Coffee Ribeye

Bobby you did it again! I never thought about coffee being a spice - especially on a steak, but this was one of the best steak-flavor combinations ever. From Boy Gets Grill (page 216) this is Coffee Spice-Rubbed Ribeye with Smoky Tomato-Red Chili Salsa. I made the rub during the first playoff game. It is a dry combination of chili powder, paprika, brown sugar, mustard, oregano, coriander, ginger and some of Dorothy's ground expresso-roast coffee from Starbucks. During the second playoff game I made the salsa. I chopped up tomatoes, chipotle, red onion, cilantro, and Serrano chilies and mixed them together with olive oil and red wine vinegar. I lit the grill as usual and used the back of a spoon to rub in the dry ingredients into one side of the ribeye steaks. I first seared the ribeye, rub side down, in the cast iron skillet that had just a covering of canola oil. Once the rub spices were cooked into the meat, I removed the steaks from the skillet, turned them and placed them on the grill grates. I turned down the heat and let the grill do the rest of the work. I grilled some texas toast along side and within about 10 minutes we were ready to go. The rub spice combination was bold, but it did not over power that great 'steak taste' and we really couldn't taste the flavor of coffee itself - it just all worked together.


Wisdom of the Grill. Allowing the steak to rest after it comes off the grill is essential, but I did not always know it was such a big deal. You want to deliver hot food to the table so the temptation is to rush the steak from the grill to the plate. If you do that, the juices inside the steak will not have the chance to spread out. If you cut into the meat to soon, the juices run out leaving you will a dry, less flavorful steak. This is also why you should never cut into the steak while its on the grill to see if its done. This is a real rookie move. First of all, you can't really tell if its done through a little knife slit. Second, all the juices will run out. And third, especially with steak, experienced grillers just know when the steak is ready from practice and instinct. If you cut into the steak, you are only exposing the fact that you don't know any better. The only time it is acceptable to cut into a steak to see if it is grilled to your liking is at a good steak house when the waiter first brings the plates to the table and asks you to do so. Otherwise, blades off the steak, until off the grill and after resting at least five minutes. Tent some foil over the steak to keep it hot while its resting and remember that steak continues to cook after it is removed from the grill so you must also anticipate this for proper doneness. Try to finish preparing one more thing on the grill while the steak is resting. This will give you something to do and help resist the temptation to rush to the plate. For this meal, I finished the texas toast during the rest time.  


What was on? The playoffs. My team is out, so now I have a casual fan's interest in who is playing and who is winning. But the fact that both the Cowboys and Ravens are out and the fact that both were totally embarrassed, is further proof that there is a God.


While we watch football, eat great food, and pretty much go about life untouched, it is hard not to consider what we should also be doing to help the victims in Haiti. Dorothy and I will donate to the relief effort the same amount of money that I spend on a week of Bobby Flay recipes. I urge you to help in whatever way you think is best. Here is a quick way to get started: http://www.redcross.org/
The need in Haiti is urgent and we should respond quickly there, but we should also remember the needs that are local. New Orleans has still not recovered. So, rally around the call to help Haiti, but then resolve to contribute an equal measure of your time and/or money for the needs here at home.


Paul