Tag Archives: grilled steak

Substantial salads: Meaty salads to keep you nourished

September 12, 2018Outside the Boxasian, beef salad, beef salads, blue cheese, buttermilk dressing, caesar salad, california, cherry tomatoes, chicken salad, chicken salads, chopped salad, chopped salads, cobb salad, feta cheese, flank steak, flank steak salad, fresh spinach, goat cheese, greek, green bean, green beans, grilled chicken, grilled chicken salad, grilled steak, hearty salad, hearty salads, lettuce salad, lettuce salads, main dish salads, main-dish salad, make ahead, mango salad, meat lover, meat lovers, noodle salad, noodle salads, olive oil, pasta salad, pasta salads, pork tenderloin, red onion, red onions, romaine lettuce, romaine salad, salad dressing, salad dressings, salad recipe, salad recipes, southern, southwestern, soy sauce, steak salad, steak salads, strip steak, strip steaks, thaiDennis Keohane

When you think of meaty, hearty, satisfying meals, salads may not be the first thing that comes to mind. But salads, with their plentiful varieties, are a brilliant way to get in a balanced, nourishing meal.

Whether it’s a meat-packed salad complemented by fruits and veggies — like this tarragon and 3 apple chicken salad—or it’s a mound of grilled steak served atop a bed of lettuce and other veggies, salads pack in nutrients without compromising flavor.

You’re not limited to lettuce, either. Try cold noodle salads or veggie varietal salads. Whatever kind of meaty salads you’re craving, this list of salad recipes delivers substantial, vibrant, and healthy meals.

Tarragon and 3 Apple Chicken Salad

Need an easy, delicious, and nutritious salad that will fuel you till dinner? Try this tarragon and 3 apple chicken salad, rife with zingy flavors from tarragon, white wine (preferably one with stone fruit notes), garlic, Dijon mustard, and more.

The salad itself boasts a crisp variety of apples, including Granny Smith, Gala, and Honeycrisp. Celery and pistachios add even more crunch. At the center of it all is ultra-tender, ultra-juicy grilled chicken breast cubes.

Spring Pea Chicken Salad

This spring pea chicken salad is the epitome of spring, thanks to the abundance of seasonal produce and deliciously refreshing poached chicken breast. Enjoy fresh peas, sugar snap peas, pea shoots, dried apricots, and almonds for a delicious textural meld.

The chicken is poached in a white wine, thyme, and butter mixture, making for fork-tender, refreshing meat. The salad dressing is impressive in and of itself, with white balsamic vinegar, shallots, thyme, avocado oil, dried apricots, salt, and pepper. For even more flavor, make the dressing one day in advance and dress the chicken in the vinaigrette before serving.

Grilled Greek Marinated Chicken Breast with Peach and Endive Salad

Here’s a hearty salad that you can throw together in 30 minutes. While simple, this grilled Greek marinated chicken breast with peach and endive salad does not compromise on flavor. Marinated in a zingy Greek vinaigrette (we like the one created by Primal Kitchen), the chicken is grilled for a few minutes for the perfect char then finished off in the oven. An abundance of produce joins this grilled chicken salad, including peaches, avocado, endive, red onion, scallions, and corn. Throw in some feta cheese for even more zest, and you’re in for a nourishing, complete, and healthy meal.

Lemon Turmeric Marinated Flank Steak with Lentil and Beet Salad

This lemon turmeric marinated flank steak with lentil and beet salad couldn’t be easier to throw together. Perfectly cooked flank steak, which cooks up in minutes, and a salad of pre-cooked lentils, pre-cooked beets, and curry-seasoned and roasted cauliflower, are all dressed in lemon turmeric vinaigrette. This salad is a bevy of textures and flavors and makes for an ideal, speedy weeknight dinner or a make-ahead meal.

Seared Flat Iron Steak with Roasted Veggie Salad

If you’re craving all the trappings of a salad but prefer something warm, this seared flat iron steak with roasted veggie salad delivers. Flat iron steaks are seared and basted in butter then transferred to the oven to finish up for a few minutes. Then, turn up your oven and toss in a mélange of cauliflower, butternut squash, and Portobello mushrooms. Once those are thoroughly roasted, serve everything on a bed of greens with some crisp bacon and pomegranate arils. Toss in a salad dressing of orange juice, balsamic vinegar, whole grain mustard, shallots, orange zest, garlic, and olive oil. You’re good to go.

