Petite Fillet with Garlic Peppercorn Sauce

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Let's get the recipe out of the way first since people hate scrolling through the typical food blogger stuff to get to the recipe. This is a simple white sauce variation that is creamy, savory, and as the name implies - it has a peppery kick.

Mini-Surf and Turf - Petite fillet with creamy peppercorn sauce, snow crab legs, and asparagus.

Portobello Marsala Strip Steaks

[FTC Standard Disclosure] We received no compensation for this post. After being big fans of Thermoworks products since 2010, I have recently enrolled as a Thermoworks affiliate.

We don't do a lot of sauces for steak. Dragging fresh slices of steak through the juices, seasonings, and melted butter on the cutting board is my standard MO. But every now and then, I like to shake things up and get a little saucy like I did with this Portobello Marsala Strip Steak.

The salty sweet flavor of the sauce and mushrooms pairs excellently with the steak.

Slight confession, we typically split a steak between the two of us for dinner because our appetites have slowed down as we have gotten older. The good news is that means we get to have steaks for dinner two nights in a row. 

The full recipe is at the bottom of the post. Here are a few pictures and tips from the cooks.

Steak and Cheese Sandwich on the PK Grill

 [FTC Standard Disclaimer] I received no compensation for this post.

I haven't been posting much on here lately. That is because we have been busy on weekends doing home repairs. We are also renovating our basement patio, which we have never used much in 20 years, into an expanded grilling area. 

Here's a quicky that we did this past weekend when the heavy rains from Hurricane Delta's remnants kept us from working on projects. I made these super simple steak and cheese subs on the PK grill.

Normally, I will do these when I break down a whole ribeye, and I save one of the ends just for steak and cheese sandwiches.  I run it through my meat slicer on a near-zero thickness setting for shaved steak. I don't do that often because a whole ribeye is not inexpensive, and cleaning the slicer is a bit of a chore. 

Leftover Special: Steak and Cheese Breakfast Hash

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We kicked off last weekend with a steak and scallop dinner.  Here's what we made with the leftovers.

We made our skillet potatoes au gratin on one of our Big Green Eggs. This skillet is one that we recently restored; it's a Griswold #8 from the 1930s.

We also grilled several Certified Angus Beef® Brand ribeye steaks from Food City. We dry brined them in our NMT Umami Steak Seasoning for about 6 hours and then grilled them about 4 minutes per side at 450°f.

We had steak and cheesy potatoes leftover. The first thing that came to mind was making steak and cheese breakfast hash. 

Reverse Seared Porterhouse Steak with Skillet Potatoes Au Gratin

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Last night, Alexis and I grilled a thick porterhouse steak and improvised a skillet potatoes au gratin. This isn't a recipe post exactly but it is the details of what we did.

We found the beefy 24-ounce porterhouse at Butler & Bailey Market, an unassuming, single-establishment grocer in Knoxville. The store is dated and small, it's like stepping back in time to a grocery store in the late 80's. That's part of their charm, they are the opposite of the chain mega-stores these days.  You can't buy tires or mattresses there, Butler & Bailey excels with their customer service and specialty departments. They also sell Parker's Lump Charcoal, which is made with Tennessee hardwoods.

Steak Preparation

Ribeye Steak with Chroizo Hash

[FTC Standard Disclaimer]  I received no compensation for this post.

What goes better with ribeye steak than potatoes?  How about potatoes in a tasty hash with chorizo, onions, sweet red bell pepper, jalapeno, garlic, and fajita seasoning?

Alexis picked up a couple of ribeye steaks this weekend, and this is what we made. The crispy potatoes, savory chorizo, and the mild heat of jalapenos made this hash the perfect side for a pair of steaks.  If it was morning time, I would have thrown a few Sunnyside-up eggs in there, too.

I wanted to do something different from my usual steak routine, so I decided to cook the steaks sous vide and finish on a hot grill.

It was a beautiful Spring day in Knoxville, so I brought my sous vide equipment outside and set up on my expansive BGE Modular Nest. 

Book Cook: Diva Q's Slashed Potatoes with Chipotle Aioli

[FTC Standard Disclosure]  I received no compensation for this post.  The book link is an Amazon Affiliate link.

