Steak le craig

I love to eat a good steak. Here I present one method for making a good steak topped with caramelized 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).

Finished Steak with caramelized onion rings and Blue cheese

Ingredients

T-Bone Steaks

1 Large sweet or white onion
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon sugar
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
2 nice steaks
4 Tablespoons melted butter
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.

Cook the onions over low heat in a covered non-stick pan, with the olive oil. Sprinkle with the salt and sugar. The onions need to cook very slowly for a long time to properly caramelize and brown. Allow to cook for about 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.

Steak and Onions Cooking

Trim any excess fat from the edges of the steaks, but don't completely remove all the fat, leave ¼ of an inch. Using a basting brush, brush both sides of the steaks with the melted butter, 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.

Cooking Steaks in a Grill Pan

If cooking your steaks 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. I always set off my smoke detectors doing this. 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. If you also turn the steaks a quarter turn, you can get the cross-hatch sear marks on 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.

Steaks Cooking on the Grill

Cooking Steaks on a Grill

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. That is: a steak that is too rare can be cooked more, but you cannot fix a steak that is over-cooked. Note that the steaks will continue to cook after you remove them from the grill or pan.

Finishing Touches

Check the steaks for doneness and continue cooking if needed.

Plate up the steaks and if you have any melted butter left, top the steaks with it, dividing it evenly between the steaks. Put the caramelized onion rings on top in an artistic manner. Sprinkle with the crumbled blue cheese.

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

 

Enjoy!

craig