Steak & Potatoes Redux

Perfect grilled ribeye with duck fat glazed potatoes, sage, capers, bay leaves

Charred and blackened on the outside, bloody within, a grilled hunk of beef speaks to meat lovers in an essential, primal way. And while some might scoff that meat-and-potatoes are ho-hum, there's a reason millions of people keep going back to them, especially if your steaks are served with the tiny new potatoes that are just beginning to hit farmers markets. Thinner-skinned and altogether more delicate than their aging cousins (the ones that have been in storage all winter), freshly dug new potatoes are a treat all by themselves. Their flavor is more fragrant, lighter but more interesting, and if you douse them with duck fat and grill them until golden and crisp, and yes, you’d be guilty of lily-gilding – but in the very best way. If you need a bit more personalization, try one or more of my favorite simple recipes to accompany steak, like a briny caper and  fried sage sauce, smoky anchovy butter, or sweet and spicy maple mustard.

Perfect Grilled Ribeyes

Serves 4 to 6

4 (10 to 12 ounces each) boneless ribeye steaks, 1 1/2-inch-thick

2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, for seasoning

1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper

1. Take the steaks out of the fridge at least 40 minutes before you want to cook them. Pat with paper towels until very dry; the drier the steaks, the better the crust. Sprinkle the meat all over with the salt and pepper, including the sides. Let the meat rest at room temperature while you heat the grill. The salt will draw moisture up to the surface of the meat, but after 40 minutes or so, the meat will reabsorb the juice.

2. Light a charcoal grill, or preheat a gas grill for at least 5 to 7 minutes. If necessary, pat the steaks dry again.

3. Grill the steaks over high heat until nicely crusted, about 3 to 5 minutes per side for rare (about 125 degrees F. on a meat thermometer), or longer to taste. The hardest thing about cooking steaks is taking the meat off the grill at just the right moment. Err on the side of rarer than you like. You can always put the meat back on the heat but once it’s overcooked, there’s no going back. Use your fingers to check the firmness of the meat and learn to feel the differences between too rare and perfect. It shouldn’t feel too soft or too springy but somewhere in the middle. If you want to be extra sure, you can cut a small slit into the steak and look at the color. Just remember that it will continue to cook as you let it sit, so you need to take it off the fire before it’s as done as you like it.

4. Transfer the steaks to a platter and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing serving.

 

Etc: Five Excellent and Easy Steak Garnishes

Great steaks need nothing more than a sharp knife and prodigious appetite to enjoy (actually the knife is optional). But if you want to spruce it up, try any one of these:

- Gremolata: Mix chopped parsley, chopped raw garlic, grated lemon or orange zest and salt and pepper and sprinkle over the meat.

- Garlic-Herb Butter: Mush a mix of herbs (thyme, basil, parsley, scallions, chives, lovage), some minced raw garlic, and salt and pepper into softened butter. Form into a log and chill. Serve slices over the meat.

- Fried Capers and Sage Leaves: Fry capers and small sage leaves in olive oil, pour over steaks and serve with lemon wedges.

- Smoky, Spicy Anchovy Butter: Fry anchovies in butter until they dissolve. Add a pinch of hot, smoked paprika and pour over the steaks.

- Maple Mustard: Mix a little maple syrup into the hottest, strongest Dijon mustard you can find and serve alongside the meat for dipping.

 

Duck Fat Roasted and Grilled Potatoes

Serves 4 to 6

1 1/2 pounds new baby potatoes or fingerling potatoes

2 tablespoons duck fat

2 bay leaves

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Chopped chives or celery leaves, for serving

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Put all the ingredients into a baking pan and mix well. There might be clumps of duck fat but that’s okay.

2. Roast until the potatoes are tender, stirring after 5 minutes (to distribute the melted duck fat), and then two more times at 10-minute intervals. Check small potatoes for doneness at about 30 minutes; larger ones will require more time. They're ready when a fork pierces them easily.

3. Let the potatoes cool. You can make them to this point up to 3 days ahead and store them in the fridge.

4. When really to serve, once the steaks are resting, throw the potatoes on the grill (use a grill basket if you have one, it makes it easier to turn them). Grill until the potatoes are crisp, about 1 to 2 minutes per side. Serve topped with chives or celery leaves.