Shopping List
- Two Bone-In, 2 -inch-thick rib eye steaks
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus additional as needed
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, very soft at room temperature
- 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon stone-ground mustard
- Zest from 1 lemon
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 sprigs fresh rosemary, left out at room temperature uncovered for a couple hours or overnight to dry out
Black Magic Rub:
- 1/4 cup black sesame seeds
- 2 tablespoons black peppercorns
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
- 1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
- 1/4 cup kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1 teaspoon dehydrated onion
Special Equipment
- Kitchen torch (or a long lighter)
- 2 cloches or domes
Cooking Instructions
For the blue cheese butter: Whisk together the butter, blue cheese, chives, honey, mustard and lemon zest in a bowl until uniform. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Using a spatula, scrape out onto plastic wrap, then form into a log and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
For the black powder rub: Toast the sesame seeds, peppercorns, poppy seeds and mustard seeds in a dry pan until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a small food processor, blender or spice grinder along with the salt, brown sugar, granulated garlic and dehydrated onion and pulse until finely ground. Or use a mortar and pestle. This is a great task for a guest!
For the rib eyes: Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with foil and fit a rack inside.
Brush the steaks with vegetable oil and coat in a good amount of the black powder rub. Place on the wire-racked sheet pan and roast until the internal temperature registers 115 to 120 degrees F, about an hour.
Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add a little vegetable oil to the bottom and sear the steak until properly charred, about a minute per side. (Don't forget to hold the steak upright with tongs to sear the edges.) Transfer to a warm plate. (See Cook's Note.)
Slice a medallion of the cold blue cheese butter and place it on top of each steak. Very carefully ignite a rosemary sprig with a torch to get it smoking (blow out any flame; you just want the smoke) and place it on top of the steak and butter. Immediately cover with a cloche or dome to trap in the smoke. Repeat with the remaining steak. Serve and slice tableside, if desired, into manageable pieces.
The Butcher's Wife Note: Roasting the steak first, then searing it, is called a reverse-sear, and it yields excellent results on a thick piece of meat.
Ingredients
Directions
For the blue cheese butter: Whisk together the butter, blue cheese, chives, honey, mustard and lemon zest in a bowl until uniform. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Using a spatula, scrape out onto plastic wrap, then form into a log and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
For the black powder rub: Toast the sesame seeds, peppercorns, poppy seeds and mustard seeds in a dry pan until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a small food processor, blender or spice grinder along with the salt, brown sugar, granulated garlic and dehydrated onion and pulse until finely ground. Or use a mortar and pestle. This is a great task for a guest!
For the rib eyes: Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with foil and fit a rack inside.
Brush the steaks with vegetable oil and coat in a good amount of the black powder rub. Place on the wire-racked sheet pan and roast until the internal temperature registers 115 to 120 degrees F, about an hour.
Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add a little vegetable oil to the bottom and sear the steak until properly charred, about a minute per side. (Don't forget to hold the steak upright with tongs to sear the edges.) Transfer to a warm plate. (See Cook's Note.)
Slice a medallion of the cold blue cheese butter and place it on top of each steak. Very carefully ignite a rosemary sprig with a torch to get it smoking (blow out any flame; you just want the smoke) and place it on top of the steak and butter. Immediately cover with a cloche or dome to trap in the smoke. Repeat with the remaining steak. Serve and slice tableside, if desired, into manageable pieces.