Grilled Thai New York Strip Steaks with Lime Sauce

It started as an experiment. My good friend Ron tipped me off when it started last summer. Costco started carrying a few New York strip and rib eye steaks in USDA Prime. These are the cuts you get at the very best steakhouses and are quite difficult to find at retail. Thickly marbled, they are an absolute taste treat.

This year Costco has expanded their USDA Prime program to four cuts: NY Strip, rib eye, tenderloin and sirloin. For the two of you who do not know this, Costco meats are excellent and just about impossible to beat on price. Now with USDA Prime available at Costco, grillers have easy access to a little bit of heaven at a bargain price.

Here's a really different and delicious way to cook up New York Strip Steaks. This Thai recipe is from Sherlyne Hutchinson of Cornelius, OR. I serve this up sliced along with some sticky rice (http://terrygruggen.blogspot.com/2011/05/sticky-rice.html) and Asian Cole Slaw (http://terrygruggen.blogspot.com/2011/05/asian-cole-slaw.html). Serves 4.

Ingredients
3 New York Strip Steaks, cut 1 1/2 inches thick

For the Marinade:
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon hot chili oil
10 cloves garlic, crushed

For the Lime Sauce:
4 tablespoons fresh lime juice
4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon brown sugar
Cilantro sprigs for garnish

Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine all marinade ingredients. Whisk until blended.
2. Put steaks into a Ziploc bag. Add marinade. Seal bag and toss to distribute marinade. Marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes.
3. Fill a charcoal chimney with charcoal and ignite. Build a two-zone fire in your charcoal grill so that half of the charcoal grate has hot coals (direct heat) and the other half is empty (indirect heat). For a gas grill, turn half the burners on high, half the burners to off.
4. While coals are heating, combine sauce ingredients in a small bowl: lime juice, soy sauce and brown sugar.
5. Remove steaks from marinade. Sear steaks over direct heat with the grill covered, 3 minutes per side.
6. Move steaks to indirect side and cook, covered, for an additional 6 minutes.
7. Remove steaks from grill. Tent steaks with foil and let them rest for 5 minutes.
8. Slice steaks and put slices on serving plates. Top slices with lime sauce and cilantro sprigs.

Wine pairing: Zinfandel