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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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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