Bill and Ted’s Excellent Steak with OG Compound Butter
Ingredients:
Four 8 ounce Filet Mignon or 12 ounce NY Strip Steaks (take out of the refrigerator 1 hour prior to cooking) Use a Choice or Prime Steak. I get mine from Holzman’s meats in Montgomery.
1 LBS. Unsalted Butter-at room temperature.
1-2 TBS Olive Oil
Non-Stick Cooking Spray like PAM or Vegalene
2 TBS Spice Spice Baby’s The OG seasoning
4 TBS Spice Spice Baby’s Bill and Teds Excellent Rub
Special equipment: an empty ice cube tray
Method:
Pre-heat your oven to 400 Degrees F
For the compound butter: In a stand mixer, or using a hand mixer, blend The OG seasoning together with the butter. This should take no more than a minute or two on low speed. With a spoon, spoon out the butter into the ice cube tray compartments-you may not fill each compartment, it’s ok. Wrap the whole thing with plastic wrap and freeze.
For the steaks:
1. Pat the tempered steaks dry using a paper towel. Then brush both sides of the steaks with olive oil. Season each sides of the steak with ½ TBS of spice.
2. On a high heat, get a cast iron skillet very hot. This will take 4-5 minutes.
3. Spray the tops of the steaks with non-stick spray and then place the spray side down in the cast iron skillet. Carefully spray the other side.
4. Let it cook for 3 minutes on each side. Do not fiddle with them while they cook. Let the heat do it's job and flip the steaks only once.
Place the steaks (along with the skillet) right into the hot oven. Cook for an additional 5-7 minutes. (as I tested this recipe 5 minutes gave me a perfect medium rare).
Take the steaks out of the oven and let them REST at room temperature. This allows the juices in the steak to release and is a critical step to a great steak. This "resting" should take about 3-5 minutes. Once the steak is done resting, top it with a frozen OG compound butter cube and serve immediately,
Commentary:
People usually struggle cooking the perfect steak because they rush the process.
Have the patience to temper the steak before cooking begins, then have the patience to let the heat accomplish the task, and lastly let the steaks rest. I always tell folks that the best time to drink the wine with a steak dinner is during the cooking process, enjoy the wine, and don't rush. Don't worry, you can have a third glass with the actual meal! Pair this with a smoky Red like a good Pinot Noir and you can thank me later.
One of the questions I get most often is “how can I tell if I am buying a good cut of meat”? Cuts of Beef are generally divided into three categories as far as quality is concerned: Select, Choice and Prime. Select is the lowest grade of beef and I will only buy select meats if I am stewing or slow cooking the meat for hours. This is not a good choice for steaks. Choice is the next grade up and will generally provide you with good results when cooking steaks in this category. If your butcher knows what they are about, you could ask them where your meat falls in that category: lower, middle or upper. Upper choice is a great alternative to the pricier Prime category. With Prime you are almost certain to have excellent results as long as you know the basics of grilling or broiling a steak-but be willing to pay for it. You will often see meat labeled as “Angus”, “Black Angus”, “Wagu” or the like. These are names of the breeds of cows and don’t necessarily indicate the quality of the meat itself. Other descriptive terms you may see like Dry-aged, wet-aged, grass-fed, local and the like also do not indicate the quality of the meat, although the aging process usually helps naturally tenderize the meat and gives the steak a “meatier” taste.
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