Thai Almond Soba Noodle Salad

Asian noodle salads make for a cool, creamy and refreshing meal any time of the day, and this Thai almond soba noodle salad is no exception. While it requires a bit of prep time, it cooks up incredibly fast.

Hearty flank steak gets the umami treatment with a marinade of fresh ginger, Tamari, mirin, garlic, fish sauce, and sambal chili paste. Seared quickly in a cast iron skillet then finished in the oven in minutes, it’s ultra-tender and flavorful. Cooked soba noodles are tossed with broccoli, red pepper, sugar snap peas, carrots, and toasted almond slices. An insanely flavor-packed Thai almond sauce finishes the dish off, complete with sesame oil, garlic, ginger, green curry paste, lime juice, tamari, honey, sambal chili paste, fish sauce, almond butter, coconut milk, salt, and cilantro.

Greek Salad with Primal Kitchen Greek Vinaigrette Chicken Skewers

This simple Greek salad with Primal Kitchen Greek Vinaigrette chicken skewers takes minutes to throw together. Simply marinate chicken beforehand in Greek vinaigrette, then grill it on skewers for 10 to 14 minutes. Toss together romaine lettuce, artichoke hearts, cherry tomatoes, English cucumber, Kalamata olives, and red onion. Throw in some more of the Greek salad dressing, and you’ve got a light but filling grilled chicken salad full of tangy and satisfying flavors.

Pork, Tomato, and Mango Salad

Sick of just having chicken or steak on your salad? Pork tenderloins, ever-admired for their versatility, make a great stand-in here. For this pork, tomato, and mango salad, grill pork tenderloin and corn on the cob for perfect charred flavor, then toss the pair on top of a salad of romaine lettuce, mango, tomato, cucumber, and red onion. Dress the whole thing in a simple balsamic vinaigrette, and you’re in for a tangy, sweet and savory meal.

Southwestern Steak Salad with Jalapeno Ranch Dressing

Need a steak salad with Southwestern flair? Try this Southwestern steak salad with jalapeno ranch salad dressing, chock full of big, bold flavors. With taco-seasoned, grilled top sirloin steak and a diverse veggie and bean selection, this romaine salad is hearty and satisfying. Enjoy the combination of Roma tomatoes, corn, avocado, red onion, black beans, and of course, romaine lettuce. Throw in a homemade spicy jalapeno ranch dressing, and you’re in for a treat.

The ribeye steak – There is no better grilling steak

July 12, 2018Uncategorizedbeef steak, best steak, black pepper, bone-in, bone-in ribeye steak, cast iron, cast iron skillet, dietary fiber, garlic cloves, grilled ribeye steaks, grilled steak, ground black pepper, high heat, hot skillet, internal temperature, kosher salt, medium heat, medium-high heat, nutrition facts, olive oil, perfect ribeye steak, perfect steak, rib steak, ribeye steak, ribeye steak recipe total fat, room temperature, spinalis, steak lover, steak recipe, total timeDennis Keohane

Ribeye steak is one of the most delicious of all the cuts of beef that we — as steak lovers — want to grill and eat every time we spark up the grill.

The reason for our ribeye obsession is that it is so tender and tasty; and, it is mouthwatering-good when grilled with just kosher salt or sea salt and fresh ground black pepper for seasoning. The reason ribeye steak is a true beef flavor bomb is that it has more marbling — the fatty connective tissue within the muscle — than most other cuts.

Even grass-fed and grass-finished ribeye steaks — which are usually less fatty than corn-fed and grain-fed factory farm beef — has just enough of that good fat marbling to make the steaks savory and full of that great grass-fed beef flavor we love.

And while ribeyes are perfect steaks to cook with an oven — they are great when lightly seasoned and seared on a hot skillet with a bit of olive oil or unsalted butter — we prefer the simple pleasure of a perfectly cooked ribeye from the grill.

Head ButcherBox Chef Yankel Polak is a huge fan of the ribeye steak. Chef Yankel says, “Cast iron or open fire. Finish it with butter and tons of salt. Even the best ribeye will taste underwhelming if not seasoned properly.”

