Steak Frites with Bone Marrow Butter

When it comes to cooking, I am a deeply conflicted individual.  The conflict comes from a very simple question: what is your favorite ingredient?  Reflexively, I would answer "saffron."  The world's most expensive spice.  And, why not?  It lends its unique aroma, color and taste to any dish.  However, deep down, I know there is another answer to that question.  And that answer is "bone marrow."  

I have made a few dishes incorporating bone marrow. Heck, I even had my own Iron Chef challenge with the ingredient.  These dishes have provided me with some experience when it comes to roasting bones, removing the marrow and pairing it with complementary ingredients, such as garlic and flat leaf parsley.  The marrow imparts a very beefy flavor to the dishes and it is a very healthy ingredient to use in cooking.  Bone marrow is full of polyunsaturated fatty acids like Omega 3, which is the good type of fatty acids, along with iron, phosphorus and Vitamin A.

Recently, I had the urge to cook steak frites.  As I searched through steak frites recipes, I found there were two types of recipes.  First, there was the recipe that served a sauce, usually made with brandy and cream.  I have to admit that I am not one to work with brandy in my house for fear of setting the cabinets surrounding my oven on fire.  So I turned to the second type of steak frites recipes, which use a herbed butter.  I decided to incorporate the bone marrow into both the butter and the fries.  I first found a recipe for bone marrow butter.  I roasted the bone marrow in the traditional way, which provides both the bone marrow and some oil.  I decided to use that oil in place of olive oil when I baked the fries.  This would add a beefy flavor to the fries as well.   

STEAK FRITES WITH BONE MARROW BUTTER

Bone Marrow Butter Recipe adapted from Food with Legs

Serves 1-2

Ingredients (for the Steak Frites):

1 New York strip steak (about 3/4 of a pound)

1 Russet potato

Sea salt, to taste

Ground black pepper, to taste

Oil from the roasted bone marrows

1 tablespoon of diced garlic cloves

1 tablespoon of diced flat leaf parsley
1 tablespoon of olive oil

Ingredients (for the Bone Marrow Butter):

1/2 cup of unsalted butter

3 bones with marrow

1 tablespoon of diced garlic cloves

1 tablespoon of diced shallots

1 tablespoon of diced flat leaf parsley

Directions:

1.  Roast the bones.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  Cover one end of the marrow bones with foil and stand them up foil side down.  Roast the marrow bones for forty-five minutes.  Remove the marrow and the oils into a small bowl.

2.  Bake the fries.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Toss the fries with the oil from the marrow bones, salt and pepper.  Lay the fries on a baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes, until tender and starting to get crispy.   Shake the fries a few times during baking to keep them from sticking 

3.  Cook the steak.  Preheat the olive oil in a cast iron pan on high heat.  Add the steak and sear the meat for about two to three minutes.  Flip the steak and sear that side for another two to three minutes.   Remove the pan from the heat and place in the oven to cook, for about an additional four to six minutes per side, depending upon the thickness of the steak and your desired doneness.  I usually like my steaks between medium rare and medium.

In the end, this recipe worked fairly well.  It was something different and it still needs some work, especially with respect to the fries.  It was a little difficult getting the fries to be as crisp as if they were fried.  In addition, the recipe will produce more butter than you need.  You could easily cut the recipe in half (use 1 to 2 bones, instead of 3) or you could store the butter in the refrigerator, wrapped in wax paper, for a day or two.  As with many recipes, this one continues to be a work in progress and any progress will be noted in the future. 

ENJOY! 

Around the World in 80 Dishes: Australia

It has been a while since I enjoyed some Tsebhi Sega and D'Nish Zigni as part of my challenge to prepare a main course from Eritrea.  That was a difficult challenge, because finding and authenticating recipes used in Eritrean cuisine is not very easy.  Now, I face a new challenge that, once again, takes me across the world.  I find myself with the challenge of making a main course from Australia.  

In some respects, this challenge is just as hard as the challenge to cook a main course from Eritrea, Bhutan or Paraguay.  What is Australian cuisine?  For most Americans, thoughts of Outback Steakhouse or Shrimp on the Barbie come to mind.  Obviously, I want to do more with this personal culinary challenge.  I thought about incorporating Aboriginal or Native Australian cuisine into this challenge.  I had a problem: it was difficult to find some of the ingredients used in native dishes.  I did a fair amount of research; however, I eventually relented, setting aside the idea of making a Native Australian dish as part of this challenge. 

