Italian Steak Glaze with Caramelized Fennel

My beautiful carnivorous wife (a rehabilitated vegetarian might I add) asked if we can have steak this week.  I said sure with a big smile on my face because I LOVE steak! When I said I wouldn't be making this marinade and we can just have Montreal Steak Spice. She frowns. Pause. Hmmm. Why not? Maybe we should have something else then. That's how good this marinade is.  Once you have it you always want it. Its just like...well you know ;)

When anyone asks me what the best cut of meat to eat for steak is? I answer as my mom would say: "life is too short to eat anything but beef tenderloin." Sure you can argue about the flavour of different cuts.  But if you are getting beef that is grass fed, free range, steroid free, gluten free, (and any of the other important things your food has to have/ have not) then all the cuts taste great.  If you are buying the cheapest tenderloin yes it will have less flavour; but, also be tender so you won't wear out your jaw muscles.


You can make this and accompany it with anything you would a steak. I served it with my chanterelle mushroom caramelized onion Risotto; onions; potatoes; salad; lots of red wine.

Ingredients:

10 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon fresh ground salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 cup olive oil (I used a little less so they don't catch on fire on the BBQ)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3-4 beef tenderloin steaks 1 1/2 inches thick

Directions:

Use a garlic peeler to peel the garlic - 10 cloves takes a while but so worth it! and chop it all up roughly.
Place the garlic, rosemary, parsley, basil, oregano and salt into a small bowl or if you have one a mortar. Grind it into a paste.






















Stir in the olive, balsamic vinegar and white pepper until blended throughout
Set aside half the mixture in a separate small bowl for later.

Massage the meat with the other half of the mixture. Let marinade for 1 hour.

Preheat your BBQ to medium-high heat.

Before placing your steaks on the grill oil the grill (I like to spray or rub it with grape seed oil)

I think steak should be medium-rare. If you agree then do it this way:
To get nice hash ( # )marks: place the steak on the grill so it is across the grates on a 45 degree angle; set a timer for 2 minutes, turn 90 degrees and cook for another 2 minutes;

Flip and spread the remaining mixture onto the just cooked side.

Repeat the 2 minutes at 90 degrees for the other side. A total of 4 minutes per side.

Remove from the grill and cover on a platter with tin foil for 3-5 minutes.  Believe me, this is critical. It will keep the heat in but more importantly the steak will become more juicy.

I like to present this steak either on the plate whole or as my wife prefers: sliced thinly against the grain and plated in a pleasant fan orientation.

This is a fabulous tasting marinade. I made it with fresh herbs from our garden and garlic grown in the interior of BC. The aroma in the air was so big and full I wondered why I don't always use fresh herbs. After all BC is know for its herbs isn't it?

I was so excited about making this Italian steak glaze that I told my neighbour what I was grilling over the fence. He just kind of smiled and said "yes, I love that." Then it dawned on me his name is Dino, wife Adrian and sons Leo and Nico, all solid Italian names.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/216468/italian-rib-eye/

Caramelized Fennel:

This is a great accompaniment to steak, and many other dishes too.

Ingredients:

1 fennel bulb sliced (think making onion rings)
2 tbsp. oil in frying pan

Directions:

Heat oil in pan on medium-low;

Slice fennel and put in pan stirring occasionally. This can take 30 minutes.