Barbecue Journey with Dan ‘The Man’ — Chili Rubbed Ribeye with Cilantro Butter

Have you ever seen a person extinguish a candle flame with just two fingers? To this day, it astonishes me not that this is possible, but that a fellow human being would even attempt it.

I wrote this poem for a girl named Jamie in fifth grade:

Roses are red
Violets are blue
Fire is hot
And so are you

I am as proud of it now as I was then. Also, she burned me.

As a right of passage, I flipped burgers for a summer at the Canasawacta Country Club in Norwich, NY. Broiled pork tenderloin was a special one night. This was not a dish best executed by a 19-year-old line cook.

I left it under the broiler for, oh, 20 minutes too long. That was before turning it to cook the other side. But it was a busy night and an expensive special.

I learned two things that night: (1) Recooking a dish is better than serving the customer a piece of char and (2) never scrape off the burnt bits and serve what's left to the customer.

"We don't do that," was all the head chef said when the dish returned to the kitchen quicker than it took me to scrape it down to what I thought was passable.

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My father stuck his head out the door to ask if I had the grill under control as he witnessed flames shooting up to my face while I cooked "Chili-Rubbed Ribeye with Cilantro Butter" from the book "Ribs, Chops, Steaks & Wings" by Ray Lampe.

"Respect the fire," Dad said.

In this case, it was under control. A quick flip of the beautiful ribeyes and moving them to another section of the grill was enough to tame the flames. In fact, having the flames develop so quickly was the point: Seer the outside to seal in the juices.

It was my first success in being in complete control of what appeared to be an out of control situation. These steaks turned out juicy and delicious, no scraping required.

The three people who enjoyed these steaks asked for the recipe. They were that good.

For the depth of flavors, these steaks were relatively simple to make. The rub takes all of one minute to make. The cilantro butter takes maybe 15 minutes, depending on how quickly you can chop vegetables. After that, it's just a matter of cooking the steaks.

The end result is a wonderfully flavored meat. I give this recipe a 7 on my scale of 1-10. This I will make again.

Here's what you need:

Rub:
4 Tbs Chili Powder
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Onion Powder
1 tsp Paprika
2 Tbs Salt
1/3 cup Olive Oil

Cilantro Butter:
1 stick Butter
1/2 cup Finley Chopped Cilantro
1 Minced Garlic Clove
1 Finely Chopped Shallot

Directions:

1. Make the Rub

Combine ingredients for the rub and mix well. Brush evenly on steaks (makes enough for 4). It will thicken as you continue to dip and brush. Keep going to the end. Set the steaks aside for about an hour before cooking.

TSM

2. Make Butter

Sautee cilantro, garlic, shallot for 3-4 minutes until soft. Remove to cool. Cream butter in bowl and add cilantro, garlic, shallot mixture. Mix well and either transfer to wax paper or let cool and harden in bowl.

TSM