A couple of years ago, I stumbled upon Traeger Grills at a Costco road show. I needed a new grill and never had a smoker, let alone smoked any food, so I decided to live on the edge and buy one! Turns out, it was one of the best purchases that I had ever made. I have become a Traeger addict and enjoy cooking just about everything on it. Big pork shoulders, brisket, ribs, chicken, pizza, bacon and yes, even baked goods! Quite honestly, I’m not sure what my life would be like without one. Ridiculous, I know, but it is the truth!
Fast forward two years, Traeger invited me to attend a shop class at my local Ace Hardware. It’s a class that teaches you how to smoke and grill like a pro. It’s taught by competition Pit Masters from around the country. Not only did I learn a ton, I also realized that there was a new Traeger on the market and that I had to own. So like before, I bought one.
I am now the proud owner of their newest series of grills, the Timberline. Due to space constraints of my porch, I bought the 850 model. Dang, this grill is bad ass! It has everything that my last grill had except it’s basically on steroids! Tons of cook space, a heavier design, some thoughtful accessories for cleaning and maintaining the grill, the capability for achieving higher cooking temperatures, a super smoke mode and believe it or not, it has an “app”. Seriously, you can control and program this grill through your phone over wi-fi! Wow! Freaking cool!
Needless to say, I have been grilling and smoking a ton over the past couple of weeks! This week, rib eye steaks! There is this cool technique called a reverse sear. You can achieve this on any grill or even in your oven! Whatever device you are using, set the temperature to 250 degrees. Cook your well seasoned steaks until the internal temperature reaches 114 degrees, approximately 1 hour. Remove from the heat source and set aside. Raise the temperature to 500 degrees on your grill or place a cast iron skillet on the stove over high heat. Sear the meat for approximately 2 minutes per side or until the internal temperature reaches 125 degrees for medium rare. Remove from the heat and let rest for 10 minutes. The meat will raise in temperature as it sits. To date, this is hands down the best way that I have ever cooked a steak! Super tender and juicy that you hardly even need a knife!
This weeks feast needed a sauce. Well, not really but I wanted to make one! I love a good hollandaise sauce as do I love carbonara pasta. I’m not quite sure where my mind goes with recipe development, but I thought bacon infused hollandaise sauce would be a good idea so Carbonara Hollandaise Sauce was made.
I used a prosciutto instead of bacon as I love the flavor of it when it’s cooked to crispy perfection and quite honestly, it makes the best bacon bits! Perfect in the sauce and sprinkled on top of the steaks before serving! I also added a little Parmesan cheese to make it even more carbonara-ish! Turns out Carbonara Hollandaise Sauce may be my new favorite! I think it would be great on just about any meat, chicken or vegetables! Give it a try, it’s super easy to make in a blender! Perfect timing for Father’s Day next weekend!
Just a quick note, Traeger did not pay me for this endorsement. I just think everyone should own one! 🙂
Enjoy!
- olive oil
- 1- 4 ounce package thinly sliced prosciutto
- 1 stick butter, melted
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 4 egg yolks
- pinch of pepper
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- a few dashes hot sauce
- Coat the bottom of a large saute pan with olive oil and warm over medium heat. Place the prosciutto in the pan and fry until crispy, stirring constantly to avoid burning. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels. Crumble and reserve.
- In a blender, add the lemon juice, egg yolks, pepper, cheese and hot sauce. Blend until the eggs become light yellow, about a minute. Slowly pour in the melted butter and blend until thick.
- Add about 2 tablespoons of the crispy prosciutto to the sauce and blend until incorporated.
- Serve the sauce immediately over your favorite steak, chicken or vegetables. Crumble the remaining prosciutto over whatever you are serving.
Chris says
My father in law bought a Traeger and he loves it! That and we bought him a Big Green Egg Mini-Max for searing steaks and grilling, he is set! We love hollandaise sauce and I like your spin on this!
cookingintherockies says
I bought the new Timberline 850- It sears great! My new baby!