A friend recently lent us her condo on Nantucket, and we
spent a week there with my mother, bicycling around and enjoying the
beach. Nantucket is a stunning and fascinating place. The only thing that tops
the natural beauty of its rolling fields and pristine beaches is the outrageous
displays of wealth by its visitors. Every other car is a Range Rover, houses
list for 14 million dollars, and people are dressed to the nines at all times.
It was a bit disorienting, until Santa Maria pointed out one thing that unified
and equalized all people on the island—the local Stop & Shop. Everywhere
you went, you’d see folks—rich folks, poor folks, and in-between folks—carrying
paper bags with the store’s logo.
At the Stop & Shop, I picked up some Sirloin Tip Strips, an
inexpensive, sufficiently fatty and delicious cut of beef that I would highly
recommend. As it turns out, “Sirloin Tip” is a New England name. Outside the region you might have to
ask for faux hanger or bavette. According to this great
article in Serious Eats, it’s “the bottom sirloin butt—the same general region
where the tri-tip comes from.” The tips I had were cut into strips, also a New
England custom, and I found that made them easier to cook. Here's how I did it:
I salted them heavily and laid them out on the grill.
Gave them about two
minutes a side, until they were charred nicely and 125 degrees in the thick parts.
fingers reaching for a taste before dinner!