The rib-eye not only comes from the same impeccable uptown address as the rib steak, it comes without the rib steak’s spare tire of fat. Trimmed by the butcher, it is truly the eye of the rib, a boneless cut. Cooked like a filet steak, panbroiled by preference, it emerges with a little more texture and a lot more flavor. As you can see from my Best Ever recipe, Rib-Eye Steak with Pinot Noir Beurre Rouge, this cut is very popular with French chefs and very receptive to sauces. Thanks to its depth of flavor, a rib-eye can keep company with some very zesty seasonings. A sizzling rib-eye takes well to mustard-beer sauce, cracked pepper and roasted onion sauce, or basil and green peppers. This versatile steak can also be served cold with caper sauce. When the exception to the rule is made and the rib-eye is cooked on the bone, try the recipe for W.R.’s Chicago Cut. Dressed in Latin-American flavor, Rib-eye Steak with an Island Accent forgoes the sauce and instead is complemented by the tropical flavors of plantains, black beans, and rice.
Steak, butter, and red wine make a delicious trio. In this presentation, the butter is made into beurre rouge, a pink version of the great fish sauce from Normandy. To fill the plate, serve something simple such as green beans and maybe some cottage fries. With the bottle already open, my choice of wine is self-evident.
3 rib-eye steaks (about 12 ounces each), cut ¾ inch thick
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
⅓ cup minced shallots
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, or to taste
1 cup Pinot Noir wine
8 ounces (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1. Pat steaks dry, then coat them lightly with 2 tablespoons of the oil. Set aside.
2. Combine the shallots and 1 tablespoon vinegar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook for 1 minute, then add the wine. Reduce the liquid to a syrupy glaze, 1 to 2 tablespoons. (Recipe may be done up to 1 hour ahead to this point.) Set aside.
3. Heat a large heavy skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium-high heat until hot. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, then add the steaks. Cook until seared and well-crusted on one side, about 4 minutes. Turn and cook 3 minutes more for medium-rare or 4 minutes more for medium. Transfer the steaks to a cutting board and cover loosely with aluminum foil.
4. Reheat the glaze over medium-low heat. Add the butter, 2 pieces at a time, whisking constantly. Work on and off the heat so the butter liquefies without melting. When all the butter has been incorporated into the sauce, season it to taste with salt, pepper, and a little more vinegar. Keep the sauce warm but do not place over direct heat.
5. Cut the steaks into ½-inch slices and salt lightly. Pour ¼ cup of sauce onto each of 4 warm plates and top with slices of steak. Serve at once.
SERVES 4
This recipe offers further evidence why great steak cooks favor cast-iron cookware: it transmits heat so evenly and so well. The rib-eyes I used for this recipe were labeled “lean beef,” but there was enough fat to keep the meat moist. Consider serving this dish with Fabulous Fried Zucchini (see Index), rice and a Merlot wine from California or Chile’s Casa Lapostolle.
6 ounces white button mushrooms
1 large red bell pepper, roasted, peeled, and seeded (page 88)
4 scallions, white and 2 inches of green, cut on a diagonal into ½-inch pieces
1 teaspoon mustard seeds, ground
1 teaspoon dried dill
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon coarse (kosher) salt
2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
2 rib-eye steaks (about 10 ounces each), cut ¾ inch thick
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons plain yogurt
1. If desired, make the compote in the morning or even a day ahead. Cut the mushrooms into quarters, or sixths if large, and set aside. Cut the bell pepper into 2-inch square pieces and transfer to a food processor. Add the scallions. Purée the mixture to the consistency of a fine salsa, about 1 minute. Add the ground mustard seeds, dill, coriander, and coarse salt. Pulse just to incorporate the spices. You should have about ¾ cup sauce.
2. Place a medium-size skillet over medium heat. When warm, add 1 tablespoon of the oil and the mushrooms and sauté until they begin to glisten and give off juice, about 4 minutes. (For fun, toss the mushrooms into the air from time to time. It’s safe. They are very obedient.) Turn off the heat, but leave the skillet on the stove. Add the pepper sauce.
3. Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat until very hot. Pat the steaks dry, then lightly coat with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Place in the pan and cook until seared and well-browned, about 4 minutes.Turn, season lightly with salt and pepper, and cook for 4 minutes more for medium-rare.
4. While the steak is cooking, reheat the mushroom mixture over medium heat until bubbling. Off the heat, stir in the yogurt, adjust the seasoning as desired, and spoon onto 2 warmed plates. Add a steak to each plate and serve.
SERVES 2 OR UP TO 4 IF STEAK IS SLICED
ROASTING PEPPERS
Roast peppers one at a time by placing the pepper over a flame on a gas burner, resting it directly on the burner, or place it under a preheated broiler. Turn often with tongs until the pepper is blackened all over. Put the peppers in a paper bag, close it, and let stand until the skin is loosened and the peppers are cool enough to handle, 10 minutes. Use the side of a knife to scrape away the blackened skin, holding the peppers under cold running water, if desired. Cut off the top of each pepper, slit open, and remove the seeds and veins. Use immediately or store, covered, in the refrigerator.
This recipe and my Beer-Brewed Chuck Steak (see Index) illustrate how different cuts respond best to different methods of cooking. The tougher chuck steak is cooked in beer in the manner of a stew. The rib-eye, on the other hand, is marinated in beer, garlic, and parsley to gain flavor, not tenderness. Tenderness is a rib-eye’s middle name. This steak is then grilled quickly and served with a lively sauce made from sweet-hot mustard and a reduction of the marinade. It’s a natural for a person with a craving for steak who is dining alone.
1 rib-eye steak (about 12 ounces), cut 1 inch thick
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 bottle (12 ounces) beer or ale, or more as needed
Vegetable oil, preferably corn
¼ cup low-sodium chicken broth
Salt, to taste
2 teaspoons sweet-hot mustard, preferably Inglehoffer
1. Pat the steak dry. Combine the garlic, parsley, pepper, and the bottle of beer in a pan or bowl in which the steak will fit tightly. (I use an 8½-inch loaf pan.) Place the steak in the marinade and add additional beer, if needed, to completely cover the steak. Cover the container with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 to 8 hours.
2. Remove the steak from the marinade and pat dry. Coat lightly with 1 tablespoon oil.
3. Strain the marinade into a skillet and add the chicken broth. Bring the liquid to a boil over high heat and reduce to ⅓ cup, about 15 minutes. (Be alert. The carbonation still in the beer will cause it to boil up. Remove the pan from the heat and stir the liquid down before it boils over.)
4. When ready to cook, lightly oil a ridged grill pan or a cast-iron frying pan and heat it over medium-high heat until very hot. Place the steak in the pan and cook it until seared and nicely browned, about 4 minutes. Turn the steak, season the browned side with salt, and cook for 4 minutes more for medium-rare or 5 minutes more for medium.
5. Meanwhile, stir the mustard into the reduced broth and simmer, stirring often, until it thickens. Season with salt. Make a puddle of sauce on 1 or 2 warm serving plates. Serve the steak as it is or cut it into ½-inch-thick slices and place on top of the sauce.
SERVES 1 OR 2
The haunting aroma of sizzling steak comes from a combination of the smell of melting fat and the breakdown of protein. This smell, in turn, colors what we taste. (Remember, the nose has veto power. If the aroma is off-putting enough, we won’t put the food in our mouth.)
Inside the mouth, while the taste buds are sorting out the four sensations that are their specialty—sweet, sour, bitter, and salty—other members of the jury are at work, too. The teeth quickly detect if the steak is tender or tough. The tongue and sides of the mouth discover if it is juicy or not. Health considerations aside, it’s not nearly as rewarding to do this with raw steak as cooked. What we consider meaty flavor develops with the application of heat.
