Juicy grilled steaks with succulent charred corn and chile pepper salad. Add a baked potato for the ultimate grilling experience.
I’ve got a great story for you today. A story about coming home, perseverance, and commitment to customers. And it remarkably ties into food. It’s about Stong’s Market, which I originally thought was new in North Vancouver, BC, but I was to learn that Stong’s was actually coming home. Stong’s left North Vancouver 20 years ago, and they’re back and better than ever. Many of you probably recognize their name from the Dunbar flagship location (currently under rebuild). In collaboration with Stong’s Market, I’ve created the perfect recipe to throw on the grill for the end of summer … there’s long weekend coming up, no? This Grilled Steak with Charred Corn and Chile Pepper Salad is a solid way to send off summer. Get the cover off the grill, turn up the heat, and get ready to meet the new (old) kid on the block.
I’ve spent the last few weeks getting to know Stong’s Market and I can say that I’m impressed. They have grocery delivery AND a coffee bar you guys. I don’t know about you, but I strongly dislike getting in and out of the car with kids (1 or 3, it doesn’t matter it’s always a hassle). Any shop where I can grab a coffee, pick up a beautiful bouquet of flowers and do my grocery shopping ranks high on the list of “must shop there at all times”. I also love that they carry and support tons of amazing local suppliers. As a busy mom it’s often difficult to make it to the timing of farmer’s markets and heading to a location where I can trust that there are lots of local options is one I like. Stong’s meat department has always carried meats free from antibiotics and hormones. Pretty sweet deal huh? Going somewhere where you can trust that all the meat is at a level that you want to eat (and feed to your kids). Stong’s supports Canadian companies and I used Barberian’s Steak House Steak Seasoning after hearing the Canadian story on this business. The seasoning and these steaks blew my mind. I usually always make my own rubs, but this was SO good. I’m forcing it on my bestie to try it as well because I think it’s that amazing.The steaks themselves are a BC product and follow Stong’s mission of being antibiotic free with no added hormones. Greg went crazy for these steaks and the kids enjoyed them too. As one of my 3 year olds said “this is a really yummy dinner today” – you said it kid.
I asked Stong’s a few questions about family, returning to the N Shore and what sets them apart from other stores:
1) Stong’s has returned to the North Shore after 20 years; how does it feel to come home?
It has always been our dream to come back to the North Shore. Our family has lived on the North Shore since the early 1990’s and have called it our home. When we got the opportunity to not only open a store on the North Shore, but a store that’s only a 5 minute drive from our home and community we jumped on it. It feels so good to have a presence in the community we love and see our friends and neighbors in the store every day.
2) Stong’s is family run and family focused – what does family mean to you?
Our location on Dunbar is truly a pillar of the community. Customers often thought of grocery shopping at Stong’s as a 1-2 hour ordeal, often meeting their friends in the aisles, and getting caught up in conversation with staff. Many of our staff are long time employees, many over 10yrs, therefore they also developed strong ties to our customers. On our last day of business on Dunbar we had waves of people coming into the store even though the shelves were bare. They just wanted to say bye to their favorite employees on more time. We truly feel our employees and customers are part of our family, and after seeing our customers’ reaction when we had to leave Dunbar temporarily, we feel they think of us as family too.
3) What sets Stong’s meat and deli department apart from other grocery stores?
What sets our Deli department apart is the products we sell. All of our deli salads are made in house with fresh products and absolutely no preservatives. While in many other grocery stores their salads are made off site and often carry a shelf life of several weeks in some cases, while ours are made fresh every single day. Our Meat department has gained fame for selling high quality meats and specialty cuts before it was the status quo in the industry. What many people love about Stong’s is our extensive variety of products, and many people choose Stong’s to find exotic and hard to find cuts of meat and specialty orders.
- 4 x grilling steaks approx. 6 oz each, 1/2" thick
- 4 tbsp steak seasoning Barberian's preferred
- 4 x russet or other baking potato scrubbed clean
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3 ears of corn husks removed
- 3-4 Serrano chile peppers
- 1 bunch of small tomatoes on the vine such as cherry
- 1 bunch of cilantro leaves and tender stems chopped
- 100 grams feta goat's preferred
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 x lime zest and juice
- kosher salt and pepper
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Preheat grill to high.
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Rub potatoes with 1 tbsp of olive oil and generously sprinkle with kosher salt. Stab with a fork all over, approximately 8-12 times. Place directly on one side of the grill and reduce the heat on that side to medium.
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Cook potatoes for 40 minutes. Rotated and add corn to the grill, rotating every 10 minutes to char on all sides.
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Season steak with steak spice.
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With 12 minutes left, add steaks and Serrano peppers to the grill. Reduce the heat on this side to medium-high. Flip the peppers every couple of minutes.
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Flip steaks after about 5-7 minutes. Cook on the opposite side for approximately 5 minutes for medium-rare, less for rare and longer for well done. Let rest for 3-5 minutes.
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Add tomatoes to the grill for 3-5 minutes until the soften and start to burst.
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In a large bowl, cut down the ears of corn with a knife to release the kernels, Discard ears. Chop charred Serrano peppers and add to bowl. Toss with cilantro, feta, 1 tbsp olive oil, lime zest and juice, and season with salt and pepper.
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Place steaks, salad, potatoes, and tomatoes on a large platter to serve.
Enjoy! xo
** All the products used in this recipe were supplied by Stong’s Market (located on Dollarton Hwy in North Vancouver). My Kitchen Love was provided with product, although no compensation. All opinions expressed here are my own. This post was not vetted prior to publishing. **
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