PW: Tremendously Delicious Marinated Steak

Pioneer Woman Tremendously Delicious Marinated Steak

Verdict:  YUM!  And what a treat for steaks on the grill!
Cook it again: Oh yes. 
Cost Factor:  Steaks.  Otherwise, it's all pantry stuff.

This is a recipe from our cooking club, and came from The Pioneer Woman blog.  She had a contest earlier this year for best grilling recipes -- tied in with a promo with Bush's Baked Beans Grillin' Beans -- and so this recipe is from that contest.  Actually, that's not entirely true.  During the contest, Ree posted a few of her own recipes, so when you go to the link above, scroll down.  This wasn't actually a winning recipe, but is one of Ree's own recipes that she shared as part of the contest.

Oh, and it's so delicious.  Don't worry that it wasn't a winner.  It would have been.

Now, maybe I am partial.  I mean, I love red meat.  Love, love, love, steaks.  And we haven't cooked a steak on our grill all summer or winter, so I was well past overdue for a steak.  And my amazing husband can cook steak like no other, so if he's manning the grill, it's going to be good.

I mean, look at this guy. Wouldn't you eat a steak he grilled for you?  Of course you would. You might even eat grilled sneakers if he was at the grill making them for you.

Mick and I went to Costco with the kids the other day and I decided sort-of on the fly that this would be what we had for dinner the next day.  (I was feeling a little guilty that in both April and May, I was still working on our cooking club recipes on the very last days of the months, and so I had resolved to cook our recipes earlier in the month this time. Besides, not only do we have a crazy busy month -- and it gets busier towards the end of the month, too -- but with moving and packing, there's going to come a day where I look for something only to realize it's packed.  I had to get on the stick, stat!)

Anyway, we did a quick run to Costco for steaks (and something else, but we had a purpose for going to Costco other than just steaks, and it wasn't just WHM's birthday lunch ... but more about that later), and then dashed over to Target.  I had everything on hand except, strangely, turmeric -- and of course, the beans.  Our local Target just morphed itself into a not-quite-a-SuperTarget-but-more-groceries-than-most-Targets store, so I knew I stood a good chance on the beans and the spice was a sure thing.  And besides, we were dangerously low on diapers. 

Then, just to prove me wrong, of all crazy things, Target had the beans (Bush's Grillin' Steakhouse Style beans), and where the Turmeric should have been?  A sad, empty little row.

So ... off to Kroger. 

Wait a minute.  I am typing a million words a minute here and realized I am rambling.  Who really cares about our shopping excursion?

Right.  Back on track.

Marinade -- turmeric, nutmeg, cumin, blah, blah, and of all things, CINNAMON!  I won't lie -- it was strange.  But that being said, it was also intriguing.  Mick and I made the marinade and turned the steaks a few times and let them sit overnight.

The steaks the next day, getting up to room temperature before we threw them on the grill.

The next day was Saturday, and Courtney came for dinner.  Mick cooked the steaks and I overextended myself by throwing sugar snap peas in the microwave (hey -- even Alton Brown says that frozen veggies are healthiest), and onion rings in the oven.  It was tough. 

And this, my friends -- this is the delicious result.  The cinnamon was there enough to taste it, but it wasn't sugary, so it had a nice, rich undertone.  I think that we -- and by we, I mean I -- associate cinnamon with sweet because it's almost always in something sweet.  But in the marinade, it had a subtle rich flavor.  The steaks would have been delicious with just salt and pepper, I'm sure, but the marinade was simple and flavorful without being overpowering.  (I like to taste the marinade, but not feel as though it overtakes whatever it was meant to flavor.  That was exactly how it was here -- definitely there, but the quality of the steak shined through.)

Definitely worth cooking again.  And for reference, WHM ate all his steak and so did Courtney.  Those are two things that don't often happen -- and especially not at the same time!

--Jen

p.s.  The Bush's Grilling Beans?  Also fabulous.  I typically don't doctor up baked beans, but most everyone that I know does, and I can always taste what a wonderful difference the doctoring makes.  These needed no doctoring at all and were delicious right out of the can.  (Well, after they were warmed up, of course.)

Pin It