Broil a steak and the moisture driven to the surface of the meat concentrates and changes the meat’s color and flavor. Braise or poach meat and it will taste different than if that same cut had been roasted or broiled. Moist-heat flavors tend to be delicate, although the liquid, benefiting from flavor components leached from the meat, may be quite flavorful. Also, steaks from different cuts taste different, even if cooked in the same manner. Dining at home and in restaurants convinced me of that long ago.
But obvious areas of comparison had gone untested by me. I wanted to:
• Taste different grades of the same cut of steak.
• Taste different grades of the same cut cooked fresh and cooked directly from the freezer.
It didn’t take much effort to convince the curious cooks at the kitchens of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association in Chicago to arrange just such a test. Marlys Bielunski, director of Test Kitchens and Editorial Services, and I agreed on our favorites and even agreed on the assets and defects of the steaks we tasted.
The big winner was ungraded brand-name steak. The loser was prime. Even in the one category where it was the favorite, the prime steak did not stand apart enough to justify its considerably higher price. The truth, it seems, is that whatever its credentials, steak is not absolutely predictable. It’s a natural product subject to variation in taste and texture.
We tasted three flights of steaks. Each flight contained three steaks.
Flights 1 and 2: Prime, choice, and branded boneless top sirloin, fresh and frozen.
Flight 3: Prime, choice, and branded boneless rib-eye steak, fresh.
The branded meat was Maverick Ranch Gold Medal Brand Lean ’n Natural Beef. Also called lite beef, it is range raised and corn-fed. Promotional material says it contains “no detectable residues from chemicals associated with antibiotics, pesticides, and steroids.” There’s also a call to cook this meat for less time than graded steak.
The grade distinction among the fresh sirloins was readily apparent before cooking. The prime was liberally flecked with fat. There was less flecking in the choice steak. The branded lean steak was larger than the other two and darker in color.
Among the rib-eye steaks, the prime, purchased from a specialty butcher, “lacked prime visuals,” meaning the marbling was less extensive than anticipated. There was no lack of fat, though. The steak was less well trimmed than the others and contained a clump of fat. The marbling of the choice and lean steaks was quite similar, with the choice also having less marbling than expected.
The steaks were broiled, 3 to 4 inches from the heat, to medium-rare. The results:
Fresh sirloin: All three had very similar color when cooked, with the amount of juice escaping very similar. The branded lean had an appealing beefy flavor, the choice was very acceptable, and the prime was somewhat disappointing. Probably not worth the difference in price to go for the higher grade.
Prime: Very even texture, not very juicy, pronounced sweet corn flavor.
Choice: Noticeably chewier, also juicier.
Lean: Very similar to the choice. It took longer to cook to medium-rare than the prime, probably because of the larger size.
Frozen sirloin: There were distinctly mixed results in this category, seemingly due more to the variables in beef than to freezing. If broiling steak (1-inch-thick or less) directly from the freezer, turn it twice during cooking.
Prime: Notably softer in texture, more pleasing than the fresh prime steak.
Choice: Grainier, drier than the fresh, not appealing.
Lean: Chewier than the other two, but very acceptable for both taste and texture. Best of this flight and maybe best overall so far.
Fresh rib-eye: The best-tasting cut of the day. Thickness was 1¼ inches for the lean and ⅞ inch for the other two.
Prime: Quite firm to the tooth, only a rich fatty flavor at the end testified to its lofty grade.
Choice: An unappealing gray-brown, chewier than the prime but agreeably so because it had full flavor and was juicy.
Lean: Best color, probably because it was the thickest and therefore closest to the heat. The most juice, good flavor, and a pleasing aftertaste: The winner again.
The tart flavor of capers accented with tangy condiments will enliven a cooked and sliced steak served at room temperature. Serve with a potato salad or green bean salad or use the sauce as a dressing for a salad of steak and greens.
1 rib-eye steak (about 10 ounces), cut 1 inch thick
¼ cup large capers, drained and chopped
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons chopped onion
⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, or to taste
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon anchovy paste, or to taste
¼ cup olive oil, preferably extra virgin
2 teaspoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1. Preheat the broiler.
