BA’s Best: Grilled Ribeye
When you’re cooking such an impressively large (and exorbitantly priced) piece of meat as this one, nearly everything served alongside it should probably be green. For health reasons and stuff.
No just kidding, health is overrated. It’s because it a) makes for a nice visual contrast and b) gives the meat some much needed brightness and zing. Just to show you that I meant it with the boycotting of health, you can also serve it with an entire loaf of crusty bread all to yourself (in the name of authenticity, of course).
BA’s Best: Grilled Ribeye
Taken from BA’s Best arsenal, with some adaptations here and there
Serves 2 (or 1 person who will subsequently feel very ill)
Ingredients:
Steak:
1 bone-in rib eye steak, about 1 ½ - 2 inches thick and weighing ~ 2 lb
2 tsp kosher salt, divided
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper, divided
Flaky sea salt, for finishing
Chimichurri Sauce:
1 shallot, finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 tsp kosher salt
1 ½ cups chopped cilantro
¾ cup chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley
1/3 cup chopped fresh oregano
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Accompaniments:
3 bunches cambray onions (or any sweet spring onions)
Olive oil, for grilling
Crusty bread, for serving
Directions:
Place the steak on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet. Pat the meat dry with paper towel and season with ½ tsp kosher salt on each side. Chill uncovered for 1-3 hours, but no longer. Remove the steak from the refrigerator 1 hour prior to cooking and let it come to room temperature. Before grilling, pat the meat dry again with paper towel. Season with another ½ tsp kosher salt per side and ½ tsp black pepper per side.
While the steak hangs out, make your chimichurri sauce. I should briefly mention that the chimichurri will lose some of its vibrant colour if made too far ahead of time, but none of its taste (so really only a problem if you’re aesthetically motivated). Combine the shallot, garlic, chile, vinegar, and salt in a medium bowl. Let stand for 10 minutes. Mix in the cilantro, parsley, oregano, and 2/3 cup olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour into a lidded jar, shaking as needed to re-incorporate the oil and vinegar. Set aside.
Cut the bulbs from the cambray onions, leaving 1-2 inches of green on top. Keep both the bulbs and the cut greens. Brush lightly with olive oil and set aside.
Heat a gas BBQ to high, leaving one burner on low. Sear the steak over high heat, flipping once, until nicely charred, 3 minutes per side (if a flare-up occurs, use tongs to gently slide the steak to a cooler part of the grill). Move the steak to the low burner heat and continue grilling, flipping once, about 3 minutes per side. I rotated the steak when transferring it to the low burner in order to achieve those crosshatched grill marks. Right before taking the meat off the heat, lift the steak with tongs and sear both edges (the bone side and the fat-cap side) for 1 minute per side to render out some of the fat. Grill the steak to your desired temperature, roughly 12-14 minutes total or until an instant-read thermometer registers 120 degrees F (as this will become medium-rare when rested). My steak was closer to 1 ½ inches thick, so it only needed 11-12 minutes to cook to medium-rare. It’s always better to pull the steak slightly earlier than later, as you can always cook it a bit more if needed. However you like your steak cooked, it needs to be transferred to a carving board and rested for 10 minutes before getting sliced.
While the steak rests, grill the onions. Place the cut greens in a BBQ basket (or some other receptacle that will stop them from falling through the grate) and the bulbs cut-side down on the hottest part of the grill. Cook, shaking the greens periodically and flipping the bulbs when grill marks appear. The onions are done when the bulbs have a bit of softness to them and the greens appear lightly charred, about 5-10 minutes (greens may be done sooner).
Place the onions on the carving board beside the steak. Slice the meat across the grain and season with flaky sea salt. Spoon chimichurri sauce over the sliced steak if desired, or serve on the side. Add crusty bread to sop up the juices. Eat everything with an unnecessary sense of urgency.
