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Beer Marinated Steak with Porter Gorgonzola Butter

Beer Marinated Steak with Porter Gorgonzola Butter via @TheBeeroness

Falling into the world of craft beer, I lacked a full grasp of the type of people this obsession attracts. Over the years I never cease to be amazed at the warmth and heart that exists in the gatherings of the Craft Beer Enthusiasts, the salt of the earth types that dwell here. It’s hard to explain to people who are outside, how to really articulate how golden the souls, how quickly we connect to one another over a shared fascination. How our celebrities brew beer, and our Mecca lives in various 750 ml bottles.

Beer Marinated Steak with Porter Gorgonzola Butter via @TheBeeroness

Over the weekend I was fortunate enough to spend a truly unforgettable weekend in Boston, courtesy of Attune Foods, to marinate in the company of the Craft Beer Crowd. The final night gave me a clear tableau of the heart of this community. In the middle of a large conference space, in the bottom of a Boston hotel, was an impromptu potluck of rare beer, a spontaneous gathering spread out by strangers. People from all over the country packed bottles of beer, rare beer, sacred beer, hard to track down beer, beer that people dream of, in order to share it with strangers. They pulled from their stash of beer that took them months, even years to track down, in order to share it with people they have never met.

Beer Marinated Steak with Porter Gorgonzola Butter via @TheBeeroness

I was honored, and so grateful, to be handed beer I’ve only read about, from people I’d never met. "I though you’d like this," or "I brought this to share, do you want some?" It was touching, and even a bit overwhelming, that people who didn’t know me would share, with such enthusiasm, what is often rare and hard to come by. Some bottles weren’t even replaceable, aged for several years. This is craft beer. People who just want to share, in community, what they have come to love.

Beer Marinated Steak with Porter Gorgonzola Butter via @TheBeeroness

 

And all I have to offer in return is my gratitude, and some knowledge about food, and a few recipes. Let’s start with steak. A few tips can give you an unforgettable meal, to serve with that rare beer.

First, is the selection process. Have you ever noticed those stickers on the packages of steak in the grocery store? Prime, Choice and Select? While they should put: Great, Pretty Good and Don’t Bother, they leave it a bit ambiguous. If you know what to buy, you’ll be ahead of the game.

Prime is the best, but of course, most expensive. Choice is runner up to prime, not as good as Prime, but it’s often much less expensive. Select should be labeled: Please Don’t Select, it’s poor quality. If a steak isn’t labeled, it probably was so poor, it didn’t even earn a Select designation. If you see an unlabeled piece of meat that has a sticker that says, Inspected by the USDA, don’t fall for it, all meat is inspected by the USDA. Look for a well marbled steak, about an inch in thickness that’s labeled Prime or Choice.

Second: marinate and dry. Beer is a natural meat tenderizer, using it in a marinade gives steak an amazing texture. Drying the meat well, while it feels counter intuitive, is the only way to get a good sear and avoid 50 shades of gray meat.

Third: excessively salt your meat. Don’t be shy with the salt, it’s imperative. Liberally salt the steak on all sides, it’s pretty difficult to over salt a steak and salt is extremely important to the final flavor.

Fourth: buy a meat thermometer. If you cook meat a lot, you get used to the feel test and you can vibe it. But until then, testing with an inexpensive meat thermometer is a foolproof way to get the exact doneness that you want. You really don’t want to spend all that time and money only to over cook your steak because you didn’t want to spring for the $7 meat thermometer.

For this recipe I love a smoked porter, it’s one of my favorite go-to beers when it comes to cooking with beef.

Beer Marinated Steak with Porter Gorgonzola Butter

Ingredients
  

For the Steak:

  • 1 ½ cups stout or porter
  • 2 tbs Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 4 New York Steaks or Tri Tip Steaks choice or prime
  • Salt and Pepper
  • 2 tbs olive oil

For The Butter:

  • ½ cup unsalted butter softened
  • ½ cup porter
  • ¼ cup crumbled Gorgonzola

Instructions
 

  • In a small bowl, whisk together the beer, Worcestershire, onion powder, paprika and salt.
  • Place the steaks in a baking dish, cover with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 6 to 12 hours, turning at least once while marinating.
  • While the steak is marinating, make the butter. In a saucepan over medium high heat, add the ½ cup porter. Cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced to 2 tbs, 8-10 minutes.
  • In a food processor add the butter and reduced beer, process until well combined. Add the Gorgonzola and pulse to combine.
  • Add butter to a sheet of plastic wrap, roll into a log and refrigerate until solid, about 1 hour.
  • Fifteen minutes before cooking, remove the steaks from the marinade. Place on a stack of paper towels, top with additional paper towels, pressing down firmly. Allow to dry for about ten minutes.