2. Bring the steak to room temperature and pat it dry. Broil until seared and nicely browned on one side, about 5 minutes. Turn and broil 3 minutes more for medium-rare or 4 minutes more for medium. Transfer the steak to a cutting board and allow it to cool to room temperature.
3. While the steak is cooling, combine the capers, mustard, onion, pepper, 1 tablespoon vinegar, Worcestershire, and ½ teaspoon anchovy paste in a small bowl. Stir well. Pouring slowly, whisk in the olive oil. Taste and adjust the seasoning with vinegar or anchovy paste, as desired. Whisk in the parsley. You should have about ½ cup sauce.
4. Just before serving, carve the steak into ¼-inch-thick slices, making sure to cut away any fat. Arrange the steak slices on 2 or 3 plates. Spoon the sauce over the meat and serve.
SERVES 2
During the two years that I lived in Puerto Rico, I came to love the magical combination of black beans and white rice as well as the tropical bananalike vegetable known as plantain. I felt presenting these island ingredients with tender rib-eye steak would make an enticing food marriage, and it does. Pour a Spanish red wine.
9 tablespoons olive oil
1½ cups chopped onion
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
2 cups chopped tomatoes, fresh or canned
1 teaspoon cumin seeds, crushed
1½ teaspoons salt
¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
½ cup chopped green bell pepper
2 cans (15 ounces each) black beans, rinsed and drained
½ teaspoon hot pepper sauce, preferably Tabasco
⅔ cup long-grain white rice
1⅓ cups boiling water
2 large, ripe plantains
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 rib-eye steaks (about 12 ounces each), cut ¾ inch thick
1. Heat 4 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add 1 cup of the onions and 1 teaspoon of the garlic and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, cumin, and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the parsley. Set aside.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of the remaining oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the bell pepper, the remaining ½ cup onions, and the remaining 1 teaspoon garlic. Cook, stirring often, until vegetables are soft, about 7 minutes. Add the black beans, cover, and cook 5 minutes more. Remove from heat, stir in the hot sauce, and set aside. (Recipe may be done ahead to this point. Refrigerate sauce and beans until time for final preparation.)
3. Prepare coals for grilling or preheat a gas grill or the broiler.
4. Heat 1 tablespoon of the remaining oil in a medium-size saucepan over low heat. Add the rice and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the boiling water and the remaining ½ teaspoon salt. Cover and cook until the liquid is absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes.
5. Rewarm the beans and stir them into the rice. Keep covered and warm. Reheat the tomato sauce over low heat.
6. Peel the plantains, cut each lengthwise into quarters, and cut each quarter into halves for 8 pieces. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil with the butter in a large heavy skillet over medium-low heat. Add the plantains and cook until browned on all sides, about 8 minutes.
7. Grill or broil the steaks until seared and well-crusted on one side, 4 minutes. Turn and cook 3 minutes more for medium-rare or 4 minutes more for medium. Transfer the steaks to a cutting board and let them rest for 5 minutes.
8. Cut the steaks into ½-inch-thick slices and arrange equal amounts of meat on each plate. Add a scoop of rice and beans and 4 pieces of plantain for each serving. Spoon some tomato sauce over the steak slices and serve immediately.
SERVES 4
This recipe features two great flavors: black pepper and onion. While the pepper is not as intense as in a True Steak au Poivre (page 15), it still provides a delightfully spicy perfume. As for the onions, instead of appearing in the familiar sautéed or deep-fried form, they are transformed into a sauce with a sweet accent, just right to calm the bite of the pepper.
1 medium sweet onion, cut into 8 wedges
1 teaspoon olive oil
Salt, to taste
⅔ cup beef broth
1 teaspoon soy sauce
4 teaspoons cracked black pepper
4 rib-eye steaks (about 10 ounces each), cut ¾ inch thick
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Place the onion wedges in a baking dish. Drizzle with the oil and sprinkle with just a little salt. Stir to coat all the pieces evenly. Roast onions, uncovered, until browned and soft, about 1 hour. Remove and let stand until slightly cooled.
