Grass Fed Flat Iron Steak with Green Chile Adobo

 Raise your hand if you like steak! asdtyyugaasdr. That was me trying to type with one hand, 'cause my other hand was still in the air. #hilarious. Raise your hand if you like steak, but are concerned about the environmental impacts, increasing antibiotic resistance, and general health concerns of eating too much conventional red meat due to run-of-the-mill confinement beef production! Ok, I promise I will stop making you raise your hand now. I will just get to my point: Grass-fed beef is better for the environment, better for your body, and better for the cows, but maybe not so great for the taste buds if you don't know what you're doing. Because grass-fed beef has less fat in it, you need to cook it at a lower temperature and for less time than conventional beef or it will dry out and lose flavor. You also need to be okay with eating rare or medium-rare beef, as medium or higher just doesn't turn out that great (trust me, I tried it... miserable failure).

There is one other downside to grass-fed beef: the price tag. It's expensive. But if you focus on cheaper cuts of meat, you can totally make a nice meal for an at-home date night, which will still be way cheaper than going out. So with that in mind, go grab a nice flat iron steak from your local grass-fed ranch, some craft beers or a bottle of red wine, and get ready to sit down to a delicious date night dinner you can feel good about.

 

First, place a thawed grass-fed flat iron steak on a cutting board and pat both sides dry with paper towels. Season both sides with Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cut steak in half, and let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.

In the meantime, add butter and extra-virgin olive oil to a cast iron or stainless steel skillet, and turn to medium-high heat. Let the skillet preheat before adding your steaks. The oil/butter combo should start to shimmer when it is ready. Carefully add your steaks. Cook for three minutes, then flip over and cook for three more minutes.

Using tongs, hold each steak upright side by side and cook all four sides, for about 30 seconds on each side.

Once all four sides are browned, place the steaks on a clean cutting board, sprinkle them with garlic powder, and let them rest for five to ten minutes. This might be the most important part to cooking meat. Yes, I know it smells uh-may-zing and you just want to scarf it down while it's nice and hot, but resting meat is crucial if you don't want to bite into a hockey-puck-like substance. Resting allows the muscle fibers of the meat to relax and reabsorb the juices. If you cut into it before this happens, all the juice escapes its meaty confines and then you are sad. Anyway, once they have properly rested, cut the steaks into strips, slicing against the grain of the meat, to reveal your gorgeous medium-rare interior. Ahhhh.

Transfer the steaks to their serving plates, and drizzle with Green Chile Adobo. We enjoyed ours with a big mixed summer salad and roasted organic red potatoes, along with a bottle of Shiner White Wing for a wonderful weekend dinner. Yum!

Make it work for you
This is one that you will have to make right before you eat. However, it goes very quickly, with a total of about eight minutes of cooking time. The rest is an opportunity to make your sides, set the table, do dishes, etc., which allows for easy prep and clean up, especially if you've already made your Green Chile Adobo. So this recipe is easily doable any night of the week.

Grass-fed Flat Iron Steak with Green Chile Adobo

3/4-1 lb grass-fed flat iron steak
Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Garlic powder
Green Chile Adobo

Place steak on cutting board and pat both sides dry with a paper towel. Season both sides with Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper. Let set at room temperature for 20 minutes.

Put butter and olive oil in cast iron or stainless steel skillet on stove, and turn to medium-high heat. Once oil is shimmering, place the steaks in the pan and cook for three minutes. Flip and cook for three more minutes. Using tongs, hold both steaks thin side down on the pan for 30 seconds. Rotate and cook the next side for 30 seconds. Repeat until all sides are browned.

Place steaks on a clean cutting board. Sprinkle with garlic powder to taste. Tent with aluminum foil and rest for 5-10 minutes. Cut into 3/4-1 inch slices, cutting against the grain. Transfer steaks to serving plates, and drizzle with Green Chile Adobo to taste.

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Pork Chops with Green Chile Adobo

Growing up, we didn't eat much pork. My grandpa raised cattle and my grandma raised chickens -- why stray from what you know? I started cooking pork a few years ago, in order to get a little more variety on our dinner plates. I had no idea what I was doing at first, and definitely churned out some pretty underwhelming dishes. Luckily, instead of giving up on pork, I did a little research and have made some consistently delicious meals ever since.

