A Family That Eats Together: Grilled Rib Eye

Marin Mommies presents this week's guest recipe from Nicole Cibellis, Marin mom and author of the blog A Family that Eats Together, where she shares meal plans and recipes that will please foodies and children alike. Nicole is also the creator of the new Little Froglet line of children's activewear. Here's Nicole's meal plan for this week.

I have fallen in love with grilling over all different kinds of woods, which impart their smoky goodness into meats. In this recipe, I have used apple wood on my gas grill (because I am too lazy to use a non-gas grill). It is really simple. All you need to do is soak the wood for 30 minutes prior to grilling. Then lay them down over hot lava rock* which is usually placed at the bottom of gas grills. The lava rock creates a more even heat and the soaked wood chips release the fragrant smoke. This time of year, all different types of grilling woods can be found from your local hardware shop to big box stores. Apple wood is nice because it does not impart such as intense smokiness as mesquite but choose the grilling wood you prefer.

Serve with my balsamic-glazed oven roasted carrots.

Servings: 3–4
Prep time: 5 minutes
Inactive time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 12 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 pound organic grass-fed rib eye beef
• sea salt
• freshly ground pepper
• 6 cups of your favorite grilling wood chips

Directions

1. Soak wood chips in a bowl so that the chips are covered. Place a weight such as plate over top so that the chips remain submerged. Soak for at least 30 minutes. Let the meat come to room temperature.
2. When you are ready to grill, preheat the grill to medium-high heat. Season the meat with salt and pepper to your taste.
3. Place the wood chips over the hot lava rocks and place the steaks on the grill. Cooking will depend on your grill and heat but a 1" steak will usually take 5-6 minutes per side for medium-rare. Or, cook, the steak to your liking.
4. Remove the steak from the grill and let it rest for at least 10 minutes.
5. Slice and serve with my balsamic glazed oven roasted carrots.

* Lava Rocks can be found in most hardware stores in the grilling section.