Chomp!

By Ron Aiken
December 27, 2013

 

To the Grocery Store! For Steak!

 

Chomp! writes about steak a lot, because Chomp! loves steak a lot. If Chomp! thinks about it, you could probably build about five meatmen from scratch on the steaks he’s eaten in 2013. Maybe 10. Maybe a dozen. And maybe, if you got enough discarded magician’s top hats and put it on them, they’d come to life and have adventures with area children – either that or start a legendary punk band.
One of the two.

The point being, if my preparations of steak weren’t so dang good, I probably wouldn’t eat the quantities I do and with such unending, rapturous relish. Because Chomp! loves you and it’s the holidays, I’m re-gifting you my recipe for espresso-covered steak.

I use a chuck roast only because 1) the price is always right, 2) I love the insanely tasty buttery effect the oven roasting has on the fat inside the cut and 3) I always have enough meat for at least two meals, if not three.

You can use whatever cut you like, as I’ve used it on London Broil, rib eye, New York Strips, you name it.

Espresso: I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Café Bustelo. I’ve tried more-expensive brands, all kinds of roasts from all over the world, and I always come back to Café Bustelo for my morning Caffè Americano.

If you’re not familiar with Bustelo, here’s what it looks like. GET IT!

Isn’t it a lovely can?

You may be asking yourself, How much does Chomp! really love  Café Bustelo? To which Chomp! says, THIS MUCH!

 

I got this sign at a Cuban restaurant in Tampa, Florida. It happily adorns Chomp!’s household coffee station.

So, I use this Café Bustelo for my espresso rub, and so should you.

There’s no science to my process, I just dump what seems like a reasonable amount on the steak, enough to coat it. To this I add paprika, a tiny bit of salt and pepper and garlic powder. You can add more or less, but you want the espresso to be the star, so don’t go too crazy with other rub ingredients unless you just really want to.

From there, once applied, I sear the steak in a pan with just enough peanut oil to cover the bottom on medium-high heat for five minutes a side – NO LONGER – and then pop it in an oven preheated to 350 degree. For 15-18 minutes depending on thickness. Bear in mind, that’s chuck-roast thickness, about an inch-and-a-half, maybe two. For smaller, thinner cuts, shave that there time to 8-10 minutes and just three minutes per side in the pan.

The result is this:

You can see the sear marks clearly, and you’ll also see the bottom goes a little higher because I sear it in an iron skillet that I then throw straight into the oven, so it cooks a bit more on that side. If you’re clever, you can make it three minutes for the second side and probably even that out.

For best results, I recommend you eat your steak in a holiday environment such as this, an appropriately decorated, reasonably priced duplex in Shandon with a fireplace and top-notch high-speed internet. Like this!

If you can’t EXACTLY replicate this flavor-enhancing scenario, do your best, OK? Because atmosphere matters. Anyone will tell you this.

On a personal note, Happy, Happy Holidays to you from Chomp! I’m thankful, so very thankful, you’re a part of Chomp!’s life! Yay you! Yay us! Enjoy!