What gives ribeye steaks such great marbling? They come from the rib primal of a cow, specifically, the longissimus dorsi, which gets very little use, hence the excess fat dispersed throughout the muscle. But in a grass-fed ribeye steak, that fat is a bit healthier than in a grain-fed or corn-fed ribeye.

The fattiness burns up when being cooked adding a juicy moisture to the meat, making it incredibly tender. Once you eat a grilled ribeye, you will definitely notice its smooth, rich texture and delicious beefy flavor. When cooked on an open flame, charred lightly and medium-rare in the middle

According to Chef Yankel, “Ribeyes have a ton of fat so super high heat is the best way to get the most flavor.” When cooking on an open flame, char a ribeye lightly on each side — a few minutes on each side — and then let it sit for eight to ten minutes before cutting into. Follow these instructions and you will get a perfect medium-rare steak every time.

Here, for a little more detail, is Chef Yankel’s recipe for Garlic Crusted Ribeye Steak:

Garlic-Crusted Ribeye Steak

Dry ribeye steaks and bring to room temperature.
Season steaks generously on both sides with salt and pepper.
Preheat grill. If using an open flame, wait for flames to die down. Right before grilling, make sure grill surface is extremely hot, then rub it down with an oil-soaked rag – we advise using tongs to hold the rolled-up rag.
Rub heads of garlic with olive oil, 1 tsp kosher salt, and 1 tsp fresh black pepper and wrap in aluminum foil.
Bake garlic for about 30 minutes on the cooler side of grill – indirect heat.
Once baked, peel the skin off garlic and place in food processor with ghee. Pulse to make a paste.
For medium-rare, place ribeye steaks at 45° angle across hottest part of grill grates, then grill for 2 – 3 min per side, while rotating 90° every 1 ½ min.
Place steaks on a baking sheet and smear 1 large Tbsp of garlic paste on top of each steak.
Move steak to the cooler part of the grill, then grill for 4 min per side. Keep your meat moving to ensure that it cooks evenly. Remove from grill when a meat thermometer inserted into thickest part reads 120°F.
Let the steaks rest for 8 min before slicing.

Turn off your oven and grill tacos this summer

June 26, 2018Uncategorizedal pastor, al pastor tacos, apple, authentic mexican, best tacos, black pepper, carne asada, carne asada tacos, Chef Yankel, chicken breasts, chicken tacos, corn tortillas, good tacos, grill taco, grilled steak, mexican, mexican food, mexican restaurant, Mexico, pork tacos, refried beans, taco grill, tex mexDennis Keohane

Tacos.

You can never go wrong with tacos. And while in a former life I wouldn’t blink at “Making a Run for the Border” for a few late night beef, cheese, and lettuce treats. These days, there are too many good things happening with tacos to out there to even think about heading to the Taco Bell.

Not only are there a lot of Mexican restaurants concocting tacos with fantastic flavor combinations or perfecting the classic Mexican street taco, but there are also a plethora of amazingly delicious taco recipes out there these days that are quick, easy, and affordable.

For a truly splendid taco experience, you need to make them yourself. Skip the stovetop, skillet, and box of hard tortilla shells and seasoning mix, and throw lightly seasoned grass-fed flank steak on the grill, and thank us later.

There is no better time than summer to fire up the grill and make your carne asada tacos or grilled chicken tacos.

We even fully support cranking up the slow cooker for some al pastor or carnitas with a heritage breed pork butt. But, you don’t even need to do that. You can make both pork taco dishes on your grill as well.

Before we get into some great tactics for making the best grill tacos this summer, let’s quickly dig into how the delicious food became so popular in the first place.

Silver mines to street tacos to Tex-Mex

According to Jeffrey M. Pilcher, professor of history at the University of Minnesota and the author of the book Planet Taco: A Global History of Mexican Food, tacos as we know them today can be traced to the snacking habits of Mexican silver miners.

Pilcher explains in his book that, “People have been eating corn tortillas with bits of meat or beans rolled up inside for more than a millennium.” These corn-dough snack foods were known as antojitos and would come in many shapes with a variety of fillings.