The secret to good pork is based on the scientific principles of diffusion and osmosis. Their practical application to cooking is called brining. Basically, you make salt water at a specific concentration and soak your pork in it. The salt moves from an area of a higher concentration, the brine, to an area of lower concentration, the meat. Perhaps you remember the saying, "Where salt goes, water follows," from high school science classes. This is where osmosis comes in. The water moves into the cells of the meat, which now has a higher concentration of salt, in order to create balance. This really increases the juiciness of the meat. As an added bonus, the salt infuses the meat with flavor, leaving you a little less work to do down the line. And the best news of all: it only takes 30 minutes to brine pork chops. You have enough time to work on your side dishes while they're brining, without the process taking up your whole night.

When it comes to actually cooking pork chops, I've found the process described at The Kitchn to be quick and reliable. I had a feeling that drizzling on a little Green Chile Adobo before serving would really up the flavor factor, and turns out I was right! (Doesn't it feel good to say that every once in awhile?!) I served ours with a side of mashed butternut squash mixed with a pat of butter, a splash of cream, and some salt, pepper, cumin and smoked paprika for an easy, delicious weeknight meal.

First off, brine your pork chops. You can obviously make them without this step, but they won't taste as good or be nearly as juicy. Brining lean meats takes them from "meh." to "yum!" You can also add other spices and herbs to your brining solution, but I find just the salt to add sufficient flavor. I save my herbs and spices for other uses where they'll be more noticeable. After brining for 30 to 60 minutes, turn your oven on and stick your oven-safe pan in to preheat (non-stick pans are NOT oven safe). Remove your chops from the brining solution and pat dry with paper towels. Rub them with extra-virgin olive oil, and season generously with freshly-ground black pepper. Whenever I brine something, I don't season with salt again until I'm done cooking and have a chance to taste. It rarely needs more. Turn your stove top on to medium-high heat, and CAREFULLY remove your pan from the oven, using oven mitts. Place the pan on the burner, and, using tongs, lay the chops in the pan. You're going to cook them until they are brown on the bottom, for about three to five minutes. Flip the chops, then carefully put the pan back in the oven using oven mitts. Roast until they reach 140 degrees F, for about six to ten minutes. Place them on a plate and cover with aluminum foil for about five to ten minutes in order to allow the juices to settle back in.

Place each chop on its serving plate, drizzle with Green Chile Adobo, and enjoy!

Make it work for you
First shift: These pork chops are easy to pull off on either a work day or day off, especially if you have the Green Chile Adobo prepared in advanced. They also make good leftovers, so you could also treat them as a make-ahead meal and use for lunches throughout the week.
Second shift: I've made these pork chops before work a few times, and it works out great. I got them in the brine, ate breakfast, then finished them off with plenty of time before I had to leave for work. If you make them on your day off for dinner, try to make a few extra for lunches.
Third shift: You can definitely make these on a work night before leaving, or in the morning when you get home. While they're brining, you can eat breakfast, or put together your dinner if you're using them as a make-ahead meal. Then they'd be ready to reheat for lunch/dinner, or to take with you to work.

Pork Chops with Green Chile Adobo

3 tablespoons Kosher salt, or 2 1/2 tablespoons table salt
4-6 pork chops, bone-in or boneless
Extra virgin olive oil
Freshly-ground black pepper
Green Chile Adobo, to taste

In a large microwave-safe bowl, microwave 4 cups of water until warm, about 60-90 seconds. Add salt and stir until dissolved. Add 2 cup cold water and stir, making sure all salt is still dissolved. Place pork chops in salt solution and cover. Refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400°F and move the rack to the middle position. Place oven-safe pan in oven to preheat. Remove the pork chops from the brine and pat all sides dry with a paper towel.  Rub chops with extra virgin olive oil and season with freshly-ground black pepper. Carefully remove the pan from the oven, using mitts. Place on stove burner turned to medium-high.

