I've heard it my whole life: "if you get a good steak, all you need is salt and pepper"
I've also heard that all we need for survival is food, water, and shelter. So there you have it: all we really NEED is food, water, shelter, salt, and pepper.
In the Hungry Uncle Kitchen, however, we tend to go beyond the bare minimum "needs" to cook up something fresh and delicious each week so we can share it with you. This week, we're excited to bring you a healthier way to make restaurant-quality steak at home without all the extra sodium steakhouses use to make you bloat up from the chode up.
(NON-MEAT EATERS: Don't worry, we've got several meatless treats coming up so stayed tuned to the UncleBlog for more)
The (not so) Secret Ingredient: Steak
We're whipping up filets today, but you can use any cut of steak you like. Get a thicker cut if you like yours cooked Medium or less, or a thin cut if you like it anywhere from Medium-Well to Burnt.
Red meat can be high in fat and calories -- true -- but when consumed sensibly (reasonable portion size/2-3x a month), we don't consider this to be any form of a "cheat" meal. You can eat too much of anything, so if you're tracking calories just make sure you have an idea how much you're gonna eat and don't overdo it here.
The Rub
Don't worry Pee-Paw, there's salt and pepper. But we didn't stop there because we like a juicy, flavorful steak, and that's where the rub comes in. Once you mix this stuff up, you'll wanna sprinkle it evenly on both sides of the steaks and rub it into the surface of the meat. For a more scientific culinary approach, try to distribute the rub so that the steaks look somewhere between T-Mobile's advertised coverage map and their actual coverage map.
Ingredients
(Yield - 2 servings. If you need more than 2 servings, make your kids do the math)
-Steak (2) 4-6oz steaks
-Reduced Sodium Salt 1/2 Tsp
-Black Pepper 1/2 Tsp
-Cayenne Pepper 1/2 Tsp
-Ground Oregano 1/4 Tsp
-Onion Powder 1/4 Tsp
-Garlic Powder 1/2 Tsp
-Coriander 1/4 Tsp
-Turmeric 1/4 Tsp
-Low-Calorie cooking spray
***NOTE: Filets are naturally the most tender cut of meat, but if you buy a tougher cut here's a quick, easy tip to tenderize: take the 1 tsp of Low-Sodium salt from the recipe, and instead of mixing it with the other ingredients, sprinkle it onto both sides of the steak 45-60 minutes before you start cooking. The salt will tenderize the meat by pulling out excess water and allow the flavor to soak into the steak. Before you add the other seasonings, rinse the excess salt (if any) and pat dry.
The Numbers
Meat-Warming Pt.1
While you're making the seasoning, go ahead and preheat your oven to bake at 250 degrees. Once the steaks are ready to cook, spray a light coat of low/no-calorie cooking spray onto a cookie sheet (use aluminum foil or don't, I DONT CARE!) and toss steaks into oven on middle rack.
Set your timer to 15-20 minutes for thicker cuts (10-12 for thin cuts), turning once halfway through. This temperature isn't hot enough to finish the steaks -- think of the oven as a waiting room/sauna combination that gets the meat relaxed before it hits the super-hot pan in a few minutes.
The meat should go from bright red to a slightly browner/grey exterior by the time it's ready to come out of the oven (if both sides are bright red, add a few more minutes in the oven). As the meat cooks in the oven, place a skillet on HIGH heat.
Meat-Warming Pt. 2
Pull steaks from oven. Spray light layer of cooking spray into hot skillet and immediately add steaks. Set timer for 3 minutes.
Allow the steaks to cook for 60-90 seconds (depending on thickness) without moving. When you flip the meat, you should notice a nice browned crust on the side that was face-down in the skillet. Allow the other side to match the cook-time of the first side. (if steak isn't browned to the point of having a tasty crust, let it sit in the skillet for a few more seconds on each side)
The Finishing Move:
Once removed from heat, wrap the steaks in foil and let them rest for 4-5 minutes (they'll be very tired). During this time, they'll continue cooking internally until they're perfect to cut into. Check for level of doneness, then enjoy this spicy meatball with your favorite greens or sweet potato. The peppery kick in this steak also makes it a perfect pairing with a second identical steak.
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