The Spanish word taco was used for a “small bite of food” well before it can be found used in Mexico, according to Taco Planet. The term was also used for firearm plugs, among other things. At one point, “taco” was slang for gunpowder wrapped in paper used by silver miners outside of the town of Pachuca. It happened that these Mexican miners also preferred rolled tacos — and used that same term for both explosives and their packable lunches. Once the silver mining operations died down, they brought their rolled version of the dish to the streets of Mexico City, and then later to the American Southwest.

Tacos emerged in the American Southwest in the mid-twentieth century due to cultural intermingling and one particular food entrepreneur.

Mexican Americans living in the “borderlands” created various versions of tacos influenced by the mixing of cultures along the US-Mexico line. Tex-Mex, New Mexican, and Cal-Mex cuisines all had their own versions of the taco. Rolled tacos, for instance, are still popular at authentic Mexican restaurants in Southern California today.

While at a rolled taco shop in California in the 1960’s when hot dog vendor Glenn Bell realized he could quicken the pace of the methods used to make the long-cooking, fried rolled tacos. He realized he could do for the taco what McDonald’s did for the cheeseburger and opened his first taco shop in San Bernadino. Taking a relatively little-used preparation technique — the pre-fried, U-shaped, crispy corn tortilla shells — Bell’s restaurant, which eventually became Taco Bell, turned a Mexican food tradition into an American staple.

But the best tacos are grill tacos

There’s a bit of a food culture backlash against Glenn Bell’s crispy creation among taco aficionados. The days, the standard Mexican street taco — or at least a version of it with soft corn tortillas, barbacoa or carnitas, and a garnish of onions and cilantro — has become more prevalent at authentic Mexican restaurants, hole-in-the-wall Mom-and-Pop joints, street vendors, food trucks, and the like.

In his book on tacos, Jeffrey Pilcher even made a trek to Hermosillo, Mexico, to try the regions hard-to-find, traditional taco specialty, carne asada tacos. To make a point about “fast food,” he recounts the two minutes it took the husband and wife street cart vendors to grill their steak to perfection and fill it in warm tortillas with onions and cilantro. On his return to America, he compares his experience in Hermosillo with the two minutes it took the staff at a Los Angeles Taco Bell to nuke their take on the steak taco.

The best part of the move away from pre-mixed taco seasoning and ground beef tacos is that people now realize, just as Pilcher did, that it is as easy to make grill tacos in the far more delicious and fresh manner by cooking a lightly-seasoned steak on a grill or slow-cooking pork tacos.

We love all kinds of tacos, and we don’t think anyone can beat tacos with grilled grass-fed steaks, like flank steak or skirt steak, as well as free-range organic chicken breasts and heritage breed pork butt.

There is no comparison to marinating a steak overnight in some sweet and spicy marinade and throwing it on the grill, and then cutting it up, throwing it in some warm corn tortillas, and then adding some fresh radish or cabbage or cilantro. This dish is obviously best with some refried beans and an ice-cold Modelo.

We even found a recipe created by our friends at Traeger Grills that allows you to make al pastor tacos right on the grill.

But for all the recipes we love, few compare to Head ButcherBox Chef Yankel Polak’s delicious and easy NY strip steak tacos — grilled to perfection, sliced, and then mixed with a cabbage slaw.

Check it out one of the best taco recipes we’ve tried below:

Sweet and Sour NY Strip Tacos with Cabbage Slaw

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

2 ButcherBox NY Strip Steaks
Marinade and Slaw Dressing
¼ c sesame oil
¼ c honey
¼ c coconut aminos
¼ c rice vinegar
4 Tbsp sesame seeds
Slaw
2 c shredded napa cabbage
½ c shredded carrots
½ c shredded Gala apple (any apple works!)
salt and black pepper to taste
2 Tbsp fresh chopped cilantro (optional, for garnish)

Directions

1. Mix all marinade ingredients. Use ½ to marinate the steaks overnight, and reserve other ½ for the slaw.

2. Mix cabbage, apples, and carrots. Dress with marinade and refrigerate overnight for best flavor.

3. Preheat grill. If using an open flame, wait for flames to die down. Right before grilling, make sure grill surface is extremely hot, then rub it down with an oil-soaked rag – we advise using tongs to hold the rolled-up rag.

