When I was a kid, my mom was the cook in the family. We would have steak once a month, if we were lucky. I can understand why. My mom, like many people, think that the only way to have good steak is to buy the best cut of meat the store has. We couldn’t have steak too much because one cut of steak was around 9$ and there were 4 of us in the family.
Being poor, yet loving a good chunk of meat in my mouth, I couldn’t stand for that. I go to the store and buy the cheapest cut of beef I can find, because that’s all I can afford. Recently I made my mom try the cheap steak and she was blown away. It was better than her 9$ tiny steak, and this one cut was big enough to feed the whole family.
I started out with a large top round cut of steak. I fed my whole family with one 3.47$ steak. The way to make a great steak dinner without spending a lot of money is seasoning and cutting.
First I got my seasonings together. I have Old Bay, Salt, Pepper, and this generic chicken spice that I got at the dollar store that has some garlic and onion powders and a whole mess of delicious, aromatic herbs. I know it’s weird to use chicken seasoning, but I always liked it better than the steak seasonings. Steak seasoning is always a little tamer and less spicy than I like, but you should always experiment with different kinds of seasoning. And the dollar store has a huge selection of spices to help you find the right fit and build your own spice rack.
Then I rubbed the spices generously on the steak. I rubbed my mixture into the steak, getting the flavors to really get into the meat itself. One way to make sure this happens is to poke some fork holes into the meat before you put the spices on. Use about half of the mixture, you’ll need the other half for the sauce.
Look at that giant piece of meat! Is your mouth watering yet? Mine would be but I’m too busy eating the leftovers.
Now you should let the steak and seasoning get to know each other for awhile. So let it sit, out on the counter not fridge (cold meat doesn’t cook as well as room temperature. If you want a nice, tender steak, let it breath out in the air, not in the fridge) and do something for about a half hour. I fed and took my dog out. Jack the pug, he’s the cutest dog in the world.
Now that the steak is seasoned, time to cook! I like to get the pan really hot so I can get a nice sear on both sides then turn the stove down so the middle can cook. I love steak to be cooked medium, but you can cook it however you like.
After cooking the steak to perfection, it’s time to make the sauce. While you make the sauce, let the steak settle and the juices redistribute before cutting it. Leave the pan on, and add a bit of butter. This will get up some of the leftover juice. Once the butter is melted, pour a bit of red wine in the pan. Then drink a bit of that wine, straight from the bottle. Trust me, it’s important to the cooking process…maybe. Anyway, now add some A1 steak sauce (or something similar) and the rest of the seasoning. Mix this all up and let it get nice and thick.
Cut the meat in a diagonal against the grain. This should make the steak pieces thin and easy to cut and eat. With the steak all cut up, put the pieces into the pan with the sauce cooking. Get all the pieces nice and coated in the sauce.
There it is! This is just my plate, with the steak cut on an angle and some more sauce on top. Delicious, right?
I completed my dinner with some green beans and potato salad.
I bet you’re hungry now. Go ahead, leave the blog and cook. I understand.
Enjoy!