Place pork chops in pan and sear until brown on one side, about 3 minutes. Turn chops over and place pan in preheated oven. Roast until chops are done in the thickest part of the meat, until they reach 140°F, about 6-10 minutes. Remove from oven, transfer to plate, and rest for 5-10 minutes.

Transfer to serving dish, spoon juices on top, and drizzle with Green Chile Adobo. Season with additional salt if necessary.

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Green Chile Adobo

So about a month ago, I was listening to an America's Test Kitchen podcast while I was in the kitchen cooking. I am a nerd, therefore I must completely nerd out about my obsessions passions, including food and cooking. And baking. And also eating. Anyway, this episode featured renowned Chicago chef, Rick Bayless. He was giving advice on how to replicate his apparently amazing Mexican food at home. One of the suggestions he mentioned was making a batch of his Green Chile Adobo. This can be treated like a sauce or condiment, and he stated that it can be kept in the fridge for up to six months. So the few minutes you invest in making it now really pays off in fresh, herby, spicy dividends for quite awhile. I knew that I had to make some. And I'm so glad I did. This sauce can be used in a variety of ways and will really help make your average weeknight dinner into something a little more special.

Start off by roughly chopping your cilantro and parsley, and toasting your serranos and garlic. My peppers are all different sizes because we picked some up at the farmers market. Later, when I was at Sprouts, I realized how small they were so I grabbed a few bigger ones while I was there. I guess that's the kind of thing that can happen when you work with a new ingredient for the first time.

You're actually given the option of softening your peppers and garlic in the microwave, but I would discourage it. You just aren't going to be able to replicate the flavor that you get from toasting on the stove. I mean, just look at the char on those things. Makes my mouth water just looking at it! Let the peppers and garlic cool a bit, then remove the skins from the garlic and roughly chop, along with the peppers.

Add all your ingredients to your food processor or blender, and let 'er rip.

Blend until the adobo looks similar to pesto. This will fit perfectly in a pint-sized mason jar. If you try a spoonful straight out of the jar, it is going to be sal. ty. But don't panic. When you add it to other food, it's going to contribute a ton of flavor and the saltiness will be diluted. This will work on lots of stuff, like meat, veggies, potatoes, tacos/enchiladas/fajitas, soup, etc. I think you'd be able to add some to mashed avocado for a super easy homemade guacamole, or drizzle a little into the dressing for Southwestern Chopped Salad for an extra boost of flavor. I've used this on top of pork chops and mixed into mashed potatoes, and both were amazing. This is such an easy way to add fresh, unique, homemade flavor to so many dishes, give it a try!

Make it work for you

Another recipe that can fit into anyone's schedule, this sauce can be made at any time. I made mine while cooking a different meal, since I had the cutting board and knife out anyway. It can keep in the fridge for up to six months, so go ahead and throw it together whenever you have a spare 20 minutes.

Green Chile Adobo
by Rick Bayless

1/2 head of garlic, separated into unpeeled cloves
4 to 5 fresh serrano chiles, stems removed
1 large bunch cilantro, (thick bottom stems cut off), roughly chopped (about 2 cups loosely packed)
1 large bunch flat leaf parsley, (thick bottom stems cut off), roughly chopped (about 2 cups loosely packed)
1 cup olive oil
2 generous teaspoons salt

Set a large (10-inch) skillet over medium heat.  Lay in the garlic and chiles and roast, turning regularly, until soft and browned in spots, about 10 minutes for the chiles and 15 for the garlic. (If you’re really short on time, you can soften them in a microwave: Cut a slit in each garlic clove and combine with the chiles in a microwavable bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, poke a few holes in the top and microwave on high for 30 seconds.) Cool until handleable, then slip off the garlic’s papery husks. Roughly chop everything (no need to remove the chile seeds).

In a blender or food processor, combine the garlic and chiles with the cilantro, parsley, olive oil and salt. Process, stopping to scrape down the sides if necessary, until nearly smooth (it should look a little like pesto). Transfer to a pint-size jar and store, covered, in the refrigerator, where it will last several months.

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