craig's recipes

Steak le Craig

I love to eat a good steak. Here I present one method for making a good steak topped with carmelized onions and Blue cheese.

I prefer T-Bone or Porterhouse steaks, but any kind of steak that you like will work. If you have a source for Prime grade beef, then by all means get Prime grade steaks. Whatever your choice, you want a piece of meat with small spidery veins of fat marbled through it like you can see in the picture of the uncooked steaks below. Fat is what makes the meat tender and carries a lot of flavor. Without the fat, you have a rubbery, hard to chew hunk of not-so-tasty meat (probably not what you're looking for).

Recipe by: Craig Servings: 2 Preparation Time: 0:45

Ingredients

1 Large sweet or white onion

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon sugar

1 Tablespoon butter

1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 nice steaks

2 Tablespoons Peanut, Safflower, or Canola Oil

Coarse Salt and Pepper

2 ounces crumbled Blue cheese, like Roquefort, Gorgonzola, or Stilton

 

Method for preparing steaks

Slice the onion thickly crosswise to make rings.

Sprinkle the onions with the salt and sugar, then start cooking over low heat in a covered non-stick pan with the butter and worcestershire sauce. The onions need to cook very slowly for a long time to properly carmelize and brown. Allow to cook for at least 30 minutes before continuing. Cook them until they are nicely brown and limp. This may take a while. If you cook them too quickly, they will be harsher, somewhat bitter, and not as sweet.

Rub the steaks with the oil, then season - put plenty of coarse salt and pepper on them. The steaks can be cooked on a grill, or in a pan. I prefer to use a charcoal grill, or a gas grill. When I do not have a grill available, I use a grill pan, which is a pan with ridges in the bottom so that when you cook something, the hot pan leaves "grill" marks. I recommend a Calphalon grill pan. I have the less expensive Kitchen Essentials® by Calphalon® Grill Pan Styleware, but the more expensive Calphalon Contemporay Stainless Steel Nonstick 13 Inch Grill Pan is a better choice, as that model can be put into the oven. If you wish to save some cash, then an iron grill pan will work well, but you need to care for the pan and season it correctly.

If cooking them in a pan, then sear them in a very hot pan. You will need to pre-heat your pan. Cook about two minutes on each side. Allow the pan to re-heat between sides. Then turn and cook another one to two minutes on each side, for a total time of 3 or 4 minutes per side, depending on how done you like your steaks. How long this takes depends on a number of factors including the thickness of the steaks, the starting temperature of the steaks, and just how hot your pan is.

A grill, charcoal or gas, will get hotter than a grill pan, so you need to adjust the cooking time. On the grill, cook your steaks over high heat for about two minutes on each side. Then turn and cook another minute on each side. Again, cooking time will vary depending on a number of factors. Remember, once you've cooked the steak, you can always cook it more, but you cannot cook it less. Also remember that the steaks will continue to cook after you remove them from the grill or pan.

Check the steaks for doneness and continue cooking if needed.

Plate up the steaks on oven proof plates, or put on a broiler pan and top with the carmelized onion rings in an artistic manner. Sprinkle with the crumbled blue cheese.

Put under your broiler for a short time, just until the blue cheese starts to melt. You have to watch carefully, this only takes about a minute, and if you leave them too long the onions and cheese will burn.

If necessary, carefully move the steaks to serving plates.

Serve with warm Sourdough bread, a nice light salad, baked (or microwaved) sweet potatoes, and a dry red wine – a Cabernet goes well.

Enjoy!