Six recipes for saucing your steak
Six recipes that take your cut of beef beyond what salt and pepper can do
The ability to grill, fry and broil a perfect steak is embedded in your DNA. Medium rare? Who needs a thermometer? You can just side-eye that slab of prime beef and it cooks up at a perfect 145 degrees every time.
Congratulations! You’re a card-carrying Texan.
But here’s the thing: There’s more to finishing a steak than salt and pepper. And y’all, we’re not talking about A.1. and ketchup here.
This week we’re leaving the bottles of thick, sticky and sweet steak sauces on the shelves. Instead, we look to herbs, the produce bin and other corners of the pantry for inspired ways to top off beef.
Why reach for the 57 Sauce (we still love you, Heinz) when you could whip up a bowl of the charred orange and fennel relish chef Matt Jennings pairs with grilled hanger steak in his book “Homegrown: Cooking From My New England Roots”?
And if you thought you know salsa verde, think again. Emma Frisch includes a version inspired by her mother in her book “Feast by Firelight” that’s all briny anchovies, capers and mustard.
Cutting-board sauces and dressings are arguably among the most compelling recent developments in finishing a steak. The basic idea is to lay down a piping-hot and well-seasoned steak fresh off the grill atop a pile of herbs, spices and flavorful oils. Instead of letting the steak rest and reabsorb its juices, it’s immediately sliced into ribbons and tossed with the aromatic ingredients.
The salty and savory essence of the meat becomes an integral part of the sauce for an enhancement that’s fresh and vibrant but doesn’t distract from the beef ’s natural deliciousness.
The technique is credited to chef and restaurateur Adam Perry Lang and his 2012 book “Charred & Scruffed: Bold New Techniques for Explosive Flavor on and Off the Grill,” and it’s taken off from there.
Now, don’t get us wrong. There’s nothing wrong with salt and pepper. But trust us, when it comes to steak, it’s OK to mess with Texas — at least a little bit.