3. Put the onions in the blender. Add the broth and soy sauce and blend to a smooth purée. Transfer the sauce to a small saucepan or a microwavable dish, cover and set aside.
4. Preheat the broiler or prepare coals for grilling.
5. Press the cracked pepper onto both sides of each steak, using about 1 teaspoon of pepper for each steak. Broil or grill the steaks until seared and nicely browned on one side, about 4 minutes for medium-rare and 5 minutes for medium. Turn and cook 4 minutes more for both medium-rare and medium.
6. Reheat the onion sauce on the stove top or in a microwave oven while the steaks are cooking. Spoon the warmed sauce over each steak and serve.
SERVES 4
Usually cooking a steak beyond medium-rare means it will begin to dry out and toughen. Bad luck for those who prefer their meat thoroughly cooked. Yet by searing the meat, then cooking it covered on a bed of vegetables in a hot oven, I’ve been able to serve a cooked-through steak that is both moist and flavorful. For a vegetable accompaniment, sauté spinach in some of the basil-oil marinade. This recipe will yield a third portion if the steaks are sliced instead of served whole.
2 rib-eye steaks (about 10 ounces each), cut ¾ inch thick
½ cup shredded fresh basil leaves
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 large green pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into ¼-inch-thick strips
⅓ cup thinly sliced onion
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
2 tablespoons thinly sliced sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil
¼ teaspoon curry powder
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1. Pat the steaks dry. Combine ¼ cup of the basil and 3 tablespoons of the oil in a medium dish or bowl. Add the steaks and turn to coat all surfaces. Set aside for 30 minutes to 1 hour, turning the steaks 2 or 3 times.
2. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
3. Combine the remaining 2 tablespoons oil, the pepper strips, onion, garlic, and tomatoes in a deep ovenproof sauté pan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until peppers begin to soften, about 10 minutes. Add the curry powder, salt, and pepper and stir.
4. Meanwhile, remove the steaks from the oil and pat dry. Coat the bottom of a large heavy skillet with the basil oil. Heat over high heat until the oil is shimmering and nearly smoking. Add the steaks and sear them for 1 minute on each side. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Place the steaks on top of the vegetables in the sauté pan. Cover the pan and transfer it to the oven. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
6. Remove the pan from the oven, place the steaks on warm plates and spoon the vegetables and juices over them. Garnish with the remaining basil and serve at once.
SERVES 2
There is one weapon (literally) that will effect the sensation of tenderness even after a steak is cooked: the carving knife. The knife itself and how sensibly it is used can make the difference between meat that melts in your mouth and a seeming lifetime sentence to chew. While more detailed information about carving appears with specific recipes, the essential knowledge that guides the carver is anatomical.
Muscle fibers run along a piece of meat, not across it, creating what is called the grain. What we want to do is chew with—in the direction of—the grain, which makes it easy for our teeth to sever the fibers.
All you need to carve the meat properly across the grain (and carving a steak presents nowhere near the challenge of carving a bone-in roast such as a leg of lamb) is a sharp knife, a fork, and a cutting board that will contain the juices that escape from the steak. (Play fair and be sure, if you are serving individual steaks instead of slicing them, that your guests have sharp steak knives.)
Uptown steaks are already cut across the grain by the butcher. Therefore, to carve a porterhouse or T-bone, start by cutting the bone away. Freeing it at the base of the T can be tricky. Leave some meat on the bone as a reward for the carver, then reassemble the steak and cut across both portions (and across the grain) to obtain matching slices of tenderloin and top-loin.
Incidentally, usually I do not favor slicing any of the uptown cuts into thin strips unless they are to become part of a sandwich or salad. For serving sliced steak as an entrée, I prefer to cut the meat across the grain into strips at least ½ inch wide.
Also, while chefs in a hurry will tell you steaks and chops do not need to stand before carving, I disagree. In my experience, even a chop will benefit from a few minutes rest before facing the knife. What’s the hurry? No steak you would want to eat is hot all the way through. If it were, it would be cooked extra-well.