favorite, Oaxaca. Oaxaca is like Mexican mozzarella, rich, buttery, and melts well.  But as a confession, there are times we use pre-shredded cheese....yeah, I know, it's coated with stuff to keep it from sticking together and drying out.  When we do pre-shredded, we like Sargento's the best because it seems the least processed.  
• Tortilla - We use Mission style sized flour tortillas for our burritos.  
• Black beans - We usually use the black bean recipe below.  It has more onion and bell pepper than I would normally use when making black beans for eating as a side dish. We usually use Ranch Style brand or Bush's unseasoned black beans. 

Black Bean Mix for Burritos

Ingredients

• 4 slices Smithfield Homestyle Bacon, chopped
• 1/2 cup diced white onion
• 1/3 cup diced red bell pepper
• 15 oz can black beans, drained
• 1/4 cup tomato sauce
• 3/4 teaspoon taco or fajita seasoning