[FTC Standard Disclosure] I received no compensation for this post.
Brown butter is clarified butter's wilder brother. Where clarified butter is polished and mild, brown butter is edgy and has a boisterous flavor. It is nutty and fragrant from the browned milk solids. Chef Tuffy Stone harnesses that raucousness to create a multifaceted steak in his recipe: New York Strip with Brown-Butter Bacon Sauce and Balsamic Drizzle.
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| I used a ribeye steak instead. This recipe would work amazingly with any of the major steaks, such as; strip, ribeye, porterhouse, or filet. |
Cool Smoke: The Art of Great Barbecue
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| Tuffy Stone sharing his wisdom on cuts of pork and how their position on the animal affects your cooking strategies. |
This was a limited and informal event, so we had ample opportunity to talk with Tuffy about his vision for the book, recipes that he was developing, and his experience with the process. Tuffy spoke passionately about wanting to focus on simple, approachable food that still rocks the palate. I couldn't wait to pre-order the book and was thrilled when it came out in 2018.
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| Tuffy Stone is well-known as a judge from the BBQ Pitmasters shows and a multiple-time BBQ World Champion. He is also a classically trained chef. He draws on all of those talents and knowledge in his first book - Cool Smoke: The Art of Great Barbecue. [Amazon Affiliate link] |
Ribeye Steak with Brown Butter Bacon Sauce
The original recipe calls for NY Strip Steaks. I went with ribeye instead. Not for any strategic reason, it was only because the
Certified Angus Beef® Brand USDA Prime ribeye steaks were the best looking in the case that day.
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| Several people have asked about why I always trim my steaks competition style. I don't, really. The butchers at my Food City trim their ribeyes that tightly. The ONLY trimming I did of this ribeye is shown here, so it's already almost competition style. Competition steak cooks do this mainly for appearance. What this tight cutting means to home cooks is that you are only paying for steak, not waste or scrap. |
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| Tuffy uses only salt and pepper, which is all a good steak really needs anyway. I used the Santa Maria Rub recipe from Certified Angus Beef® Brand's website because it is a basic salt/pepper beef seasoning, and I already had it made up. |
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| Tuffy's Brown Butter-Bacon Sauce fits his simple yet flavorful vision. He simply browns a half-cup of finely chopped bacon until partially cooked. Then he adds a stick of butter and finishes cooking another 3 or so minutes. It's done when the liquid turns amber, the milk solids turn brown, and it smells nutty. |
Tip: It is easier to see the visual cues for brown butter if you use a light-colored pan. I used a cast-iron skillet because that's about all I use anymore.
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| My grill of choice for this cook was my Oklahoma Joe's Rambler, one of my three steak-cookers along with my Big Green Egg Mini-Max and my PK Grill Original. I like these 3 grills for steaks because they are small and can provide the intense heat needed for steaks without burning a butt-ton of fuel. This particular grill has a small footprint but has a surprising amount of space, an adjustable charcoal tray, and is half the price of the other two. That said, the other two grills have limited lifetime (BGE) and 10-year (PK) warranties versus 2 years for the OKJ. I like them all, so pick your poison. |
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| I filled the tray with Tennessee hardwood lump charcoal and fired it up with my gas torch. This is more spread out and shallower than a fire bowl full of lump in an Egg, so I start it in more spots (6-8) than a full-sized Egg (1-3). |
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| Another good thing about small grills, in general, is that they get to temp more quickly. I grilled these steaks at 500°f on the Rambler. |
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| I grilled the steaks to an internal temp of 125°f, which was about 4 minutes per side. |
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| I've been slack in getting this posted, but this was about a month ago during one of our Spring cold snaps. I fired up my tractor-tire firepit to stay warm while I cooked. It was also an excellent way to burn off some wood that wasn't fit for a smoker. |
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| As always, I rested the steak on a cooling rack. This was before Trevor moved back home from college due to the COVID-19 closures, so I just did one steak for Alexis and me to share. |
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| Finally, I poured the Brown-Butter Bacon Sauce and a reduced balsamic vinegar on top of the ribeye steak before slicing it. |
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| I usually don't sauce my steaks, but I'll be darned if this wasn't a delicious ribeye! |
If you want to take your grilling and BBQ game to the next level, get Cool Smoke and cook through these recipes. With Tuffy's book and a little practice, your friends will think that you're
the World Champion pitmaster.
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Kevin keeps his ear to the ground and always has the latest news in the BBQ world.
