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Recipe Detail Page
Flat-Top Porterhouse & Smoky Steak Sauce
Summer 2017
Both the sauce and steak benefit greatly by using wood chips, whether you’re using gas or charcoal. Adding them just before cooking your steak-sauce ingredients amplifies the smoke flavours. Adding them when you light your grill provides more subtle flavour to the steak.
Serves 4 to 6
HOUSE STEAK SAUCE
1 cup (250 mL) dry oak or mesquite chips
Oil for greasing griddle
3 plum tomatoes
1 small onion, peeled and halved, root end left intact
4 skin-on garlic cloves
10 Medjool dates, pitted
¼ cup (60 mL) malt vinegar
3 tbsp (45 mL) Worcestershire sauce
Pinch cayenne
¼ tsp (1 mL) ground cloves
2 tsp (10 mL) salt
½ tsp (2 mL) freshly ground black pepper
1 cup (250 mL) oak smoking chips, soaked in water for 1 hour
2 inch-thick (5 cm) porterhouse steak,
2½ to 3 lbs (1.25 to 1.5 kg)
Salt and pepper
3 tbsp (45 mL) salted butter, thinly sliced
2 tsp (10 mL) chopped thyme
1. Arrange a cast-iron griddle or large frying pan over grates and preheat grill to 500°F (260°C). Sprinkle wood chips over coals (or arrange a smoking box on a gas grill), and lightly oil griddle.
2. Place tomatoes on flat-top, cut-side down, along with the onion and garlic. Cook for 3 minutes per side with the lid closed or until lightly charred all over; remove. Add dates to griddle and cook for 2 minutes per side or until caramelized. Let cool.
3. Peel the charred garlic and add to blender along with the tomatoes, dates and onion; add vinegar, Worcestershire, cayenne, cloves, salt and pepper. Process until glossy and smooth. (Steak sauce can be made up to a week in advance and kept covered and refrigerated.)
4. For the steak, add 2 to 3 smoking chunks to charcoal when lighting (or arrange chips in a smoking box on a gas grill). Place a cast-iron griddle or large frying pan on grate, close lid and preheat to 400°F (200°C).
5. Season steak generously with salt and pepper. Place steak on griddle; do not oil. Close lid and cook for 8 minutes per side for medium-rare. Just before removing, arrange butter over steak and sprinkle with thyme.
6. Tent steak with foil and let rest for 5 minutes. Carve into ½-inch-thick (1-cm) slices and serve with steak sauce.
Serves 4 to 6