4. For medium-rare, place NY Strip Steak at 45° angle across hottest part of grill grates, then grill for 2 – 3 min per side, while rotating 90° every 1 ½ min. Move steak to the cooler part of the grill, then grill for 4 min per side. Keep your meat moving to ensure that it cooks evenly. Remove from grill when a meat thermometer inserted into thickest part reads 120°F.

5. Rest for at least 8 min. Slice thinly against the grain.

6. Serve steak topped with slaw in your favorite taco shell or sticky bun. Garnish with fresh cilantro and enjoy!

Flat iron steak – A relatively new restaurant favorite that’s delicious and tender

May 11, 2018Uncategorizedbeef, bistro steak, blade roast, blade steak, book steak, butcher shops, butler, butler steak, chef, chuck, cook, flank steak, flat iron, flat iron steak, flatiron, freshly ground, grilled flat iron, grilled steak, hanger steak, new beef, new beef cuts, new steak, oyster steak, rib eye, shoulder blade, shoulder top blade, skirt steak, steak recipe, tender cut, top blade, well-known restaurant steaksDennis Keohane

Flat iron steak shouldn’t work. It is named after a domestic appliance, it is notoriously hard to find outside of restaurants, and it comes from an area of the cow, the shoulder blade, that was long considered too tough to produce any tender, enjoyable steaks.

But if you’ve ever had a grilled flat iron steak from a steakhouse or cooked it in your own backyard, you know that it is an amazing cut of beef.

The history of flat iron steaks

Flat iron steak is a tender cut of beef that not only has an interesting history but is also tough to find, similar to the Denver steak. Flat iron is not as prevalent in the butcher case as rib-eye, filet mignon, or flank steaks, but it is quite popular on restaurant menus in America and beyond.

Flat iron steak, which derives its name from its shape being similar to that of an old-fashioned clothes iron, has been around, in some form, for a while. The cut, or something similar to it, is known as the butler steak in the U.K. or the oyster blade steak in Australia and New Zealand. In some places, it can also be called book steak, petite steak, or shoulder top blade steak. However, much like the Denver steak, the flat iron steak as we now know it was not discovered until 2002 by researchers at the University of Florida and the University of Nebraska, and also as part of the Beef Checkoff Program.

The cut is derived from the shoulder of the cow, specifically from the top blade of the chuck primal cut. For a long period of time, the region from where the flat iron steak is derived was waste meat or used in ground beef mixes. This was due to the connective tissue that ran through it, making it undesirable as a stand-alone cut.

The researchers from Florida and Nebraska found a way to remove the gristle, creating a fibrous, marbled steak that is popular as a bistro steak. The term bistro steak is often used for tasty, tender cuts that are used by smaller restaurants as a delicious, cheaper alternative to more expensive cuts at high-end steakhouses like a New York strip steak.

The popularity of the flat iron steak among chefs is due to the versatility of the flavorful cut. According to our own Chef Yankel Polak, our in-house ButcherBox chef, “The flat iron steak is an industry darling, a new-age steak.”

It’s such a challenge to find in stores because it is in such high demand with restaurants. “It is on every top-notch steak joint’s menu these days,” Chef Yankel says.

Preparing flat iron steak

The tender cut can be cooked as is, but it is often used with a rub or marinade. It’s popular as a stir-fry meat, sometimes sliced for sandwiches, and commonly used with chimichurri or other spicy sauces for tacos. It can also be the centerpiece of other dishes.

The flat iron steak is ideal for grilling because it is relatively easy to cook. Whether using a marinade or just some olive oil, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper, our chef says that cooking it medium rare is best to keep the steak tender.

As Chef Yankel also explains, “It has a deep grain, so cutting against the grain is imperative, but it has minimal connective tissue, so your slices don’t have to be super thin.”

Chef Yankel says that flat iron is similar to both skirt steak and hanger steak, “For mouthfeel, it’s slightly chewy but in an enjoyable way, and for meatiness, it tastes like what you imagine beef should taste like,” he explained.

It is a shame that the cut is so prevalent among restaurants, as it is difficult for steak-loving consumers to find on their own. (Luckily, if you are a ButcherBox subscriber, it is often featured in our monthly boxes.)

