Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Grilled Ribeye Steak with Front Yard Butter

One of the good things about the very mild winter is that the fresh herbs in our front yard are already in full production mode.
Sage, thyme and tarragon in my front yard.

On the other hand, so are the critters. 
  • The good - I've already seen the first lightning bug of the year,
  • The bad - I've also already seen my first flying vampire - a mosquito,
  • The ugly - this little dude was hanging out in our driveway
Tiny little guy, about 6-7" long.


I didn't know what kind of snake it was but I was glad that I let it live.  It was a Northern water snake, non-venomous and beneficial (unless you're a bug or small furry critter).  In fact, of all the 23 types of snakes in East Tennessee, only 2 are venomous. 

Enough snake, more steak!

One of the things I like to do with grilled steaks is serve it with a compound butter.  Tonight I just used some tarragon, parsley, and thyme from our front yard.  Plus....a secret ingredient that makes your butter better.  


Grilled Ribeye Steak with Front Yard Butter
Source:  Nibble Me This

Ingredients
  • 4 ribeye steaks, left at room temperature for 1 hour
  • Steak seasoning* to taste
  • 8 Tbsp butter, softened
  • 1 teaspoon fresh tarragon, finely chopped
  • 1/2 tsp fresh thyme, finely chopped
  • 1/2 tsp parsley finely chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/4 tsp anchovy paste*

Instructions
  1. Pick your herbs from my front yard.  Just watch out for my guard snake.  
  2. Mix the softened butter, herbs, garlic and anchovy paste together thoroughly.  Form into a log or roll and refrigerate for 1 hour.
  3. Preheat a charcoal grill to 500f (high heat) and just before grilling, make sure the grates are clean and lightly oiled. 
  4. Season the steaks and then grill until they reach an internal temp of about 130f for medium rare, about 4 minutes per side.  
  5. Remove steaks from the grill and let rest for 5 minutes.
  6. Place each steak on a warm plate*, top with a scoop of the compound butter, and serve.
Notes
  • Quantity - This makes almost twice as much butter than you need but you'll find other uses for it. 
  • Steak seasoning - A simple rub of salt/pepper/granulated garlic (2:1:1 ratio) works fine.  Tonight I was testing out a friend's new beef rub that is about to hit the market.  
  • Anchovy paste - I know, I know.  I HATE fish!  But slipping a little of this in your compound butter gives it a umami flavor that goes great with steaks and NO ONE will ever guess it's in there. 
  • Warm plate - a cold plate makes the butter and steak juices congeal faster, not pretty. 
We splurged on a whole ribeye last week.  Hand trimmed it into 14 steaks.

Not blurred for witness protection program...I'm testing out a prototype grill grate for someone and can't release pictures just yet.

Served with a steak side classic - creamed spinach.

The creamed spinach that I served with it was one of the better ones I have ever had.  You can find that recipe at Chef John's site, Foodwishes