Sugar Steak with Bourbon

I haven’t made it yet but it reads perfectly suitable for barbecue in Patagonia.. Thanks

In Quebec, sugar steak is an old recipe - my father made this for us in the '50s and he learned it as a child in the late '20s. But we make with maple syrup. Softer, cleaner taste. Better coverage when preparing.

I made this tonight using a strip steak & grilled it outside. Didn’t actually taste the bourbon but it added to the overall flavor. A little kick from the crushed red pepper flakes and just a bit of sweetness from the brown sugar. I enjoyed it with a nice glass of red wine.

this was tasty, mostly sweet with a bit of heat. We did not taste the bourbon much, although I used good stuff.

I find this kind of funny, because my country has a breakfast dish called tapsilog, that translates in Tagalog as tapa with egg. Tapa is basically flank steak marinated with garlic, msg, soy sauce and sugar. It is often served with garlic fried rice, and a sunny side egg that is served over top, before the egg craze ever hit, we were doing it for breakfast for decades.

But the thing is, this dish is sometimes made in strips, served with diced tomatoes and fish sauce, a staple in FIlipino kitchens. Or a soy sauce and vinegar dipping sauce drizzled over the rice, and the egg is omitted.

But I've also had this in wide 2 x 4 inch strips, cooked either very well done and crusted, or how I like it, more tender and slow and low to get that awesome carmelization from the sugar.

I am really curious to try this without the bourbon alas, my cancer (liver) would not allow it. Is there a subsitute maybe for the liquor ingredient? My Canadian wife and son, aren't big on sweet marinades for meat, but I bet I could sneak this by them if I grilled it, and kept the red pepper flakes to a minimum...
I can't wait to try, thank you Food52 and Amanda, I love this site, even I am several years late in finding it.

If it is too sweet, just cut back on the sugar... Same with bourbon, as a chef, I stalk this site frequently, but rarely comment. People seem to have forgotten to employ common sense, I read some comments, and smack my head. If you think you can substitute something, go ahead, try it. I tried this with a steak in the smoker, and it was amazing, then seared it on high heat on the grill for a little char...WOW!

I'm upset I made this without reading the comments, as I trust Amanda's recipes blindly. The taste of this marinade was worse than any of the comments lead it out to be. I made it last night, not only wasting a perfect flank (as nobody had but a slice) and have woken up today with the same sickly sweet taste in my mouth. Meat was cooked to perfection and looked like it does in the pic (gorgeous) however, the bourbon is too strong and the sugar too sweet. No bueno

I love this steak with bourbon. Sounds great. It is an absolutely winner.

Steak and bourbon! YES PLEASE!

Made this recipe as directed, and despite being a HUGE bourbon fan, the bourbon was way overpowering for the meat. We did not care for this at all. I did not broil, but opted to grill it over an open flame.

This recipe looked and sounded lovely, but no one in my family really cared for it. Followed the directions regarding ingredients and marinating. Chose not to cook it under the broiler and was a little afraid grilling it for fear of fire, so opted to follow the suggestions of another commenter to heat a cast iron skillet on the grill until it was, er, rip-snorting hot. Texture and doneness was perfect, but we didn't enjoy the flavor - and it wasn't because we don't like bourbon. I have several recipes that call for it which we routinely make. There was just something about the caramelized sugar/bourbon flavor that was too cloying - sort of 'pruney' sweet.

sorry but this was absolutely disgusting. Broiled it and it was unediable. The bourbon was way overpowering and just made the flank disgusting.

I orignially tried broiling this, but the meat wasn't getting color so I brought it to the grill to finish it off. Are the photos of meat that was broiled?

Can this marinate over night?

This looks so good! I can't wait to try this on my Weber gas grill. It would probably also go well with mix chopped carrots and corn. Thanks for the recipe by the way.

Suggestions on a good wine to go with this? Nothing too too expensive?

if using a gas grill do you put meat directly on grill over indirect or direct heat?

what's the remaining sugar? I only saw sugar mentioned once.

we put a cast iron pan on the grill, heat it up for 10-15 min until it is smoking hot. We put nothing in the pan but salt, drop the steak in cook for a total of 5 min (1 inch steak) turn every min and perfect med rare every time. (nytimes recipe)

Amanda, can the resting in the fridge occur in a small, covered glass box rather than a plastic bag? (You know what I think about using plastic bags for purposes like this . . . ) Thank you. ;o)