Bar BQ Grills

After some glorious weather a week ago, it seems that fickle Spring smacked us with cold, wet, and dreary.  Want to show nature who is boss?  Want to shake off the winter blahs?  Then drag out your grill, fire it up and do something different! And oh yeah.....bring your wok.

Many people don't think about using a work on the grill but actually it's an ideal match.   Traditionally woks were used over a pit stove with live fire.  A charcoal grill generates the high heat that woks crave.  A flat bottomed wok will work on just about any large grill.   You can use a round bottom wok too, if you have a "spider rig" or if you have a mounting base for it.  The things I like about using a wok on the grill, or as I call it, "Stir Firing", are:

1. It is a fast dinner option.  Most dishes on the wok take only a few minutes of prep and cooking.
2. It is a healthier option.  (less oil, more veggies)
3. It is just fun!

So break out of the same ol', same ol' and try using your wok on your grill.  That is what I did tonight, I made a Grilled Orange Beef w/ Broccoli Stir Fire (aka stir fry).  The steak by itself was pretty damn good but the rest of this dish is good too.

1 ea flank steak

1/2 cup orange juice

1/4 cup sherry

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 ea green onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp red pepper flakes

1 Tbsp sesame oil

1 tsp ginger, fresh ground

1 Tbsp peanut oil

1 ea shallot, diced

1 head broccoli, cut into 1" pieces

1/3 cup chicken stock

1/2 Tbsp sesame oil

1/2 Tbsp peanut oil

1 inch ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks (about 2 Tbsp of fresh ginger)

1 Tbsp orange peel, fresh grated

1/2 cup orange juice

2 Tbsp dry sherry

2 tsp soy sauce

2 Tbsp hoisin sauce

1 Tbsp cornstarch

2 Tbsp cold water
salt and pepper to taste

Mix the marinade ingredients together and marinate the steak for 3-4 hours.

Set up the grill for direct heat at 400-450f.  Grill the steak for 3 minutes per side (4 minutes per side if skipping the stir fire part).

Remove to a raised rack and let rest.  Since you will now be working with the grill top open, you will want to cut your lower air intake vents down to almost closed to keep your fire from burning out of control hot.

Place a wok on the grill and preheat.  This should only take about 1 minute.  Add the oil and when it begins to shimmer add the shallot.  Simmer for 30-45 seconds.  Add the broccoli (still wet from rinsing) and stir fry for 2 minutes.

Add the chicken stock, cover and steam for 4-6 minutes.

Meanwhile, thinly slice the flank steak across the grain.  It is so hard NOT to just eat it all at this point.  But I did have to do some "quality control tasting.....errr....testing" of course. 

Remove broccoli.  Add the oils and when hot, add the ginger and orange peel.  Stir fry for 1 minute.  Add the OJ, sherry, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and stir.  Allow to simmer for 2-3 minutes.  Stir together the water and cornstarch and add to the sauce* to thicken.

Return the broccoli and beef to the wok and toss them to coat with the sauce.


Remove and serve immediately with rice.


The beef and broccoli was good.  It disappeared quickly, with my 11 year old having seconds.  But the sauce seemed awfully thin, it just didn't coat like my usual stir fry does.   After dinner I was cleaning up my out door kitchen, gathering things to be washed and there on the table was my unused bowl with the cornstarch slurry in it.........DOH!  Mystery solved.