Make Your Steak One They’ll Remember
Here are some not-so-standard steak recipes to spice up your summer grilling menus.
Soy-Soaked Steak
From “Smoke & Spice,” by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison (Harvard Common Press).
3/4 cup soy sauce, preferably low-sodium
1/3 cup of bottled meat marinade, such as Pickapeppa sauce
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup red wine
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons brown sugar, or more to taste 1-1/2 tablespoons oil, preferably sesame
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 flank steaks, about 2-1/2 pounds
The night before, place all ingredients, except the steaks, in a lidded jar and combine well. Place flank steaks in a plastic bag or shallow dish and pour marinade over them. Refrigerate overnight.
When ready to cook, prepare smoker or grill. Remove steaks from refrigerator; drain and reserve marinade. In a heavy saucepan, bring marinade to a boil and boil for 5 to 10 minutes, until reduced by one-third. Keep mixture warm for glazing the meat.
Brush glaze over steaks and transfer them to grill. Brush steaks with glaze again after 25 minutes. Cook for a total of 45 to 55 minutes for rare or medium-rare.
Let steaks rest about 10 minutes before slicing thinly across the grain. Meanwhile, bring remaining glaze to a boil. Serve slices of steak with additional glaze on top or on the side.
Yield: 6 to 8 servings.
Nutrition information per serving: 307 calories, 34 grams protein, 9 grams carbohydrate, 13 grams fat (38 percent fat calories), 57 milligrams cholesterol, 1,224 milligrams sodium.
Dirty Steak with Hot Fanny Sauce
A recipe by George Germon and Johanne Killeen, who own Al Forno in Rhode Island, from “In Julia’s Kitchen With Master Chefs” (Knopf).
Hot Fanny Sauce:
1 cup sugar
2 pounds onions, minced (7 to 8 cups)
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely minced
4 cups chicken stock
1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/8 cup medium-dry sherry
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 green bell pepper, roasted, peeled and seeded (see note)
Melt the sugar in a deep skillet; it will take 6 to 8 minutes and the sugar will clump up before it totally melts and caramelizes. Stir occasionally while sugar is melting.
Once sugar is melted and a deep brown color, add the onions and the jalapeno. At this point, the caramel will seize up and you’ll think you failed. Never mind; the water in the onions will melt the sugar clumps back down. Let cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until very soft and brown, 8 to 10 minutes.
Add the stock and the salt and bring to a boil over moderately high heat. Continue to boil on moderately high heat for abou 30 minutes until sauce is reduced by half, to about 4 cups. Stir in the sherry, cook another minute, and remove from heat.
Transfer the sauce, in batches, to the blender and, holding the top down firmly to prevent accidental burns and splatters, turn the machine on to moderately slow. With machine running, add vinegar and green pepper through the hole in top. Close top and puree at high speed for a moment. Pour back into the saucepan and reheat when needed.
Covered and refrigerated when cool, the sauce will keep for several days or can be frozen for several weeks.
Nutrition information per tablespoon of sauce: 22 calories, 0.13 grams fat (5 percent fat calories), 5 grams carbohydrate, trace protein, trace cholesterol, 48 milligrams sodium.
Note: To roast pepper, place on top of grill or under a broiler. Cook on all sides until skin is black and blistered. Place in paper bag, close top and let sit for 15 minutes. Remove pepper from bag and peel off the charred skin. Halve pepper and remove seeds.
Dirty Steak:
3-pound ribeye roast (minus the ribs and back bones) or 3 ribeye steaks, each cut 1-1/4 inches thick
Cut the roast into 3 steaks, each 1-1/4 inches thick. Dry with paper towels and keep the steaks separate so they don’t ooze juice.
Prepare fire of natural wood (pecan is good) or pure natural wood charcoal. When coals are covered wth ashes, place steaks directly on coals. Cook for 4 minutes, flip with tongs and cook for an additional 4 minutes.
Immediately remove steaks from coals, place on a rack over a shallow baking pan and cover with aluminum foil. Let sit for 8-10 minutes (8 minutes for medium rare).
Brush any charcoal or wood residue from steak. Slice steak crosswise and serve drizzled with the sauce.
Yield: 8 servings.
Nutrition information per serving for steak without sauce: 408 calories, 33 grams fat (74 percent fat calories), no carbohydrate, 25 grams protein, 93 milligrams cholesterol, 70 milligrams sodium.
Bourbon Steak
From “The Pyromaniac’s Cookbook,” by John J. Poister (Doubleday).
2 pounds thick-cut prime or choice sirloin
1/2 teaspoon salt
Seasoned pepper, to taste
1/4 cup bourbon
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped shallots
Cover top of sirloin with salt, and and pepper; let sit 1 hour.
Heat a charcoal or gas grill. Be sure grill rack is clean and well oiled. Place steak on grill to sear. Turn to sear and grill-mark other side and cook about 10 minutes or to desired doneness.
While steak cooks, heat a sturdy metal pan on the grill until it is very hot (we used the bottom of a broiler pan). Also, heat bourbon in a heavy, small saucepan on the grill or a metal ladle held over the grill just until warmed.
Just before the steak is cooked, melt butter in the metal pan with parsley and shallots. Place cooked steak in pan and turn to cover both sides with butter mixture. Remove the metal pan from grill, ignite the bourbon and pour slowly over steak.
Yield: 6 servings.
Nutrition information per serving: 321 calories, 33 grams protein, 19 grams fat (53 percent fat calories), .32 grams carbohydrate, 116 milligrams cholesterol, 329 milligrams sodium.
xxxx HOW TO TELL WHEN YOUR STEAK IS DONE Unlike ground beef, it’s safe to serve steak that is pink in the middle, because bacteria found on the surface of the meat cannot penetrate to the center. Yet overcooking has been cited as the most common mistake in preparing steak. An overcooked steak is a dry steak and, because flavor evaporates with the juices, a boring steak. With only a few minutes, at most, between cooked and overcooked, the novice steak chef might well feel tense. After all, it is impractical to use a meat thermometer on any but the thickest steaks, while a raft of variables (such as how long an oven has been heated or wind blowing over an outdoor grill) makes recommended cooking times no more than estimates. To help decide when your steak is done, keep the following in mind: When blood-red dots or “tears” appear on the surface of a steak being grilled or pan-fried, it has reached the rare stage and should be turned. Cook it an equal amount of time on the second side and turn it back briefly for medium-rare. Cook it a minute or so longer on the second side and turn it back briefly for medium. A more tactile method is to press your finger into the cooked side of the steak. If it feels soft and spongy, it is rare. If the meat is firm with only a minimum of give, it has reached medium. To learn what medium-rare feels like, stretch out one hand, then push the index finger of the other hand into the triangle of flesh between the thumb and forefinger. It will be slightly resistant and springy. So will a medium-rare steak. William Rice Chicago Tribune