Mesquite Grilled Steaks

Mesquite Grilled Steaks! Sounds delicious, right? And they are, if you do it right. Of course that's always the case, isn't it? Here's the right way and the wrong way to grill steaks with mesquite.

A few months ago, I got some charcoal briquettes going, prepped the steaks and got them sizzling over the hot coals. Then I remembered that I had some mesquite chunks (not chips, the big chunks of mesquite) so I added a couple of chunks on top of the coals and grilled the steaks. The chunks started smoldering and the resulting smoke added a wonderful smoke flavor to the steaks. They were delicious!

That was the right way.

Now the wrong way.

I decided to do some mesquite grilled steaks again. I was at the store getting some steaks and I noticed some mesquite lump charcoal. These are different than the normal briquettes and can be wonderful to use. They can add some flavor and usually burn hotter than the normal briquettes.

So I decided to get them. More mesquite would be better, right? Turns out I was wrong. Too much mesquite can give the meat a bitter taste. Between the mesquite lump charcoal and the 4 pieces of mesquite wood chunks that I added on top of the coals, the result was a pretty bitter taste.

Mesquite can be a great flavor and I highly encourage you to try a little bit when you grill steaks or chicken. But keep it light and don't overdo it. A couple of chunks should be plenty. Just add them to normal briquettes and let them smoke while you grill. You will end up with some pretty delicious steaks.

Good luck!

Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/wwworks/