Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Column written by Robert Duke

I stopped in the “Butcher Shop” in Demopolis recently as I do regularly, and found some great looking “Prime Filet Mignon”. They were perfect medallions that were around 1.5-2.0 inches thick. Prime beef is as high priced right now as I can remember but sometimes you just have to eat a steak. I bought four of them because I knew my son was coming turkey hunting for the weekend.

I was looking at the Conecuh bacon in the cooler to use to wrap them when I remembered I had some blended butter at home called “Black Truffle Butter”. There are many types of blended butter to use but, in my opinion, this one is a great way to “finish” your steak.

Just as your steak reaches the correct temperature, I like to remove them from the heat and let them rest a few minutes before doing anything else with them. They typically gain a few degrees in temperature as they are still cooking inside when you pull them off the heat. I believe as they start to cool, they soak up the juice around them like a sponge. So, I generally make sure I have some juice for them to soak up. In this case, I added a dollop of the “Black Truffle Butter” to the top of the steak to melt. On lesser quality steaks I might add the bacon to cook on them to make sure there is a good tasting juice for them to rest with after cooking. I decided not to use any bacon this time as I didn’t think these steaks needed much help to taste great.

I firmly believe that if you start with a good cut of meat, you really don’t need much else with it other than a little heat. I do though generally recommend just a little salt and pepper or maybe a tiny bit of your favorite dry rub. I believe anything more can ruin the taste of a perfect steak. For a lessor cut of meat like Flank Steak, I might go so far as to add a marinade or use something like “Dale’s Steak Seasoning” to break down some of the fatty fat and tendons to make the steak a little more tender. Like I said though in this case the steaks didn’t need any of that.

I first spray a tiny bit of non-stick to the grill surface and then get my grill/smoker temperature to around 415 degrees F before I quickly place the steaks directly on the grill. I have temperature probes inserted into the largest and smallest steaks so I can carefully watch the temperature. After just a few minutes, maybe 5, I will turn the steaks only once placing them on an area of grill that has not been used and is still red hot. This sears the outside of the steaks and helps prevent moisture loss. I do not turn them again until I remove them and do not even open the grill until these particular steaks reach 135 degrees. Any hotter and they will be overdone and start to lose their tenderness. At this temperature, they are no longer rare but are still a little pink. You might have to experiment with what temperature you most like your steaks.

While I was out at the grill, my wife had made us some homemade scalloped potatoes and some broiled Brussel sprouts, tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper, and topped with fresh parmesan cheese, to enjoy with the steaks. I don’t know when I have better enjoyed a meal.

Thanks to the “Butcher Shop” for that wonderful cut of Prime Beef for Eat’n Out!