Ah, Rib Eye.
Some call it the watermelon of beef. I call it the best cut of steak you can get.
True, it is not as tender as the filet mignon and not quite as flavorful as sirloin, but no slab of beef has the balance between tenderness and flavor that the rib eye has. If you were to slice a prime rib before cooking it, you would have a rib-eye steak.
With a steak so perfect, how do you marinade or season it without ruining it or burying the flavor?
When you are pondering how to approach the mighty rib eye, think simple.
3 Ingredients: Meat, beer, kosher salt. That’s it. Put the pepper back. Don’t even think about picking up that lemon. Save the Montreal seasoning for your Porterhouse.
Prep time: 30- 40 minutes. Cook time 10- 12 minutes.
With simple ingredients, attention to quality is crucial. If you have the bankroll and the right meat market go USDA Prime. For the rest of us, you can find the diamond in the rough with a keen eye. When you are shopping for steak, regardless of grade, you are looking for marbling, or striping in the meat. True, this is fat, but fat is what carries your flavor and provides the juiciness. Anything less than an inch thick is for sandwiches (what better sandwich could there be than a rib eye steak on a sourdough roll). I recommend 1¼” to 1½”.
The beer should be light. Mexican lagers seem to do the best job, although you could give an American mass-produced pilsner a better fate than it deserves. Save the Guiness for drinking while you grill; stong flavors will hijack your rib-eye. Then you will be sad.
The salt has to be Kosher. If you don’t have Kosher get it or make something else. No rock salt, table salt, pickling salt. Definitely not saltpeter, considering you are working with open flame. Kosher salt is also known as gourmet salt. The reason is the flavor of the salt hits your tongue more quickly and more distinctly than table salt.
OK, you purchased the Kosher and cursed me under your breath for the additional 49 cents it cost you, but you now have the right ingredients. Now what?
Put the steaks in your marinade container- a Pyrex dish or even Tupperware will do, so long as it has sufficient room for your steaks. Don’t let them cuddle! Nobody likes public displays of affection. Give them their space!
Pour in the beer until the steaks are just past half submerged. Moderately cover the steaks with your Kosher salt. Don’t be bashful. Give them a fair sprinkling. You don’t want them looking like you just pulled them out of the snow, but the white should be visible.
After 15 to 20 minutes flip them and salt again.
I like to salt the side touching the grill first again before popping them on, and then getting the side facing up again, too. This gives it a nice sharpness on the outside to complement the buttery interior.
You want to get the grill nice and hot. After you put the steaks on, leave the lid up. This isn’t a crock pot. You want a sear on the outside to complement the tenderness on the inside. What a nice contrast of flavors and textures!
If you want to impress your friends, spouse or children, put the prettiest side of the meat down first, and half way through the cooking of that side, rotate the steaks 45 degrees for diamond grill marks or 90 degrees for square grill marks.
But how long is half way through?
A 1½” thick steak should grill 6 minutes per side. For each ¼ inch thicker or thinner, reduce or increase grilling time by 1 minute, respectively. You should see juices start to pool on the top. Don’t be a slave to the clock. If the edges start to curl up, flip them right away. Another doneness measure is to touch it and compare it with touching the meat of your palm under the thumb. Relaxed is medium rare, thumb squeezed against index finger gives you well done.
If you still aren’t comfy cozy, use a thermometer. If your guest challenges your man/womanhood, look him or her directly in the eye with a slight squint and a noticible scowl, and ask them if they want steak or jerky. Watch them back off. 135 degrees is what I call medium rare. It will pick up another 5 degrees by the time you open it up. You can always cook something more, but you can never un-cook it.
By the way, if you want your steak well done, don’t waste your money with rib eye. You are better off going with a hamburger. At medium-well, a rib eye is starting to lose its juiciness and tenderness.
When you are satisfied, pull them off with your tongs (not a fork; you wouldn’t stab your children would you?) and place them on a cutting board.
For the next 10 minutes, turn off the grill, sip your beverage of choice, comment on the odd player personnel choices of Al Davis to your friends. But for goodness sake, stay away from the meat!! If you cut into it right off the grill, it will bleed to death in front of your eyes. It is tired from being grilled; let it rest.
For intricate sides that really add that gourmet touch, you’ll have to find another blog. My wife is a professionally trained pastry chef. I am generally discouraged from entering the kitchen for cooking. The best fortune I ever extracted from a cookie: “If you have a difficult task, give it to a lazy man. He will find an easier way to do it.”
Go to Trader Joes and get the Gnocci in Gorgonzola. Microwaves in minutes and the Gorgonzola adds a creaminess to the rib eye experience, especially as it mixes with the steak’s own juices. A quick salad, some crusty sourdough bread dropped on the cooling grill for a few minutes, and you are golden.
A little steak geography: A rib eye looks a bit like the continent of Africa. The most tender part of the steak is the northern coast. Morocco, Algeria, Libya and Egypt are your prime real estate. Conquer them first or save them for last. You are the Emperor of your own steak; it’s your choice.
Enjoy!!
