Chomp!

By Ron Aiken

 

Jalapeno Honey Steak!

 

I hope that the headline drew you in, because we’re not going to be making jalapeno honey steak. Oh, we could. Believe you me, we could. And Chomp! does. Regularly. Using the jalapeno honey he buys from Avondale Apiary at the Soda City market (we also love their Tibetan honey).

However, it’s not always on our shelf. But, loving it as we do for steaks, I FOOLED MY FAMILY just as I did you with my headline by making a version of it for steak that you will think, after you taste it, was absolutely made using jalapeno honey but which is more economical and easier to keep on your shelf (spoiler: you probably ALREADY have the ingredients you need at home! Win!)

So here’s what you do. You buy the steak of your choice. When Chomp! buys steaks for his family, he gets a chuck roast for himself (cheap and large with fat that melts like butter when you roast it in the oven) and either a rib eye or New York Strip for his other family members who do not like their steaks the size of a Honda Odyssey.

Got your steak? Great! Put it on your platter of choice and take out that old, rock-hard bag of brown sugar you have in the back of the cabinet behind the birthday candles and ziplock bags. You know, second shelf from the top, move the toothpicks out of the way. There it is! Get that brick out and use whatever means necessary to work it back into the granular shape it had for the 30 seconds after you first opened the bag three year ago.

Once you’ve done that, COAT the steak thoroughly with it like that steak’s life depended on no red meat showing through its brown-sugar exterior. It’s not easy or quick, but you can do it. I believe in you. Or you can just do as much as you can til you get tired, like I did.

Next, add yourself some ground cinnamon, kosher or sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and the secret to it all, the cayenne pepper. Coat that baby with the cayenne and cinnamon, then lightly dust with the salt and pepper.

Here’s what it’ll look like:

 

Beautiful, right? These are for my family.

 

And here’s my big-boy chuck roast:

 

YOU must eat IT before IT eats YOU.

 

After flash-cooking in a pan with hot oil (just barely enough to cover the bottom of the pan so it doesn’t smoke; you can also use butter for this) on medium high for about eight minutes or so per side to hit the medium mark I was shooting for, you’re good to go to let them rest.

Here they are, resting comfortably.

 

You can tell that Chomp!’s pan is a little wonky in how it sits on the stovetop, cooking not all that evenly sometimes. But, Chomp! has recently upgraded his stove to a gas-powered Wolf range, so that hopefully will never be a problem again!

 

And here’s my big fella, which was finished in the oven on 350 for between 15-18 minutes.

 

The caramelization you get from the honey is spectacular and SO good.

 

I served it all with just a side salad that took no time to make while my steak was in the oven; just a head of lettuce, cucumber, carrot and some shaved asiago cheese.

 

CAPTION: Not a bad-looking table for a Tuesday night!

 

It was well received, and not having participated in the cooking itself, my 16-year-old stepson said after his first bite that he loved eating the jalapeno honey steaks. Success!!!!!!!!!!

I urge you to try the brown sugar/cayenne pepper combo, and to not be gentle in your portions with either ingredient or else you’ll just miss out on all the fun. Who wants that? Not you! Not me! Email me with ideas at [email protected] and I’ll cook what you make for YOUR family and report the results!!! Til next week!

 

 

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