Because of its great taste and usefulness, the flat iron steak has gained a tremendous reputation in the 15 years since it was discovered. Its legend will likely continue to grow. As Chef Yankel explains, “They will trend to higher price points as they gain popularity.”

So try to get your hands on one soon, or you might be priced out of the flat iron steak market in the near future.

Here is one of our favorite flat iron steak recipes, Chef Yankel’s Pepper-Crusted Flat Iron with Root Vegetable Mash.

Pepper-Crusted Flat Iron with Root Vegetable Mash

Ingredients:

2 ButcherBox flat iron steaks
2 tablespoons coarse ground black pepper
1 tablespoon kosher salt
3 medium parsnips, peeled and sliced
1 large turnip, peeled and sliced
4 cloves garlic, smashed
3 cups milk
4 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Place cast iron pan in the oven.

2. Place parsnips, turnip, garlic, and milk in small saucepan. Add more milk if needed to cover vegetables.

3. Simmer on low heat until vegetables are tender. Remove vegetables from pot, and place in a bowl.

4. Add butter and mash vegetables, adding small amounts of milk as needed to get a thick mashed consistency

5. Add Parmesan and parsley and scoop mash into medium cupcake tins. Sprinkle top with black pepper and bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

6. Pour coarse black pepper on a plate and press one side of flat iron steaks onto pepper. Season steaks on both sides with kosher salt.

7. Remove cast iron pan from oven, add a small amount of oil and place steaks in pan, pepper side down. Return pan to oven. After 4 minutes, flip steaks. Continue to cook in oven 4 more minutes or until thermometer inserted into thickest part reads 120 F.

8. Let steaks rest at room temperature for at least 8 minutes. Serve with mash and enjoy!

Make a great chicken, pork, or grass-fed steak marinade for a mouthwatering meal

May 1, 2018Uncategorizedadvice, balsamic vinegar, best steak marinade, black pepper, brown sugar, Chef Yankel, chicken, cook, cooking secrets, delicious steak, dijon mustard, flank steak, fresh lemon juice, freshly ground, garlic powder, good marinade, good steak, grilled steak, grilling steaks, healthy eating, juicy steak, lemon juice, Marinade, Marinate, marinate steak, Marinating, minced garlic, new york, olive oil, Pork, ribeye steaks, room temperature, rosemary, soy sauce, steak, steak marinade, steak marinade recipe, strip steak, tender steaks, tougher cuts, worcestershire sauceDennis Keohane

Quality chicken, pork, and beef can often be thrown directly on the grill without any seasoning — or with just a pinch of kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper — and taste amazing. But, an excellent homemade steak marinade — for instance — can take your meat to the next level.

Many steaks can be immensely improved with a little kitchen creativity and some minced garlic or soy sauce. This is especially true of skirt steak, flank steak, and similar tougher cuts with lots of connective tissues.

But if you really want to pack flavor into a grass-fed, grass-finished steak or some pasture-raised, heritage-breed pork or free-range chicken, a little knowledge of how marinades work and which flavor combinations are best can make a standard weeknight meal into a savory, memorable culinary experience.

Is it necessary to marinate steak, pork, or chicken?

Why marinate, you ask? Marinating before grilling is an excellent way to add additional flavors and to get more tender meat.

Marinades work well because of the natural attributes of beef, chicken, and pork, according to Head ButcherBox Chef Yankel Polak. “The longer you leave a protein in a marinade the more flavor it should absorb,” he explains, “and, what’s more, marinating will tenderize a tougher cut of meat.”

The problem is that, in reality, most marinades only penetrate about 2 millimeters deep. “And, get this,” Chef Yankel says, “it all happens in the first few seconds.”

So, while many people think that marinating meat for extended periods of time, or even overnight, is the key to having meat with fantastic flavor, that’s not actually the case. “While there is nothing wrong with preparing your ingredients the day before, remember that a good marinade only needs minimal contact with your protein to do everything it’s supposed to do,” according to Chef Yankel.

A good marinade enhances flavors

While there are many options for chicken or steak marinades, you can pull right off the shelf of your grocery store to have a pretty good meal, making your own marinades is healthier and leads to more flavorful pork chops or a nice juicy steak.

