What are your suggestions for ways to marinate, sauce, and otherwise finish a porterhouse steak for two?
My local butcher had some good looking porterhouse steaks at what seemed like a very reasonable price last night so I picked one up.
I let it come to room temp, I salted and peppered it, and put it in a very hot cast iron pan with a dash of olive oil. Wait 4 minutes or so, flip. Wait another few minutes. Pull and let rest for 5 minutes. Spread a generous schmear of garlic butter on top and wow -- it was maybe the best dinner we've had in weeks (there was also a side of steamed broccoli -- also with some garlic butter). it was beyond simple (only 2 main ingredients: steak and broccoli -- and 5 supporting player: salt, pepper, garlic, butter, olive oil) and only 2 dishes to clean (the pan and a bowl in which I microwave steamed the broccoli).
So here's my question... what else can I do to a porterhouse? I'm looking for simple and easy and delicious. Bring it on!
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Maître d'Hôtel Butter
•1 lb (4 sticks) unsalted butter
•¼ cup chopped Italian parsley (leaves only)
•3 Tbsp lemon juice (juice from about 1 lemon)
Preparation:
1.In a large bowl, mash the butter with a potato masher or just squish it up with your hands. You can even cream the butter using the paddle attachment of a stand mixer — but the goal is just to get the butter soft so you can incorporate the chopped herbs.
2.Add the lemon juice and chopped parsley and continue mashing/squishing/mixing until the ingredients are fully mixed.
3.Spread out a large (1-foot or bigger) square of plastic wrap across your work surface, then scoop the mixed butter onto the plastic. You are now going to roll the butter into a cylinder inside the plastic wrap
4.Tie the excess plastic wrap at the ends of the cylinder into a knot, or just use little pieces of string to tie off the ends. You can even make a string out of a short section of plastic wrap and rolling it into a little rope.
5.Chill or freeze until needed.
Marinade: rosemary & garlic (both finely chopped), olive oil, salt and pepper.
Grill, pan-sear or broil to your liking, then rest it a few mins. (Grilling gives the best flavor, but broiling has the added bonus of catching drippings while it cooks.)
Slice diagonally against the grain. Do this on a plate, not a cutting board. Save all the juices that run out of the meat and mix with a splash of balsamic vinegar and juice of 1 lemon.
Serve the sliced porterhouse over a bed of arugula, topped with shaved parmesan and pan drippings drizzled over. You might love this--but remember--you didn't hear it from me.
But here's a bit on salt and steak, I've been following with great results.
Apparently, salting steaks just before cooking is good, 10-30 mins not so good, but at 40 mins all is fine again.
http://www.seriouseats.com/2011/03/the-food-lab-more-tips-for-perfect-steaks.html
Here's what we do: Season both sides of favorite steak with salt (kosher) and plenty of coarse cracked black pepper.
Get your skillet SCREAMING hot... and sear on both sides for 2-5 minutes, depending on thickness and preferred doneness.
Move the sexy-seared steak to a 400 degree oven, and cook for about 5 mins (this is to warm the inside. I like mine med-rare, but you can skip this if you prefer yours bluer). Remove from oven, tent, and rest for at least 10 minutes, on a warmed platter.
Meanwhile, toss diced mushrooms and chopped shallots into pan with "fond" (yummy brown bits left in pan from steak). Cook for a few minutes on the same high heat. Then add chopped garlic, and toss. Remove from heat, pour in some brandy, and ignite. When flames die, add a healthy knob of unsalted butter. This goes GREAT over your now well rested steak.
And it's VERSATILE! Brandy could be red wine. Garlic could be shallots. Butter could be cream, or cream cheese! The only constant MUST be the yummy brown fond left in the pan.