THE MAIN DISH

But, that still leaves me with picking a main course from Australian cuisine.  I ultimately chose a dish that has an interesting history ... Carpetbag Steak.  This dish did not originate in Australia; instead, it originated in the United States.  According to the Food Timeline, oysters were considered a luxury in the nineteenth century, and cooks combined them with a lot of different ingredients.  The first recipes began to appear in American cookbooks in the late nineteenth century. The recipe went by different names -- such as Stewed Steak wtih Oysters or Steak with Oysters -- and usually involved cooking the oysters on top or outside of the steak. 

Around the turn of the twentieth century, someone introduced the dish to Australia, where it became popular.  As early as 1905, the recipe began to appear in cookbooks such as The Goulburn Cookery Book, Ms. Forster Rutledge (The National Trust: Sydney, Australia) and The Shauer Cookery Book, Misses A. and M. Schauer (Edwards, Dunlop & Co.: Brisbane & Sydney, Australia).  These recipes generally followed the same pattern: find a thick cut of steak (either a filet mignon or a strip steak), make an incision in the steak, insert the oysters, sew up the steak, and cook or grill the steak until it was done. 

The combination of oysters and steak happens to bring together two of my most favorite ingredients.  So, I decided to make this dish as a part of my personal culinary challenge.  I could have followed those old recipes, but I found a more recent recipe for Carpetbag Steak posted on Whats4Eats.  This recipe added another dimension to the dish, namely a sauce.  The steak is stuffed with oysters and pan-seared until cooked.  The steak is removed from the pan, the pan is removed from the flame,  and either brandy or cognac is added.  This is the start of the sauce.  Beef stock is latter added along with butter as a thickener.  I thought the idea of being able to serve the Carpetbag Steak with a sauce would elevate what is already a  luxurious dish.  The one thing I changed with respect to the recipe is that I did not use brandy or cognac.  I did not have either liquor on hand and did not want to spend the money on them because I do not drink hard liquor.  So, I decided to use something far more Australian ... Shiraz wine ... to produce a red wine sauce that could be drizzled over the steak once it is served.

CARPETBAG STEAK

Recipe from Whats4Eats

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 thick cuts of filet mignon or New York strip steaks

8 to 10 oysters, cleaned and shucked

1/4 cup of Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons of lemon juice

3 tablespoons of vegetable oil

1/4 cup of cognac or brandy (or red wine)

1 cup of beef stock

4 tablespoons of butter at room temperature

Salt, to taste

Ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1.  Prepare the steak and oysters. Using a thin boning knife, cut a small incision into the side of each stage just big enough to insert the oysters.  Move the knife back and forth inside each steak to create a pocket.  In a bowl, mix together the oysters, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice and salt and pepper to season.  Set aside to marinate for at least thirty minutes.

2.  Stuff the steaks.  Pour a little of the marinade into each pocket and stuff each steak with two or three oysters.  Secure the opening with toothpicks and let the steaks rest at room temperature for about thirty minutes to allow the flavors to meld.

3.  Cook the steaks.   Heat the oil in a large skillet or saute pan over medium-high heat until it just starts to smoke.  Season each steak with salt or pepper. Sear the steaks in the hot oil, letting them cook for about three minutes per side for medium-rare.  To make them more well done, reduce the flame to medium and cook for another two or three minutes for medium, or another four to six minutes for well done.  These times will vary depending upon the thickness of the steaks.

4.  Make the sauce.  Place the steaks on warm plates while you make the sauce.  Remove the skillet or saute plan from the flame and carefully pour in the cognac or brandy (or wine).  Return the pan to the medium flame and heat, scraping up any bits from the bottom until almost evaporated.  Then add the beef stock and simmer to reduce its volume by one-half.  (I added a few oysters to cook in the sauce while it was reducing.)  Remove from heat, adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper and whisk in the butter.  

5.  Plate the dish.  Serve the steaks with a little of the sauce poured over each steak.

*     *     *

Overall, this was a good dish.  I think that the steak was prepared well.  I really liked the oysters stuffed inside of the strip steak.  I would probably work a little more on developing the sauce, maybe adding some oyster liqueur or using the cognac/brandy when making the sauce.  This is the great thing about cooking, there is always something more that can be done.  Until next time...