This recipe puts a spin on the typical "steak and potatoes" in both flavor and flair.  The Hasselbeck style potato and chipotle aioli are eye-catching and palate-pleasing.

Diva Q's Slashed Potatoes with Chipotle Aioli

I found these two gorgeous USDA Prime, Certified Angus Beef® Brand ribeye steaks, and I wanted to come up with a side worthy of the steaks.

I've had people ask me if I get special treatment from the butchers at Food City because my steaks always look so good.  The assumption is that the butchers hold the "good stuff" for me.  While I am friendly with Justin and the team, almost every steak I cook on here was bought straight out of the meat counter.  

I went to my bookcase, found this recipe in Danielle Bennett's Diva Q's Barbecue, found this recipe, and knew it was "the one."  I did a full book review when it came out in 2016. Filled with almost 200 lip-smacking recipes and loaded with grilling tips, this book should be in your BBQ library.

When I slice Hasselbeck potatoes, I put chopsticks on both sides of the potato as a guide to keep me from inadvertently slicing all the way through the potato.

Book Cook: Ribeye Steak with Brown Butter Bacon Sauce

[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.  

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 

I first learned about this book from the author himself at a Smithfield event back in 2016 when he was in the midst of the writing process. 

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.

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.  

Flank Steak and Cheese Mini-Subs

[FTC Standard Disclosures]  I received my bags of Jealous Devil at the 2020 Chain of Lakes Eggfest.  Other than that, I received no compensation for this post.

These Flank Steak and Cheese Mini-Subs are low-effort but high-reward.  How could these not be awesome when they are filled with thin-sliced grilled flank steak, sauteed peppers and onions, and warm gooey cheese?  I made these last week after a refrigerator and freezer dive.  

Before any purists get their knickers in a twist, these are not Philly cheesesteaks.  That would be different meat, different bread, maybe different cheese, and a different cooking method.  

These steak-and-cheese subs are cheesy and easy.  They would be spot on for tailgates and happy hours, once we can do those types of things again.

Grilled Ribeye Steak with Rosemary Garlic Butter

It's no secret that ribeye is one of my favorite steaks.  Then again, so are porterhouse, NY Strip, flank, a good sirloin, and tenderloin.

This is just a quicky and not really a recipe post per se.  Steaks are so easy and delicious that they are often a weeknight meal for us.  This was one of those times. 

I am a daily or almost daily shopper.  My dinner process often starts on the meat aisle at Food City where I see what looks good.  Then I build my meal around that.  On this particular day, they had a beautiful pair of USDA Prime, Certified Angus Beef® Brand ribeye steaks.

My appetite isn't as voracious as when I was young, so Alexis and I usually split a ribeye.  That also lets us have steaks 2 nights in a row, so that's good.  The trick is making sure that you split both the eye (longisimus muscle) and cap (the spinalis) evenly because the two pieces have different textures to me.  I want some of both!

My prep process for quick ribeyes is simple.  I wipe it with high-temperature cooking oil (canola, peanut, or avocado), season it, and let it rest at room temperature for at least an hour.  This day I used the Santa Maria Rub recipe from the Certified Angus Beef® website.

[FTC Standard Disclosure]  I am proud to have Certified Angus Beef® Brand as our beef sponsor.

Have you ever used Szechuan peppercorns?  They are interesting in that contrary to what you might think, they aren't spicy black pepper or chiles.  Even more twisted, they contain a chemical named hydroxy-alpha-sanshool, which creates a slight numbing effect.  You can take advantage of this anesthetic effect by pairing it with spicy heat. 

That's what we did with this Asian inspired Szechuan Pepper Steak that Alexis and I cooked this weekend. The Szechuan peppercorns bring a flowery, almost citrus flavor, and Garlic Chile Butter adds luscious spiciness.  Of course, we cooked it on a grill, but you could absolutely do this on a stovetop.

Szechuan Pepper Steak

By www.nibblemethis.com

Ingredients

• 2 12-ounce Certified Angus Beef® Brand NY Strip Steaks
• 1 tablespoon peanut oil
• 2 green onions, sliced on a bias for garnish

For the Dry Rub

Jack and Coke Steak

[Standard Disclaimer]  We proudly choose Certified Angus Beef® Brand as the official beef sponsor for Nibble Me This because of their 10 science-based quality standards and their commitment to providing the best Angus beef.