If you can, try to keep the marinades as natural as possible. It would be foolish to take a nice cut of grass-fed steak or heritage-breed pork and then douse it with some combination of corn syrup and lab-made additives.

Keep in mind that different cuts and types of meat have different flavor profiles. Some flavors will work best with, say, a flank steak more so than a ribeye, and vice versa.

“Think about the item you are cooking, whether that’s chicken, beef, or pork, and use ingredients in your marinade that will complement the flavor,” Chef Yankel says.

Flavor profiles for each type of meat

According to our chef, the best complementary flavor profiles are citrus for chicken, sweet flavors for pork, and marinades that are rich and savory for beef, especially grilled steaks.

This is why lime and lemon juices go great with other spices in chicken marinades; pineapple, brown sugar, and maple are great to have in pork marinades; and balsamic vinegar, minced garlic, and mushroom flavors work well as steak marinades.

“While they don’t alter the internal structure of the meat,” Chef Yankel adds, “acidic elements in marinades will certainly give you that extra punch of flavor — the ‘wow’ factor that accompanies that first bite.”

Some flavors that can’t be made from scratch — unless you have time to ferment malt vinegar, molasses, anchovies, and tamarind extract for 18 months. So it is okay to mix some natural ingredients like rosemary or fresh lemon juice with a good soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce.

Using a homemade marinade on your grass-fed steak can change a mundane meal into something otherworldly. Experiment and you might discover unexpected flavor combinations that work wonders for your palate.

And, to save you some precious time, now you also know that you don’t even have to marinate for too long to get those flavorful benefits.

Watch Chef Yankel break down his favorite marinades for chicken, pork, and beef here. In the video below check out an easy steak marinade — that has very little prep time —featuring garlic, cilantro, lime zest and olive oil. According to Yankel, that’s all you need for a delicious steak every time.

Also, here is Chef Yankel’s favorite one-hour steak marinade recipe for grilling New York strip steaks:

3 limes, both zest and juice
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
1 head of minced garlic
1 tablespoon black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1/4 cup chives, chopped
4 tablespoons tarragon, chopped
4 tablespoons dill, chopped
2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt
1 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper

Combine all marinade ingredients in small bowl. Mix well and coat steaks thoroughly.
Allow steaks to marinate in a refrigerator at least one hour, then bring steaks to room temperature before cooking.
Grill the strip steaks over charcoal or an open flame for 4 to 6 minutes per side, or until internal temperature reads 120°F. Rest steak 8 minutes before serving.

You can find more recipes here. Happy eating!

How long to cook steak in the oven, and other tips for becoming a kitchen steak master

March 27, 2018Uncategorizedbrown, cast iron skillet, cooking time, good steak, grilled steak, high heat, how to, juicy steak, oven steak recipe, pan seared, ribeye, ribeye steak, room temperature, searing, sirloin, steak recipe, t boneDennis Keohane

Craving a steak night dinner, but can’t fire up the grill? No problem.

Grilling is our preferred method to prepare a steak. Browse through the Cut Library within BB Kitchen, and you’ll notice grill written more than any other cooking method. But what if grilling isn’t an option?

While summertime grilling on the deck may be one of our favorite pastimes, sometimes it’s just not feasible. Perhaps you live in an apartment without access to a grill. Maybe you don’t even own a grill — or the grill you do own is buried under three feet of snow.

While we’re partial to a perfectly grilled, medium-rare grass-fed steak with flawless sear marks, it’s not the only way you can prepare it. You can cook a juicy, flavorful steak right in your oven.

Selecting the right steak to cook

Cooking the perfect steak starts with selecting a quality cut. To purchase a good steak, consult with a farmer you trust, shop at a credible butcher or grocer, or order online to have your steak delivered right to your door.

Selecting high-quality steaks certainly has a number of health and ethical benefits, but you’ll also prefer the premium taste. Choose organic or grass-fed meat whenever possible. The organic label requires farmers raise their animals humanely and without growth hormones or antibiotics. Grass-fed meat ensures the animal grazed on grass during its lifetime, rather than feed made with corn or soy.

Pro tip: If you enjoy cooking steaks at home, consider purchasing an entire roast and slicing them into steaks yourself. A ribeye steak, for example, is nothing more than a ribeye roast cut into individual steaks. To save on cost without skimping on quality, consider purchasing an entire roast, slicing the steaks at home, then simply freeze what you cannot prepare in a single evening.

