Soap.
That was my mom’s great weakness when shopping. She could not pass by a display of soap on sale without picking up a bar (or twelve).
Me, I cannot pass by the “manager’s special!” meat packets marked anywhere from 50¢ to $5 off.
Which was how I came to be looking for some way to cook a couple of sirloin steaks.
I found this basic recipe on epicurious.com, and only made a few, minor tweaks to suit my larder and tastes.
INGREDIENTS
•1 tbsp Tellicherry peppercorns
•1 tbsp Sichuan peppercorns
•1 tbsp Aleppo pepper
•1 tsp sea salt
•2 sirloin steaks
•2 tablespoons olive oil
•1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
•1/3 cup Kentucky bourbon
•1 cup beef or veggie stock
•2 tbsp unsalted butter
Lightly crush the Tellicherry and Sichuan peppercorns with the sea salt, then combine in the bottom of a large, flat dish with the Aleppo pepper.
Press the steaks into the peppers and salt mixture to coat both sides and set aside.
Heat the olive oil in a skillet over high heat, then add the peppered steaks and cook for three minutes per side (longer if you want a more well-done steak). Remove the steaks to a platter, cover, and allow to rest while you make the jus.
Reduce the heat to medium, add the shallots, and cook for two minutes.
Remove pan from the heat and stir in the bourbon, scraping up any of those tasty crispity bits that may be stuck to the bottom of the pan.
Reduce the heat again, to low this time, and cook for another couple of minutes, until the bourbon has almost entirely evaporated.
Add the stock, raise the heat back to high, and simmer for five minutes, until the jus has thickened.
Stir in the butter until melted and blended with the jus, then serve over the steaks.
Note: the original recipe, by Michael Lomonaco in Nightly Specials, called for adding 1/2 cup heavy cream along with the butter, but I thought that was a touch more fat content than we really needed for a couple of week night bargain steaks, so I left it out and we really did not miss it. You do what you want.
We had ours with some honkin’ huge baked potatoes, butter, and (for Rich) sour cream, along side a nice chopped salad with blue cheese dressing (another good reason to have left out the cream).
Not too, too bad for a bargain, if I do say so myself.