In late October, I was fortunate enough to be a judge at the Jack Daniels World Championship Invitational Barbecue.  "The Jack," as it is known in the BBQ competition world, is one of the premier contests.  It is like one of the Majors in golf or Grand Slams in tennis.                 

This delicious steak is a tribute to my trip to The Jack for a couple of reasons.

• While at the contest, I got to see friends, Chef Michael Ollier and Bryan Schaaf, from Certified Angus Beef® Brand.
• The base recipe is from Jack Daniel's.
• I used Jack Daniel's Charcoal Briquets and Smoker Blocks.

Each judge received a generous SWAG bag, and these were just two of the things in it.

I saw the simple recipe for Jack and Coke Steaks on the charcoal bag and decided to give it a whirl. 

I went to my Food City and picked out this gorgeous pair of Certified Angus Beef® Brand, USDA Prime NY Strip Steaks. 

Strip Steak with Zucchini and Onion - Japanese Steakhouse Style

[FTC Standard Disclosure]  This post is sponsored by the Certified Angus Beef® Brand in conjunction with a social media campaign through Sunday Supper LLC.  All opinions are my own.

I have always been fascinated with the Japanese-style steakhouses, also known as hibachi or teppanyaki restaurants.  I enjoy the live-cooking entertainment as much as the food.  I am in awe of the chef's ability to cook eight variations of their steak-shrimp-scallop-chicken combinations at once and nail the timing.  On top of that, you have to add the vaudeville schtick of jokes, flinging shrimp tails, building onion volcanos, and the cling-clang-bing-bang of the swirling utensils.  

Those chefs are true multi-taskers, and I lack their ability to keep track of so much.  At our house, a kitchen timer goes off, Alexis asks what it was for, and I'm likely to reply, "I had a timer set?" 

This past weekend, Food City had some gorgeous Certified Angus Beef® Brand, USDA Prime grade NY Strip Steaks and I couldn't resist them. Usually, I like a simple grilled steak.  But I wanted something different, so I channeled my inner teppanyaki chef and came up with this Strip Steak with Sweet Soy Butter, Zucchini and Onions, and Jasmine rice.  

I departed from my usual teppanyaki steak dinner process (Japanese Steakhouse Appetizers, Teppanyaki Steak and Scallops) a few ways:

• I cooked the steak whole, instead of cutting it up during the cook and finishing it by cooking the individual pieces.
• I skipped the usual ginger dipping sauce for a Sweet Soy-Garlic-Ginger butter.

Teppanyaki Seasoning

Grilled Steak and Shrimp

[FTC Standard Disclosure]  I have taken the year off from sponsorships; however, I have accepted two educational trips to the Certified Angus Beef® Brand Culinary Center this year.

When you go to the store to pick something up for dinner, do you tend to:

1. Go to buy a specific protein and have a recipe idea in mind, OR
2. Go to see what protein looks so good that you can't pass it up and build the meal around that?

If we are just cooking for ourselves, we generally go with the latter.  Alexis and I went to Food City earlier this week and found a package of thin-sliced, USDA Prime, Certified Angus Beef® Brand NY strip steaks.  They also had 26/30 count shrimp for sale, so we decided to make a quick grilled steak and shrimp. 

These steaks were thin, weighing in at 6 ounces each.  That's what I call "breakfast steaks" because they are perfect for a quick sear in a skillet and serve along with some fried eggs.  Or in this case, a quick grill and served with buttery, garlicky shrimp.

Ribeye Steak with Compound Butter

[FTC Standard Disclaimer]  I received no compensation for this post.  But in full disclosure, although I took the year off from working directly with Certified Angus Beef® Brand, I have been sponsored by them in the past and plan to return to the program next year.

I stopped by Food City before Independence Day to pick up a chicken for a recipe I had in mind.  But I had to pick up a steak when I saw that they were having a big sale on Certified Angus Beef® Brand steaks.  I still got the chicken...I just got a steak, too.

Food City had USDA Choice and Prime C.A.B. ribeyes on sale for a price I couldn't ignore.

I hand-picked this beautiful USDA Prime, Certified Angus Beef® Brand ribeye steak.

A Bit about Steak Quality Terms

Are you confused by all of the Angus beef offerings these days?  In addition to USDA grades of Prime, Choice, and Select, at the meat counter you now see vague terms like premium, champion, and more.  Let's take a look at what it all means.

