Grilled Steak with Chimichurri and Figs

This past weekend has been truly wonderful. One of the things that made it such a great weekend is because it was my dad’s big sixtieth birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD! Thank you so much for everything. My dad plays a big part in my passion for food and cooking. Dad has always been a big foodie (let me remind you that he was a foodie before the term foodie even came about). As early as I can remember, Dad has always been in the kitchen experimenting and cooking for us. During holidays and big celebrations, such as Chinese New Year, my dad always worked his magic by preparing his specialty dishes. My dad would drag us all over to try new food, and has taught my brother and me to be very open-minded when trying new foods. I whole-heartedly believe that this is the foundation of my love for food. Hong Kong is very well known for their culinary scene or else it would not be known as the Culinary Capital of the world. That being said, they have the best cuisines from all over the world, ranging from Three Michelin Star French Restaurants to South American street foods. The best part is the food produced by each restaurant is that it is authentic, so you truly get a taste of what other countries eat on a daily basis. It really helps expand a person’s cultural horizon. I am a firm believer that the best way to experience a culture is through the food.

If you haven’t already noticed, my pictures are a bit out of focus and there is an interesting story behind this. Like all food bloggers, I have one part of my house that I use for my set to take pictures. I get great natural light and, most importantly, it is on the opposite side of the room from my son’s play area. Now, to an adult brain, it makes total sense; toys on one side of the house, expensive adult equipment on the other, seems safe enough. To my son’s baby brain, it means “toys are everywhere and everything is mine. If I can reach it, I can eat it.” That being said, normally he is corralled fairly efficiently while I take pictures. On this particular day, he Houdini-d himself from the play area and headed straight for my tripod, to which Baby Godzilla knocked down like a Tokyo skyscraper. So, my lens is bent and having a difficult time focusing. I do apologize for that, as does my baby monkey. But the upside to that is, I’ve always wanted a tilt shift lens and my son made one for me, thanks baby bear! That being said, the status of my camera lens doesn’t detract from the taste of the food. I chose a Grilled Steak with Smoky Chimichurri and figs because, yes, you have heard me say it, it’s fig season. On top of that, we have some roasted rainbow carrots. I suggest getting the carrots with the carrot greens still attached, as we will be using them. Not only did my little heart crave a steak at the time, but it is an easy food that can be done by anyone, any day of the week. It goes great with almost everything and doesn’t take very long. The special thing about this particular steak is the manner in which it is prepared. Now, tools become an important part in how I grilled it. Normally, tools of the trade are very flexible and you work with what you have or what you have access to. In this recipe, steer far away from charcoal briquettes. I repeat, no chemically enhanced briquettes, coals, fire starters or what have you. For this recipe you need natural hard wood lump charcoal and that’s a must; no lighter fluids either, use a charcoal chimney. It’s one of the most effective ways to get your coals lite evenly. Normally, you will grill your steak on the grate, today, we will remove the grates and the steak will be grilled directly on the coals. Should you not heed my warnings and use chemically enhanced charcoal, I am not responsible for the possible zombie apocalypse that may ensue because you ingested strange chemicals. Now that I have talked in my parent voice, shall we get on with the recipe?

 

Grilled Steaks with Smoky Chimichurri and Figs

 

Steaks:

 

2lbs – 1.5 inch thick or thicker grass-fed steaks

1 Tsp – Powder

1 Tsp – Toasted Onion Powder

1½ Tsp – Course Ground Fresh Black Pepper

1 Tbsp – Course Sea Salt

 

Chimichurri Sauce:

 

¼ Cup – Carrot Greens (Chopped)

¼ Cup – Cilantro (Chopped)

12 Cloves – Minced Garlic

1 Head – Shallot (Diced)

1 whole – Chipotle Pepper (Diced)

1 whole – Jalapeno Pepper

½ Tsp – Fresh Oregano

½ Tsp – Ground Cumin

1 Tsp – Sweet Paprika

¼ Tsp – Freshly ground black pepper

½ Tsp – Salt

½ Cup – Kasandrinos International Balsamic Vinegar

¼ Cup – Kasandrinos Extra Virgin Olive Oil

 

Vegetable and Fruit:

 

1lbs – Rainbow Carrots

5-6 – Fresh Figs (Quartered)

 

I would start first with the chimichurri sauce, as it is good to let the sauce sit for a while before use. This will allow all the flavors to fully infuse with one another. I used carrot greens in place of parsley because I don’t like to waste anything, but if you prefer to use fresh parsley instead, feel free to do so. Most chipotle peppers are available to us dried, so I rehydrated one by soaking it in hot water (About 30 minutes). While you wait, you can prep the rest of your sauce. Heat up a skillet, and brown half of the minced garlic and shallot. This adds another layer of flavor to the sauce. Cooked garlic and shallots have a completely different flavor. Mix all the sauce ingredients in a bowl, except for the jalapeno. I prefer balsamic vinegar because it is less tart compared to red wine vinegar. As for the jalapeno, we will slightly grill it with the steaks and add it to the sauce in the end. Now, let’s get to the steak and allow the sauce to do it’s own thing.

 

Now, before grilling the steaks, I would suggest bringing it down to room temperature. For a thicker cut, I suggest leaving it out for at least an hour. We will rub the steaks with salt, black pepper, toasted onion powder and garlic powder and allow it to sit and marinate, the salt will also prevent any harmful bacterias and etc to form on the steaks. The salt will also draw some moisture out of the steaks as well. While you wait for the steaks to come to room temperature, we will work on the carrots. Preheat your oven to 425°, coat the carrots with some coconut oil, salt and pepper and roast them for 10 minutes. This should be down before your steaks are, but no worries, we are going to char them on the coals after we grill the steaks. Don’t forget to go start your charcoal!

 

You might think, are you crazy grilling the steak directly on the coals!? Nope, not crazy at all. Many people will think the ash will coat the entire steak if you sit it directly on the coals, it doesn’t at all and if it does, it is a very small amount and not harmful in ingest (Natural Hardwood lump charcoal). Will it completely burn my steak? Nope, it actually creates the best crust I’ve ever had on a steak. I like my steaks medium to medium rare and the short amount of time that it sits on the grate usually does not produce a good crust, but directly on the coals allow a nice, crispy crust with a pink, melt in your mouth center. I sat my steaks on the coals for 4 minutes on each side. After grilling, do allow it to rest for about 10 minutes. While the steaks rest, you can grill both your jalapeno and char the carrots. This way, when the steaks are served, your carrots will still be warm. After the jalapeno is nice and charred, remove it from the heat, and dice it into small pieces and mix it into the now ready chimichurri sauce. After the steak is finish resting (You lazy steak!), serve it with the chimichurri sauce, carrots and fig. The sweetness of the figs really help balance the flavor of the entire dish. A great balance of spicy, savory, sweet, tang and bitterness. Eat up my friends!

 

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