ENJOY!

Grass Fed N.Y. Strip Steak with Bone Marrow-Sage "Chimichurri"

If someone were to ask me to identify my favorite ingredient, I could quickly focus on a handful of ingredients. One of those ingredients is bone marrow.  The health benefits of bone marrow are still under study, but there are some preliminary findings that are very favorable.  Bone marrow is full of polyunsaturated fatty acids.  Those are the good type of fatty acids, as best demonstrated by one of the most well known polyunsaturated fatty acids ... Omega 3.  Bone marrow also contains iron, phosphorus and vitamin A.   However, the most interesting nutritional fact about bone marrow is that it contains alkylglycerols or AKG.  Alkylglycerols are a form of lipid that stimulate the generation of white blood cells known as neutrophils, which are cells of the immune system that defend against bacteria and fungi. AKGs are also believed to stimulate the production of microphages, which are immune cells that actually digest pathogens and foreign invaders.  

The common wisdom is that if something is that good for you, as bone marrow seems to be, it could not possibly taste good.  I am happy to say that this is where the common wisdom fails. In this recipe, bone marrow is used as a substitute for olive oil and sage is used for a substitute for cilantro and parsley.  The substitutions created a great flavor pairing ... bone marrow and sage ... that led to a great sauce to top a New York Strip Steak. 

GRASS FED N.Y. STRIP STEAK WITH

BONE MARROW-SAGE "CHIMICHURRI"

A Chef Bolek Original

Serves  2-3

Ingredients:
1 N.Y. Strip Steak, about 3/4 to 4/5 of a pound
3 marrow bones
1 teaspoon of pink peppercorns (substitute black peppercorns)
2 cloves of garlic, sliced
2 tablespoons of fresh sage, chiffonade
1 teaspoon of ground black pepper
1 teaspoon of ground sea salt
1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper

Directions:

1.  Roast the marrow bones.  Set the oven at 425 degrees Fahrenheit.  Place the marrow bones in the oven and cook them for about thirty minutes.  Remove the bones from the heat and scoop out the marrow into a bowl.  

2.  Cook the strip steak.  Start the broiler.  Season the steak with salt and black pepper on all sides.  Cook the steak to the desired doneness.  

3.  Prepare the "chimichurri."  While the steak is cooking, add the bone marrow and the other ingredients (sage, black pepper, peppercorns, sea salt, crushed red pepper) to a food processor.  Use the food processor setting and pour in any liquid fat from the bone marrow.  (If there is no liquid fat, use about one to two tablespoons of olive oil.)  

4.  Plate the dish.  Slice the strip steak and spoon the "chimichurri' over the meat.

ENJOY!

For more about the health benefits of bone marrow, check out Thatsfit.ca.

Spice Crusted Strip Steak with Sauteed Rainbow Chard

Every week, I have what I call "Steak Night."  That is a night during the week when my beautiful wife, who does not eat meat, is either at work or at a meeting around dinner time.  While she is gone, I pull out a nice (and sometimes big) steak, cook it, and enjoy life as a carnivore.  Recently, when Clare was meeting up with some friends, I decided that I would make a spice crusted steak and, based upon my success at sauteing Swiss chard, I would make a side of sauteed chard.

Normally, I would simply throw some different types of ground pepper together, along with some cumin, paprika, and garlic powder.  However, that usually results in a very spicy rub.  Knowing that this would end up on my blog, I decided that I would look at what other people do for rubs.  Who better to consult about a rub for beef than Bobby Flay.  I found a blog which reproduced Bobby Flay's recipe for Spice Crusted Strip Steak in Mesa Grill Cookbook.  I did not really follow it, but it provided some guidance on how I could restrain myself when it came to adding peppers to the rub.

I also decided that I would pan sear the strip steak, sealing in the juices and getting a good crust, and using the remnants in the pan to saute the Swiss Chard.  I also substituted the white wine called for in the recipe I previously used with a half cup of a pilsner beer.  As with wine, you should always use a beer you would drink.  I chose an Abita SOS Pilsner. In the end, the remnants of the rub, plus a little butter and beer, created a very tasty chard.

