Grilled and Buttered: Rib Eye Steak and Red Wine-Butter
Red meat thrown on a grill. Red wine mixed into butter. That's all it really is. But if you want the fancy French name, it's côte de bœuf with beurre marchand de vin. It's a thick, bone-in rib eye steak (a.k.a. a Tomahawk steak) seared on the grill (for that gorgeous, caramelized outer crust) and finished in the oven (for a perfect medium-rare), topped with butter mixed with Cabernet Sauvignon. The result? A juicy steak with a crispy, salty, peppery outer layer balanced with the rich acidity of the compound butter. Make this at home and pat yourself on the back for being able to grill a steak comparable to your city's best steakhouse.
Serves: 4 Prep time: 10-15 minutes Cook time: 30-35 minutes
Ingredients: 4 rib eye steaks (thick cut, bone-in) Coarse salt Black pepper
For the butter: 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature (must be soft so it's easy to mix) 2-3 ounces Cabernet Sauvignon (or about 5 tablespoons) 1/4 shallot, finely chopped (or about 1 tablespoon) 1-2 sprigs parsley, finely chopped (or about 2 teaspoons) 1 teaspoon lemon juice Salt/pepper, to taste Plastic wrap
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix the red wine, a little bit at a time, into the softened butter until the mixture is pale pink. Add the shallots, parsley and lemon juice, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Put the mixture onto a sheet of plastic wrap, forming into a log. Roll it in the plastic wrap, twisting the ends to seal it. (Sort of like a giant Tootsie Roll.) Place in fridge at least 20-30 minutes prior to serving.
3. Heat grill pan on stove. Season the steak generously with coarse salt and black pepper, on both sides. This will create that delicious crust.
4. When the grill is ready, place steaks on in the 10:00 position, over high heat. When grill marks form, turn the steaks to the 2:00 position, about 2 minutes. When grill marks form, flip over at 10:00. When ready, turn to 2:00. (Turning the steak like this ensures you get hatch marks, like this. It also helps ensure even cooking.) At this point, the steak is almost rare.
5. Place steaks in a roasting pan, cover with foil, and put in the oven about 20-25 minutes, for medium-rare steak. The texture of medium-rare steak should feel like the front of your chin; firm but soft. (Tip: Check it at 15 minutes and put back in the oven, as needed.)
6. Remove red wine-butter from fridge. Cut into thin (about quarter-inch) slices, and place 1 or 2 of them on each steak. The heat from the steak will melt the butter.
Want a balanced meal? To feel less guilty about this dish, pair it with a side salad.
My Notes: How do I know when my steak is cooked through? SimplyRecipes has a good finger test to determine the doneness of steak just by poking it. But that's a little too complicated for me. I like my steak a perfect medium-rare, which feels like the front of your chin. Because every grill and every oven is different, it's hard to say for sure whether medium-rare will be achieved at exactly 20 minutes. So it's important to learn how your steak should feel.
Can I use cold steak to start? Preferably, you would use a thawed steak and take it out of the refrigerator 10-15 minutes prior to seasoning and grilling. In essence, cool -- not cold -- steak is ideal. This is to ensure a tender steak.
Why Cabernet Sauvignon for the compound butter? Annoyed that you're opening your decent bottle of Cabernet for this dish? Don't be! Like Alton Brown (and pretty much any chef) says, don't cook with any wine you wouldn't drink. Beef shouldn't be paired with sweet wine, so the dryness of the Cab is perfect. You can drink the rest of the wine when enjoying your meal, while cooking it, or both.