Stockyard Spud - Prime Rib Stuffed Baked Potatoes

[FTC Disclosure]  I received no direct compensation for this post; however, I am attending an expenses-paid trip to Certified Angus Beef® Brand's BBQ Summit later this month.  Also, if you end up buying one of my books, obviously I get compensation there.

The Stockyard Spud is my latest creation from leftovers.  It is a mammoth-sized Idaho spud fire-roasted on a kamado grill and then stuffed with chopped, smoked prime rib, beef jus, cheddar cheeses, and caramelized onions.  

If you don't have a slice of prime rib roast lying around, some chopped up leftover steak would be just as good in this.  Heck, this will let you split one steak between 3 or 4 people and still leave no one hungry.

I'm not going to write up the recipe, this is more of a "take the concept and run with it" kind of thing.  If you have any questions, just shoot me an email or reach out on social media.  I had to turn off comments because of the ridiculous amounts of spam comments per day made it too hard to manage.

I happened to have a slice of this dry-aged, smoked rib roast leftover from the last photo shoot for my second book -  The Offset Smoker Cookbook (releases in July 2019).

I dry aged an 18-pound Certified Angus Beef® Brand ribeye roast for 30 days using a Umai Dry bag. 

Skillet Porterhouse Steak Basted with Compound Butter and Tallow

[FTC Standard Disclaimer] This is not a sponsored post, as I have taken a break from sponsorships this year.  However, in the spirit of transparency, we still have a close working relationship with the folks at Certified Angus Beef® Brand.

Many of my friends scoff at the notion of "grilling season" because most of us grill and barbecue throughout the year.  But I still think that there is a "grilling season" that starts for me with Daylight Savings Time.  "Grilling season" to me means that it is the optimum conditions for grilling:

• Lighting - The sun starts setting later in the evening, and for our deck, that means beautiful rays of golden sunlight boldly shine through the trees in our backyard.
• Warmth - It feels good to be outside, with warm breezes and pleasant temperatures.  
• Wildlife - Birds, frogs, rabbits, squirrels, and other critters are out and about, and their chorus of animal Tinder ads fill the air.
• Greenery - Winter's fifty shades of grey is over.  The grass is vibrantly green, flowers are bursting open like fireworks, and trees have leaves, once again.

To celebrate the first day of Daylight Savings Time this year, I went to Food City and picked up the prettiest Certified Angus Beef® Brand porterhouse steak they had.  I cooked it in a skillet over hardwood coals and basted it with a mix of compound butter and beef tallow.

When I was posting about this while cooking, one of my followers asked a good question:

@nibblemethis , this may be a dumb question, but what’s the advantage of searing a steak in a cast iron skillet over coals vs. a hot gas or electric stove? Does the meat acquire extra smoke flavor? Gas seems so easy compared to coals. Thanks

The answer is that I did it solely to enjoy the experience.  With an open grill like this, you aren't going to get any smoke flavor.  If I used the skillet as the sear part of the reverse sear technique, then yes, I would get that smoky taste. 

Gear and Set Up

I decided to use a skillet for this cook.  I love uniform cross-hatch marks, but it is hard to beat a cast iron skillet seared steak.  But more importantly, I wanted to butter-baste our steak.  My weapon of choice was a PK Grill, a simple clam-shell type grill and I used Tennessee hardwood lump charcoal.  Notice two things.  

• First, the skillet is empty.  Don't add food, oil, or anything until it is preheated - when you start to see slight wisps of smoke come off the surface.  
• Second, notice the gap with no charcoals, that is my escape area if the skillet gets too hot.  

Phone post: Bone-In Ribeye Steak on the Big Green Egg

[FTC Disclaimer]  We received no compensation for this post.

My absolute favorite time of the year for sports is the college basketball tournament.  This year, three teams that we root for are top seeds which makes it even more enjoyable. Carolina had a late tip-off so I grilled this thick, bone-in ribeye for Alexis and I to split.

It was a straight-forward cook, but here are the details for my grilling-nerd friends. 

The bone-in ribeye steak weighed in at just under 1 1/2 pounds.  I patted it dry, lightly oiled it with some peanut oil, and then seasoned it with our finely ground NMT Umami Steak Seasoning recipe.

