I know that cutting back on red meat is healthy for you, I try to keep it for once a week and when I choose steaks I choose a leaner cut of meat and a thin cut. These are thin cut New York strip steaks trimmed of fat, each one is 3 to 4 ounces.
Normally when I pan sear steaks I do it with a combination of stove top followed by the oven but since these are so thin, they are easy to do just on the stove top.
First thing I do is rub olive oil on both sides of the steak followed with generous amount of sea salt and ground black pepper.
I heat my grill pan over medium-high heat and once it is hot put the steaks on. They should sizzle as soon as you put them on the grill. I cook each one about 1-1/2 to 2 minutes per side then remove the pan from the heat and they continue to cook, especially in cast iron.
In my family, no one likes the same toppings on their steaks, we all have different preferences.
Me, I like bleu cheese crumbles on my steak, it is not necessary to post a recipe for this as it is simply a couple of tablespoons of bleu cheese crumbles. You can also soften some butter and add bleu cheese and mix it well and let it melt over the steak as well.
My son he loves whiskey peppercorn sauce on his steak. It is very easy to make, not more than 5 ingredients to this. Beef stock with coarse cracked peppercorns is reduced in half then whiskey is added and thickened with a cornstarch slurry. If you want to lower the carbohydrates in this recipe to around 1 gram, omit the cornstarch and use xanthan gum. It is hard to work with but will thicken. It is best applied through shaker directly into the hot liquid, you can’t mix it with water, cannot add it by a spoonful or pinch it will clump. while shaking in the xanthan you must stir rapidly until sauce thickens. Also, if you get it on your hands, wipe your hands with a dry towel before getting your hands wet, it will stick to you and it’s not impossible to get off but difficult.
- 2 cups beef stock
- 2 tsp. ground pepper corns or to taste
- 1/2 cup whiskey
- 2 tsp. cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon water
- In a small pot boil beef stock with peppercorns over high heat until liquid is reduced by half, about 15 minutes.
- Add whiskey, reduce to low boil over medium heat.
- In a small bowl or cup mix cornstarch with water, add to sauce and stir immediately, sauce with thicken rapidly. When sauce reaches desired consistency, remove from heat and serve.
- Nutritional data provided is for entire recipe.
Finally, grilled onions to top the steak with. This is my mama’s favorite for her steak and again, a very simple topping to make. Simple ingredients, olive oil, sliced onions, sea salt and pepper cooked over a medium heat until the onions are rendered golden brown.
- 2 medium onions
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 1 tsp. black pepper or to taste
- Remove skin and and outer most layer of onion then slice onions to 1/4" thickness with mandolin or hand sliced.
- Add oil to medium size skillet and heat over medium heat.
- Add onions, salt and pepper, stir.
- Continue cooking over medium heat until onions soften and turn golden brown while stirring frequently.
- Nutritional data provided is for entire recipe.
So there you have it, 3 ways to top your steaks that are not only delicious but simple to do and impressive enough to serve company.
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