Strip Steak w/ Blistered Shishito Peppers
We don’t eat steak often around here, but when we do, one of my favourite ways to serve it is with blistered shishito peppers. The shishitos pop and sizzle as they blister in the pan before getting zapped with lemon juice, making them tender and perfectly acidic. Then they get chopped into a juicy, salsa-like consistency and spooned over our thick steak. And there is no better time to eat this than fall, when you can get fresh shishitos at the market.
OH and I have to give a special shout out to my secret (not so secret) steak rub ingredient: coffee!
Watch me make it here on Instagram!
Active Time: 40 minutes + 15 minutes resting time
Servings: 2
Ingredients
1 8oz strip steak
½ tbs coffee grinds
½ tbs + ½ tsp kosher salt (divided)
½ tbs black pepper
1tbs canola oil
1 tbs butter
200-250g Shishito peppers
Juice of half a lemon
Flaky salt
Instructions
Pat the steak dry with paper towel.
Combine coffee, black pepper and ½ tbs salt in a small bowl, then season the steak all over. Set aside for at elast 15 minutes, 30 would be better!
Heat a cast iron on medium-high heat until just before it starts to smoke, about 4 minutes. Add canola oil and let heat up, another 30 seconds.
Add steak and cook until a dark golden brown crust forms, about 3 minutes. Try your best not to touch it at this stage, just let it do its thing! Flip and cook the other side for another 3 minutes. Rotate the steak to grill remaining sides for about 30 seconds each, if your steak has a fat cap, you should cook that side for a little longer, about 1 minute.
Remove the pan from heat. Add butter and baste the steak for about two minutes. You can also add smashed garlic to the butter, if you’d like!
By now, the internal temperature of the steak should be 120F. Remove the steak from the pan and let it rest on a cutting board for about 10 minutes.
While the steak is resting, put the pan back on the heat and turn to medium-high. Once it heats up, add the shishitos and let them cook for about 3 minutes. You should start to hear sizzling and popping — this is good because it means the peppers are beginning to blister. Toss and let gook for another 3 minutes, or until the peppers are golden brown and charred all over.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the lemon juice. Toss the peppers one more time to evenly coat and then let them finish cooking in the lemon juice for 4 more minutes, or until soft.
Remove from the pan and transfer to a cutting board. Roughly chop the peppers until they’re a little jammy.
By now your steak should be ready! Cut it into strips, top with the chopped peppers, flaky salt and serve hot.
Playing Around
You might be tempted to skip out on the coffee grinds here, but I encourage you not to! I first saw coffee grinds used in a steak rub at La Palma restaurant in Toronto. After that, I had to figure out a) why it works so well and b) how I can use it in my own way. The former is twofold: First, the acidity in coffee allows the amplification of flavour, much like tannins in wine. Second, it acts as a tenderizer, softening the meat and enhancing moisture by creating a thick crust. It’s quite amazing! The latter on the other hand, well, that’s how we got here.
What you can play around with is what you’re adding to the butter in the basting stage. I suggest adding some garlic, but you can also add dried herbs, like thyme and rosemary, for extra flavour.