Porterhouse Steaks with Twice Baked Potatoes

Wow, it is hard to believe that Nibble Me This is 10 years old as of today. 

Back then, I never imagined that creating a BBQ and grilling blog would lead to the opportunities that it has.  

• I have gotten to work with great food brands and grilling companies.
• I have been lucky enough to work side by side with World Champions.
• I have gotten to take educational trips to learn more about grilling, butchery, and food production.
• I have traveled to farms and ranches to gain a better understanding of where my food comes from and sustainable practices.
• I have received hands-on training to do things like break down half of a steer and artificially inseminate a sow.
• I got contracts to write two BBQ/grilling books.

But the absolute best part of Nibble Me This has been the friendships that have grown out of it. I have met so many wonderful people across the country that I am proud to call my friends.  Well....most of y'all, anyway ;) 

New Year's Eve was unseasonably warm, which are two words a griller loves to hear.  So Alexis and I grabbed a few porterhouse steaks for a quick dinner before our youngest and his friends headed out for a Dirty Guv'nahs concert. 

Twice Baked Potatoes

These are a reliable side dish - they are easy and almost everyone loves them.  We washed, lightly oiled, seasoned with salt, and wrapped russet potatoes with foil.  We put them in a 400°f Big Green Egg on indirect heat (using a plate setter) until they were tender - about 45 minutes because these were smallish.

We sliced off the top 1/3rd of the potatoes and scooped out the pulp from inside.  We then mix in finely chopped bacon, butter, sour cream, finely chopped green onion, and shredded Sweetwater Farms smoked yellow cheddar.  You are basically just making loaded mashed potatoes so throw in whatever you want.  Finally, we seasoned it with some of our NMT Beef Rub v.2 to taste, about 1.5 teaspoons.  

Stuff all of that mix back into the hollowed out potato shells.  You can make these ahead and have them ready to cook.  Then heat them through for about 20 minutes at 350°f. 

Reverse Pan Seared T-bone Steak with Roasted Garlic Butter

[FTC Disclaimer] This post is sponsored by the Certified Angus Beef® Brand in conjunction with a social media campaign through Sunday Supper LLC.  All opinions are my own.

One of the really cool things about partnering with the Certified Angus Beef® Brand (aside from already loving their great beef) is that every now and then I get surprises in the mail.  This Summer they sent me a copy of Perfectly Aged - 40 Years of Recipes and Stories from A Taste of Texas.   

A Taste of Texas is a Houston landmark steakhouse that has been serving only Certified Angus Beef® Brand for over three decades.  This book features everything that makes a good cookbook.

• The history of this storied restaurant and Texas itself.
• Mouthwatering recipes (over 100 of them!) from classics like Prime Rib to the inventive, such as; Seared Tuna "Nachos" with Chimichurri Sauce and Fried Capers.
• Photos that make your taste buds dance.
• Sections that focus on teaching technique like Steak School.

We used their garlic butter recipe as the perfect accent for this reverse pan-seared t-bone steak. 

 The one slight change we made to their recipe was a substantial one - we upgraded garlic to fire roasted garlic.  

Fire roasting garlic is easy.  Set your grill up for indirect heat at 350°f degrees.  For me, I used a small kamado grill so indirect meant using a plate setter or heat diffusing stone between the fire and your food.  For a regular grill just shift the coals to one side and cook, lid closed, with the food over the gap or void.  

Just cut off the top quarter of each bulb of garlic to expose the tops of the cloves.  Drizzle them with cooking oil and season with salt and pepper.  Roast the garlic until browned and some of the cloves are starting to squeeze up out of the bulb - about 1 hour.  Take that off the grill and squeeze out the delicious pulp from the heads of garlic.  You can save that pulp, refrigerated, for 2 weeks and use it in anything instead of regular garlic.  The stuff is amazing.

Now about that steak.  It was labeled as a T-bone, but the filet portion was significant enough that it would qualify as a porterhouse steak.  I seasoned it with our NMT Umami Steak Seasoning and then let it rest on a rack for over an hour.  This enables the seasoning to be drawn back into the steak and lets the steak temper for even cooking.

To cook the steak, I used a reverse pan-sear method.  That just means I slow roasted it and then seared it in a scorching hot pan to finish it.