We're Gonna Steak Night... We're Gonna Eat It Right!

Tomahawk steak. Like J.D. and Turk from one of the best T.V. shows of all time, I also think that steak is such a treat! Whether it's for your 31st birthday like this steak here (yeah, I said it, I'm a 90's kid and proud of it!) or just a celebratory dinner with your buddy (after doing the proper steak night song and dance in your scrubs, of course!), cooking a steak so that it is honored for its quality is not always a treat if you aren't sure how to do it.

Both what I learned growing up cooking meat on the grill the we built ourselves with brick and concrete in our country backyard and in culinary school at JJC in Thrive on grill and sauté pointed to one common theme, and that's to keep it simple. A beautiful piece of protein doesn't need a lot of extra help to taste delicious.

My favorite method to cook a steak is a combination of both methods, old country and new school. Cooking with an immersion circulator (sous vide) for a couple hours (instant pot has a great one available, I have had mine for a couple years and still like it!) and finishing on the grill or in a very hot cast iron pan is a simple way to get a lot of flavor into the meat that doesn't create a lot of dishes and is easy to do ahead of time for a busy schedule!

Let's talk about ingredient lists. Recipes with long ingredient lists full of peculiar things that you'll never use the rest of are inefficient and expensive, am I right? You've already spent thirty bucks on a steak, no need splurge on the rest. What's in this vacuum sealed bag is simple!

In the bag:

1. A steak. Ribeye or New York Strip are my favorites for this.

2. A couple tablespoons of butter. I use salted. I know, that's against what most people do, but as one of my mentors Chef Thompson would say, "Salt tastes good."

3. Fresh parsley, or whatever fresh herbs you have in your fridge. Stems of herbs are great here, too.

4. A couple cloves of garlic. No need to get fancy and mince it, just crush it slightly, peel it, and toss it in the bag.

5. A splash of Worcestershire sauce. This one you can skip if you don't have it, but who doesn't like some umami?

6. A splash of red wine. This one you can also skip, but I really like to use Cabernet Sauvignon, it's like $3 at Aldi and tastes delicious in this recipe.

7. Seal up the bag! I use a Food Saver to seal my bags at home (it's lasted a long time and works well, other brands are fine too). A vacuum sealer is great for reducing food waste as well, so it definitely has many uses in the kitchen!

Let it cook for a couple hours at 120 degrees/rare doneness (set your circulator to this temp, it will keep the water at this temp consistently) ahead of time. Once it's finished, throw the bag in an ice bath to chill it down and keep it in the fridge until it's time for steak night!

Once you're ready to finish cooking and serve, take it out of the bag (reserve liquid for making the sauce), pat it dry with a paper towel and season with a little oil, salt and pepper, and sear it on high heat either on the grill (wrap the bone with foil if you use the grill so the bone doesn't burn) or in a cast iron pan until it has nice color on both sides and is cooked to the temperature of your preference.

While the steak is searing and resting, if you want to get fancy and make a quick pan sauce, that's the time to do it! It can be as simple of a process as reducing the liquid from the bag with a little beef stock until it's almost nappe (consistency covering back of spoon), then take it off the heat and monte au beurre (swirl in the butter to create an emulsified sauce that is a thickened consistency). Finish with a little lemon and salt to taste, and that's it!

I served mine with 112 Carrots (one of the first recipes we learned at school - carrots with shallots deglazed with white wine and stock, super simple!) and risotto (which is basically fancy mac and cheese in our family now, and also doesn't have to be a complicated thing to make!). This steak could easily be served with a simple salad and garlic bread, or classic French style with some fries, too.

Overall, simple is best! Who knew honoring an ingredient like a beautiful piece of protein and creating a delicious meal could be so easy?! Just 6 ingredients, minimal prep, easy clean up, and you'll be having your own steak night and eatin' it right (and probably doing your own steak night dance moves).