I’m not one of those Californians that doesn’t eat red meat. Even though I don’t eat it often, I really like a good steak. Unfortunately, as adept as I can be in the kitchen, I’ve never been very successful in cooking steak. It either comes out too done or not cooked enough, and the flavor is always off. I probably don’t cook it often enough to get any better at it.
I found this recipe for salsa verde steak in Rachael Ray’s “Everyday” magazine. Since I’ve been working on a corn theme the last couple of weeks, this recipe stood out as it calls for fresh corn.
Salsa Verde Steak (serves 4)
Ingredients
2 New York strip steaks (about 14 oz each)
Olive oil for rubbing
salt and pepper
3 cups fresh corn kernels (frozen can be used if thawed and patted dry)
salsa verde
3 oz queso fresco cheese (it crumbles like feta but is creamier)
lime wedges
I also added fresh cilantro
8 corn tortillas
Directions
1. Rub steaks with olive oil and season well with salt and pepper.
2. Heat cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the steaks to the skillet and lower the heat to medium. Cook until bottom is seared (4-5 minutes), flip and cook 3-4 minutes longer for medium rare. Once steaks are cooked, transfer to a plate and tent with foil to keep warm.
3. Spread corn in the hot skillet. Allow to cook over medium heat for about a minute in order to brown. Then stir and season with salt and pepper. Continue to cook until corn is browned all over.
4. To serve, cut the steaks in half crosswise and arrange on 4 plates. Pile the corn over the steaks and sprinkle with salsa and cheese (and cilantro if desired).
It’s delicious with lime squeezed over the top and tortillas on the side. Grilled vegies were also served, and they made this dish a great summer meal. 
Since only 3 steaks were served, I cut up the leftovers the next day and made crispy shell tacos. All the same ingredients were added to the tortillas. It was very good.
I enjoyed this a lot. However, I think all the steak toppings made up for my lack of steak-cooking skills. One of these days I’ll learn how to do it right. Until then, this is a good alternative.
Sounds lively. I sear on a very hot pan for 2 min a side. Then into a preheated 170 oven to cook through the preferences. You can do 5/6 on a conveyor if you've that many to feed this way. And the plus of the oven is that you dont lose the juice for the strands reabsorb while resting.
ReplyDelete@Vince - I've never cooked steak in the oven. This was even a first for cooking inside using a pan. Usually it goes on the grill. I'll have to give this a go the next time I try to cook it. Thanks for the tip!
ReplyDeleteYeah, it works really well with a three/four finger fillet steak. But it must be up to temperature for then the radiated heat just does something magic.
ReplyDeleteYou've made my mouth water again.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'll bet this recipe works wonderfully with chicken! :)
@Vince - From everything I've heard I think the high heat searing is what I've been missing. We'll see.
ReplyDelete@Jason - I'm sure it would be great. Or you could come back over to the other side. You know you want to! :)
Oh that sounds (and looks) so good Pumpkin! I haven't cooked a steak in over forty years. I like steak but gave up on it for health reasons and the expense. My first steaks in years was a couple of months ago when I went out to dinner with our Old Geezer's Group. We had filet mignon. It was fork tender and seasoned just right. Just delightful! I'm going to send a link to your blog to my friend Don V. who LOVES STEAK. It looks mouth watering. Actually, it is mouth watering!
ReplyDeleteThanks Ron! I really only eat a good steak at restaurants on special occassions. Which is probably my biggest problem. My expectations are too high when you are served a sizzling filet that cuts like butter. For some reason I can't mimic that one. :)
ReplyDelete