[Modern Family] Ch: 57 [Cooking Up Content] (Patreon)

[Evening] [Jason's House]

By the time Jason got home, it was already evening. He parked the Audi in the garage, carried his bags into the kitchen, and put the steaks straight into the refrigerator. He left the programming books on the dining table and set his new copy of Prototype beside the TV.

After washing his hands, Jason opened the fridge again to check on the thick, marbled ribeyes he'd bought.

"Alright, let's see if all that reading actually paid off," he mumbled.

He was about to pull one out when another thought hit him. Why not record the whole thing?

Jason closed the refrigerator and leaned against the kitchen counter, considering the angle. He already operated two YouTube channels. The Grid covered gaming, while The Grid Lab focused on technology reviews and electronics. Adding a third channel would undoubtedly increase his editing workload, especially since he handled all the production himself.

Still, cooking was different from his other projects. He had to eat every day anyway. If he was going to spend time testing recipes and experimenting with ingredients, putting a camera in front of the stove required very little extra effort. If the footage turned out entertaining, he had content. If he ruined the meal, he'd have blooper footage and an excuse to order takeout.

Besides, diversifying made sense. Gaming was his primary focus, and tech reviews brought in steady views, but food content had massive mainstream appeal. There was no harm in building another pillar while the platform was still growing.

"Three channels," Jason muttered, rubbing his chin with a faint grin. "I'm either building a media empire or signing up for a very specific type of sleep deprivation."

He walked upstairs to his room. Sitting down at his computer, he noticed that the uploads had been completed and the videos had started to gain views and comments. But he decided to check them later. For now, he registered a new account called The Grid Kitchen. The name matched his other channels, and he could throw together a channel background and profile picture later. Right now, he just wanted to make dinner.

Jason packed up two HD camcorders, a pair of tripods, portable studio lights, spare batteries, and a clip-on microphone, carrying everything up to the rooftop terrace.

The outdoor kitchen looked much better than it had on Sunday. The counters were clean, the cabinets were stocked, and the huge stainless steel Kalamazoo grill sat ready next to the prep station.

He set up one camera for a wide shot of the counter and grill, then angled the second camera close to the grates for tight shots of the food. After turning on the lights, he recorded a quick test clip and played it back on the camcorder's small flip-out screen. The lighting made his forehead glare brightly.

"Fantastic," Jason deadpanned, adjusting the diffuser on the main light. "Live from the surface of the sun, it's dinner with Jason."

He moved the main light back a few feet, lowered the exposure, and checked the screen again. Much better.

With the video setup ready, Jason checked the grill's gas line and tested the connection for leaks just like the manual instructed. Once he was sure everything was safe, he went back downstairs to grab his ingredients.

He picked out one of the thickest ribeyes for his first try and left the rest in the fridge. He brought the steak upstairs on a tray along with salt, a pepper mill, unsalted butter, garlic, fresh rosemary, thyme, and a meat thermometer.

After setting everything neatly on the prep counter, Jason clipped the mic to his shirt, hit record on both cameras, and stepped into frame.

"What's up, everyone? Jason here, and welcome to the very first video on The Grid Kitchen," he said, smiling at the main camera. "If you follow me over on The Grid or The Grid Lab, you know I usually stick to video games and phones. Today, I'm trying something completely different."

He gestured toward the massive stainless steel grill behind him.

"I recently bought this ridiculous Kalamazoo grill for my rooftop setup, and since it cost more than some used cars, I figured I should actually learn how to cook on it properly. Now, I can handle the basics in a kitchen just fine, but I have zero professional culinary experience, and I've never worked with a real grill like this. So, I spent the weekend reading a stack of cooking books, and today we're finding out if learning how to grill from a textbook actually works."

Jason picked up the tray and tilted it toward the second camera.

"For episode one, we're doing a thick-cut ribeye. You can see all the marbling running through the meat here, which is where the flavor comes from. The goal is a nice medium-rare without turning the outside into charcoal."

He set the tray down and grabbed a roll of paper towels.

"First step is getting the surface as dry as possible," Jason explained as he patted both sides of the steak. "If there's moisture on the outside, the meat just steams on the grates instead of browning. Once it's dry, we hit it with a good amount of salt."

He salted the meat evenly, pressing it in lightly with his fingers.

"I'm holding off on the black pepper for a few minutes because coarse pepper can burn over high heat and turn bitter. We'll let the salt sit on the steak while the grill heats up, and in the meantime, I'll prep the herbs."

While the grill came up to temperature, Jason lightly crushed a few cloves of garlic with the flat side of his chef's knife and set them next to the rosemary and thyme. Everything he had read over the weekend was clear in his head, and his hands moved smoothly through the prep work without any hesitation.

Jason waited for the grill to preheat properly.

He ground fresh black pepper over the ribeye and walked over to the Kalamazoo.

"Alright, the grates are scorching hot. Let's get this on."

He laid the steak down away from himself. A loud, sharp sizzle immediately filled the air, and white smoke began rising from the grill.

"Listen to that sear," Jason said, grinning at the close-up camera. "Now, the hardest part according to every book I read is just leaving it alone. If you keep flipping it or poking it, you ruin the crust. So we're just going to let it sit for a couple of minutes."

As the beef cooked, Jason watched the edges of the meat closely, paying attention to the way the sizzle changed pitch and how the fat started softening and rendering down. After about two minutes, he slid his tongs under the ribeye and flipped it.

A deep, dark brown crust covered the top surface.

"Oh, man, look at that color," Jason said, genuinely impressed. "That is way better than I expected for a first try."