SPICE CRUSTED STRIP STEAK WITH SAUTEED RAINBOW CHARD

Rub Adapted from Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill Cookbook
Serves 2

Ingredients (for the Rub):

1 teaspoon of ancho chile powder

1 teaspoon of chipotle chile powder

1 teapoon of coriander powder

1 teaspoon of dried mustard

1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin 

Ingredients (for the Steak and Swiss Chard):

1 strip steak, about 3/4 to 4/5 pound 

1 bunch of rainbow chard, stems diced, leaves sliced in even slices

2 cloves diced

5 tablespoons of canola oil

2 tablespoons of butter

1/2 cup of beer, preferably a pilsner

2 tablespoons of grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

Directions:

1.   Prepare the rub.  Rub 2 tablespoons of canola oil over all sides of the strip steak.  Combine all of the powders and dried ingredients together and then rub it over all sides of the steak.

2.  Pan sear the steak.  Heat an ovenproof pan on medium high heat and add three tablespoons of canola oil.  Place the steak in the pan and begin to cook at least five minutes to each side.  (The reason it is not on high heat is that it would simply burn the rub.  Medium high heat will burn it a little, but develop a better crust.)  Remove the steak.   You can finish the steak in the oven to medium in the broiler for about 5 more minutes on both sides.  Otherwise, the steak will be medium rare or rare.

3.  Saute the shard.  Once the steak has been removed, melt the butter in the pan and add the diced stems.  Saute the stems for about six minutes.  Add the garlic and continue to saute for a couple more minutes. Add the beer and continue to saute for a couple of minutes.  Add the Swiss chard and continue to saute until it is wilted.  Add the Parmigiano Reggiano and continue to stir for a minute.  Salt and pepper to taste.

4.  Plate the dish.  Plate the Swiss chard on the middle of the plate.  Cut the strip steak and plate it over the Swiss Chard.

ENJOY!

Grass Fed Strip Steak with Watercress Chili Salad and Citrus Dressing

My beautiful wife, Clare, is always trying to get me to eat my vegetables, which is quite a task given that I am a committed carnivore.  She has made inroads, because I definitely eat more vegetables than I ever did in the past. I've also come to realize that I need to eat more vegetables to have a healthy, balanced diet, but it is hard.  Really hard.

So, when I decided to make a steak, I decided that I would make a salad as a side.  It could not be any salad.  I am not a big fan of iceberg lettuce or other basic leafy greens.  So, when it came to what kind of vegetable I would use for my salad, my thoughts turned to watercress, a semi-aquatic leaf vegetable that, according to Wikipedia, is one of the oldest vegetables consumed by people.  Also, as explained on Wikipedia, watercress is related to garden cress and mustard, and all three are noted for their peppery, tangy flavors.

With the lettuce question solved, I still needed to make the salad appealing to me and, the easiest way to do that is to incorporate chiles and citrus.  So, I bought a red chili, along with a lemon, lime and orange, and I had the basic ingredients to make a Watercress Chili Salad with Citrus Dressing.  Remember, I made this salad for myself, and I love spicy, peppery foods, so this salad has quite a kick to it.  But, if you like chiles like I do, then you could give this recipe a try.

GRASS FED STRIP STEAK WITH

WATERCRESS CHILI SALAD AND CITRUS DRESSING

Serves 2

A Chef Bolek Original

Ingredients:
1 grass fed strip steak (about 3/4 of a pound)
1 bunch of watercress
1 red chile, sliced very thinly
1 garlic, finely diced
1 lemon (zest 1/2 of the lemon)
1 lime (zest 1/2 of the lime)
1 orange (zest 1/4 of the orange)
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
Salt, to taste
Ground pepper, to taste

Directions:

1.  Cook the steak.  Salt and pepper the steak liberally on all sides.  Cook the steak in the broiler for about seven minutes on one side, flip and cook for about another five minutes or until it is done to your desired level (medium rare, medium, etc.).

2.  Prepare the watercress and dressing.  While the steak is cooking, trim the watercress.   Juice the lemon, lime and orange into a bowl.  Add the zest from the fruit to the juice.  Add the garlic and sliced chile.  Whisk in the olive oil until it is incorporated with the citrus juice.  Salt and pepper to taste.

3.  Plate the dish.  Slice the steak and arrange the slices.  Pour some of the dressing over the salad and mix thoroughly.  (Add more dressing if you like.)  Plate the salad.

ENJOY!