Grill Method:

  • Preheat the grill to medium high.
  • Salt and pepper the steak liberally on all sides.
  • Brush the grill with olive oil.
  • Place the steaks on the hottest part of the grill until grill marks appear, flip. Once grill marks appear on the other side, flip again. Flip a total of 4 times to create a diamond grill pattern, keeping the grill closed between flipping. Test the temperature and remove when desired doneness is achieved.
  • Allow to rest for at least 5 minutes.
  • Slice the butter into 1 inch pats, add one pat to each steak.

Oven Method:

  • Preheat oven to 350.
  • Salt and pepper the steak liberally on all sides.
  • In a pan over medium high heat add the olive oil, heat until hot but not smoking. Add the steaks (two at a time) and cook on each side until a brown seared crust has formed, about 2 minutes per side. Avoid crowding the pan, cook in batches if necessary. Move steaks to a sheet pan or baking dish.
  • Cook in the oven for 5-7 minutes, or until desired level of doneness. Allow to rest for at least 5 minutes.
  • Slice the butter into 1 inch pats, add one pat to each steak.

Notes

Temperatures for doneness:
126°F Rare,
131°F Medium Rare,
145°F Medium,
154°F Medium Well,

Beer Marinated Steak with Porter Gorgonzola Butter via @TheBeeroness

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Comments


Tieghan July 31, 2013 um 6:21 am

Oh my gosh. That gorgonzola butter is pure heaven! I think my very favorite thing to put on steak is a blue cheese/gorgonzola butter. They are to die for in my opinion. But you just went and made it so much better! Delicious!

Reply

cassie July 31, 2013 um 8:04 am

Whew, glad I am doing most things right when it comes to meat. My dad owns a restaurant so we usually get our steak from him. Paul is insistent on only seasoning with salt, and lots of it. But we MUST try marinating in beer soon and this butter…I have to have this butter!

Reply

Jackie July 31, 2013 um 9:20 am

I’m sure you’re doing everything right! Paul is onto something, I think the pepper is passable, but salt is the number one most important step in good meat.

Reply

Ashley – Baker by Nature July 31, 2013 um 9:21 am

Red meat, beer, AND stinky cheese?! I’m so so sooooo into this!

Reply

Bree (Skinny Mommy) July 31, 2013 um 9:33 am

My favorite dinner to serve company is steak with blue cheese topping-This even tops that. Yum!

Reply

addie | culicurious July 31, 2013 um 9:54 am

Great tips and GREAT looking steak. LOVE blue cheese with my steak 🙂

Reply

Lauren @ Climbing Grier Mountain July 31, 2013 um 11:22 am

I die. Steak, beer, and Gorgonzola are three of my favorite things. Excuse me while I wipe my drool.

Reply

Laurie {Simply Scratch} July 31, 2013 um 12:53 pm

Well… it’s confirmed. I just died from deliciousness overload. I can’t even stand it! I love a good compound butter on my steak and this is definitely going to be happening in my life soon!

Reply

Brandon @ Kitchen Konfidence July 31, 2013 um 4:45 pm

Oh my gosh, YUM. This looks so good. Porter works so well with steak. I marinated some tri-tip in espresso porter once 🙂

Reply

Amy Penrose August 1, 2013 um 5:12 am

When people ask me why I love beer so much, I always say it’s about great beer, but it’s really about the people! There’s so much creativity, generosity, & collaboration in the craft beer community… and it’s everyone! From brewery owners to consumers, there’s nothing like it.

Fantastic to meet you at the conference, looking forward to working together soon!

Reply

Peter August 1, 2013 um 8:30 pm

I think I’m in love with you. Your the perfect woman.

Reply

Jenna September 18, 2013 um 6:14 am

We made this last night and it was FANTASTIC! I loved how the butter melted into the steak and left little pieces of blue cheese behind. The flavor of the porter infused in everything was to die for. And boy was this easy! We have a couple tri tips that we can’t wait to use the rest of the butter on. THANK YOU!

Reply

Amy @ Thoroughly Nourished Life May 12, 2014 um 6:32 pm

This is definitely going on the menu for next week. The boyfriend is absolutely going to love the beer marinated steak. Girlfriend of the year award secured 🙂

Reply

Cat November 3, 2014 um 8:50 am

Wow! This literally melted in the mouth! Incredibly tender! And delicious! Loved the Gorgonzola Butter! Made this as part of surf n turf with your recipe for Beer Brined Scallops over Spinach Salad with Bacon Stout Dressing…which was also amazing!! Thanks!

Reply

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