He let the second side sear, then moved the thick steak over to the cooler side of the grill so the inside could finish cooking without burning the exterior. He turned on the side burner, dropped a couple of tablespoons of butter into a small pan, and tossed in the garlic, rosemary, and thyme.

"Since this is a really thick cut, I pulled it off the direct flame so the center can come up to temp evenly," he explained as the butter began to foam and smell like roasted garlic. "Right now, I'm melting down some butter with garlic and herbs on the side burner to spoon over the top when it comes off."

He picked up his digital thermometer and pushed the probe into the thickest part of the steak. Watching the numbers climb, he waited until it hit 125°F, then immediately lifted the steak off the grates and set it on a warm plate.

He poured a few spoonfuls of the hot, garlicky butter right over the crust.

"And now we wait," Jason told the camera, setting the pan aside. "You have to let the meat rest for about five to ten minutes so the juices redistribute instead of spilling all over the cutting board the second you slice it."

After seven minutes on the timer, Jason picked up his knife and fork, pulling the cutting board into the center of the close-up camera's frame.

"Moment of truth. Let's see if I overcooked it."

He sliced cleanly through the middle of the steak and pulled the two halves apart. Inside, the beef was a warm, even pink from edge to edge, framed by a thin, crisp brown crust.

Jason blinked at the cross-section. "Huh. That is actually spot-on medium-rare."

He cut a bite-sized piece from the center, held it up briefly for the lens to focus, and popped it into his mouth.

The second he bit down, his eyes widened. The crust was crisp, salty, and rich, giving way to meat so tender he barely had to chew. The rendered fat and garlic-herb butter coated his tongue, blending together without covering up the flavor of the beef itself.

Jason slowly lowered his fork. He had eaten at high-end steakhouses, and not one of them had served a steak this good.

He looked down at the cutting board in disbelief. "Holy shit..."

He cut another piece and ate it slower this time, paying close attention. It wasn't a fluke. The salt level, the tenderness, the temperature, and the smoky char from the grill were completely balanced.

Jason swallowed and looked back up at the main camera, letting out a short laugh.

"Okay, I'm going to be completely honest with you guys. I was hoping this would just be edible, maybe decent if I got lucky. This is legitimately the best steak I've ever had in my life, and I'm not just saying that because I made it."

He shook his head, looking back down at the plate with a grin.

"Well, it looks like the books worked. Either that, or this grill is magic." He picked up his fork again and reached for the camera's stop button. "Thanks for watching the first episode of The Grid Kitchen, guys. Leave a comment, rate, and subscribe if you want to see me try not to burn down my patio next time. As for right now, I'm going to go finish dinner."

...

Later that night, Jason settled into his gaming chair with a Coke can and opened YouTube.

The Red Faction highlights he'd uploaded earlier had already attracted a healthy number of views and comments. His latest Grid Lab videos were also generating discussions, particularly the four-phone comparison.

He started scrolling through the comments, occasionally laughing at what people had written.

CableGuy87: Bro spent five minutes explaining structural engineering and then dropped a tower on his own truck. Never change.

TheGrid: That truck made a noble sacrifice for scientific progress. Show some respect.

PixelQueen: Watched the smartphone comparison. The iPhone looks amazing, but I still want a physical keyboard. Am I getting old?

TheGridLab: Nothing wrong with physical keyboards. The Palm Pre's slider is pretty satisfying, and the N97 has its advantages. Touchscreens are improving fast, though.

MobileGeek: Finally, someone testing actual browser speed instead of reading the processor specs! Can you compare battery life next?

TheGridLab: Definitely. I'm working on a standardized battery test so the results are actually useful.

A few comments farther down, Jason recognized another familiar name.

HowardW: Dude! Leonard and I watched your phone teardown. Pretty impressive stuff. Also, Sheldon wants to know whether your testing methodology accounts for differences in wireless signal strength. Apparently this is VERY important. Anyway, don't forget about that gaming collaboration!

Jason laughed and typed his reply.

TheGridLab: Tell Sheldon I'll have the testing conditions properly documented next time. And I haven't forgotten! I'll message you guys once I figure out a schedule.

After answering several more comments, Jason opened GmAx.

Someone had posted his Red Faction truck disaster under the title The Grid's School of Engineering: How to Destroy Your Own Escape Vehicle.

The thread was already several pages long, with users sharing screenshots and suggesting increasingly ridiculous demolition challenges.

Jason shook his head, laughing as he closed the browser.

He'd originally planned to stream Prototype that evening, but the cooking footage sitting on his memory cards was proving far more tempting.

"Alright, Alex Mercer. You're going to have to wait another day."

He transferred the recordings from both cameras and opened his editing software.

Over the next several hours, Jason synchronized the camera angles, removed unnecessary pauses, adjusted the audio, and added close-up footage of the steak cooking. He also included temperature readings and a few short captions explaining the techniques he'd used.

His enhanced concentration made the process surprisingly enjoyable. He barely noticed the hours passing until he glanced at the clock.

It was almost two in the morning.

After trimming the footage down to nine minutes and forty seconds, Jason reviewed the final cut, exported the video, and started uploading it to The Grid Kitchen.

He titled the episode My First Steak on a $20,000+ Grill | The Grid Kitchen #1.

With the upload in progress, Jason finally leaned back. He stretched his arms and cracked his fingers before getting up. He went to the bathroom and washed his face, then went downstairs.

He grabbed a bottle of orange juice from the fridge and sat at the dining table. "Time to read. Maybe I should get some kind of degree or diploma." He then picked up his new books and started reading.