Which cut of steak works best in the oven?

Easy answer: All of them.

Any steak you enjoy on the grill can also be prepared in your oven. After all, does your favorite steakhouse come stocked with dozens of backyard grills? Of course not! They prepare premium, juicy steaks right from their kitchen. (Although some do have commercial indoor grills if they are lucky.)

You can make the same high-quality meat at home — you just need the right tools and a few tricks up your sleeve.

To prepare a steak in the oven, we recommend keeping the following on hand: A meat thermometer, aluminum foil, and a cast iron skillet. With those three items stocked in your kitchen, you should have all you need to follow any steak recipe you find online. Sprinkle a bit of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, and you have yourself a steakhouse-worthy meal.

When cooking a steak in the oven, remember the following:

A medium-rare steak typically reaches an internal temperature of 125°F. Remember, a steak will continue to cook even after you take it out of the oven, so it’s best to remove it from the heat source when it reaches 115°F.
Do not try to rapid-defrost your steak. If you’re planning a steak night dinner for two, plan ahead and allow your steak to defrost slowly (beginning night before), bringing the steak to room temperature.
Do not serve your steak immediately after removing it from the oven. Allow your steak to sit for six to ten minutes or more before serving so as not to lose its flavor.

How long to cook steak in the oven?

When preparing a steak in the oven, the cooking time depends on several factors: The cut, the thickness of the cut, and the cooking method used within the recipe. Below, we dive into three different ways to cook your steak at home, including broiling, searing at high-heat in a cast iron skillet then finishing in the oven, and the reverse-sear method — a favorite of our Head ButcherBox Chef Yankel Polak.

One final tip: Don’t take your eyes off of your dinner. Cooking a steak in the oven is no different than preparing a grilled steak over an open flame. It can easily become overcooked, so keep one eye on the timer and the other on your instant-read thermometer.

The reverse-sear method: How to prepare a ribeye

One of our members’ favorite steaks is the ribeye, which is a great cut to prepare in the oven. It’s juicy, flavorful, and pairs great roasted vegetables.

Lisa MarcAurele from Low Carb Yum uses the reverse-sear method to prepare her steak. First, she places her steak in the middle of the oven rack, preheated 275°F. After cooking it for 40-50 minutes, it reaches the desired medium-rare temperature. After allowing the steak to sit for 5-10 minutes, she sears it in a piping-hot pan drizzled with olive oil. To see Lisa’s full instructions and how she seasons her steak, check out the full recipe.

Searing a steak in cast iron: Preparing a sirloin steak

We love top sirloin for how versatile it is. This particular cut has the texture of steak but has a similar taste to that of a roast — allowing it to cook up nicely in the oven.

Linda Spiker at The Organic Kitchen prepares her sirloin steak by searing it first in a cast iron skillet (the opposite approach Low Carb Yum took with her ribeye). Once the steak browns on the stovetop, she moves the sirloin from the cast iron to an oven-safe baking dish.

A pan-seared steak only needs an additional five minutes in the oven to reach the perfect temperature. Plus, cooking steak this way allows you to reuse the cast iron skillet, browning any sauces or side dishes in the steak juices. Using this method, she pairs her steak with caramelized shallots and a white wine reduction, which you can check out here.

Broiling in the oven: Cooking a New York strip

Love a thick-cut New York Strip? The team at PaleoHacks broils their New York strip with a side of asparagus, creating an easy steak night dinner for two.

Broiling is one of the easiest methods to prepare a steak. Set your broiler to high, place your steak in an oven-safe dish in the center of the rack six inches from the heat source. Ten minutes under the broiler is all you need to achieve a medium-rare temperature. To read the full instructions, check out their recipe here.

While we focused on the ribeye, sirloin, and New York strip, any of the above methods are suitable for almost any cut of steak. If you’re craving filet mignon or a thick-cut T-bone, any of the above methods will work.

There are plenty of advantages to preparing a steak in the oven. The temperature is easily controlled, it’s not weather-dependent, and you don’t need any special equipment. Try one (or all) of the above recipes and let us know your favorite cooking method.