Let me take you on a little journey... Ok I think I mentioned that even though the recipe was for Fiery Hot "T-Bones" I was making Ribeyes. I know, I know, I said I would try to stick close to the recipes but in this case I had to twist it up a bit because Kevin only like Ribeyes, something I am going to remedy him of, but that it why none the less.
So with that said, I started out on my quest to find the most AWESOME Ribeye steaks I could find in my tiny little town and BINGO I hit the jackpot!!
Are those babies gorgeous or what?!?!? I was so excited to find them that my nerves about cooking them didn't kick in until I was unwrapping them on the prep board so they could warm up while I got working on the rub and prepping the veg. All of a sudden I looked at them and my mind yelled, "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" I hate it when I yell at myself! But seriously folks, I have NEVER cook a piece of meat, aside from a roast, that thick so I was a bit nervous. Rachaels recipe calls for 1 1/2" thick steaks not almost 3" ones! But once I took a step back I realized that I could draw on my memories of endless hours of Food Network shows, Man Vs Food, Hells Kitchen, etc, I was able to calm myself.
With my new found confidence I started the rub. Since the steaks were bigger I decided I would make more of the rub and it was a good call. I did have extra but I would rather have too much than not enough. I just double the recipe but looking back I guess I could have just made 50% more.
I let the steaks rest with their nice warm coating and got the potatoes chopped and in the water. I knew I had to adjust the time a bit to allow for the extra cooking time for the steaks so I opted to get all of my prep done at once instead of doing things along the way like Rachael. So the potatoes are in the pot covered with water and my veggies are prepped. See I even have my garbage bowl ready to go.
I decided I would try the whole "restaurant style" of cooking these steaks, so I got my cast iron pan screamin' hot with some oil, and once it started to smoke I put my steaks on. Thank goodness I only bought two because they took up whole whole pan.
I seared them for 6 mins on high heat and then turned them.............
.......and the smell in my kitchen was AMAZING!!! Although my smoke detector was less than happy about the situation and let me know this over and over again...LOUDLY, I could barely contain my excitement. No one was home so I was sad that I didn't have anyone to share this with. It was almost like Christmas! I know I am weird but hey, food does it for me.
I let them sear on the other side for the same (5 to 6 mins per side on high heat) and then popped them into an oven that I had preheated to 350. As soon as I got them in I dropped the temp to 300 and left them in for 15 minutes. Now I started the potatoes and went with the recipe from there. I rendered the bacon and added the onions and chipotle powder and MAN as soon as that all started working together the smell was well, just awesome.
Kevin was home now and the fist thing he said was, "Where is this bacon going?" and when I told him it was going in the smashed potatoes he got a big smile on his face. I will say though, it may have been the chipotle powder I got, but I think a full tablespoon of it in the smashed poatatoes was borderline too much. Although it was the kind of heat that takes you just to the edge without pushing you over, it was too much for Jessi and Melissa.
Now I pulled the steaks out of the oven and got them on the plate to rest while I did the veg. Everyone's, and I mean EVERYONE'S jaws dropped when they saw the steaks come out. I just prayed they were as good as they looked and smelled.
Those would make a carnivore out of just about anyone! After I gathered myself back together I sauteed the peppers, and I did them a bit longer than the 5 minutes the recipe called for. I used a lid to sweat them a bit and let them get some nice color on them (probably doubled the time).
Now Jessi wanted me to make sure and tell everyone that she, the girl that doesn't like anything spicy, could not stop eating the steak. I am serious it was a jaw dropper to me guys. She doesn't like too much black pepper on things! But this girl was eating bite after bite. I made a plate for Kevin and he beelined it out of the kitchen, while the rest of us, Seth, Melissa, Jessi, and I, attacked the other steak like a bunch a rabid hyenas!! I am amazed we all came out of it with 10 fingers!
So I guess my opinion all in all. If you don't like it hot I would cut the chipotle in half and try it. If you like a thicker steak, my method made perfect medium rare steaks, but I say, as well as the rest of my gang, TRY THIS ONE!! It was HOT!!
Until tomorrow, keep your taste buds happy!!
Fiery Hot Texas T-Bones with Chipotle Smashed Potatoes and Hot and Sweet Pepper Saute
Ingredients
- 3 whole jalapenos
- 3 bell peppers, choose 3 different colors
- 2 1/2 pounds small potatoes, such as baby Yukon gold or small red skin potatoes, coarsely chopped
- Salt
- 4 slices bacon, chopped
- 2 tablespoons chipotle powder, divided
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon dark chili powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 2 tablespoons grill seasoning (recommended: Montreal Steak Seasoning by McCormick)
- 2 large T-Bone steaks 1 1/2 inches thick, 2 1/2 pounds total
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, 3 turns of the pan, divided
- 1/4 cup bourbon, eyeball it
Directions
Seed and slice the hot and sweet fresh peppers and reserve.
Cover potatoes with water and bring to a boil. Add salt to boiling water. Cook potatoes until tender, 10-12 minutes. Chop and brown bacon in a small skillet and add a tablespoon of chipotle powder and onions. Cook 5 minutes over medium heat until onions are tender. When potatoes are tender, drain and return to hot pot. Add bacon mixture and sour cream to the potatoes. Smash potatoes and season with salt, to taste.
While potatoes are working, combine dry spice rub: chili powder, remaining chipotle powder, cumin and grill seasoning. Rub steaks liberally on both sides with the mixture. Heat a 12 to14-inch skillet screaming hot. Add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, 2 turns of the pan. It will smoke. Add steaks and do not turn for 6 minutes. Flip and cook another 6 minutes for medium rare, up to 10 minutes for well done. Remove skillet from flame and add bourbon. Return steaks to stove and flame the pan. When the fire goes out, transfer the meat to a large serving platter and pour pan juices over the top. Let meat rest for juices to redistribute. Return pan to heat and add remaining tablespoon vegetable oil to the skillet. Add hot and sweet peppers to the pan and saute them for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pile peppers alongside steaks.
Remove meat from the T bones and cut into 4 portions. Top with some peppers and pile some chipotle smashers along side. Spoon drippings and juices over meat and serve.
**side note - this WILL I mean I GUARANTEE it will cause a lot of smoke. Open windows and turn off the smoke detector it you can!!
Rib Eye Steak
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