As you know, I host Day of Meat annually. And I've mentioned before that my wife and I have a good "foodie" friend from whom we have learned a great deal about cooking. Well, with the grill still going, she showed up at Day of Meat 2012 with a large piece of meat wrapped in foil and said, "throw this on the grill". I obeyed, and helped monitor its progress. Time passed and we checked its temperature, and slowly but surely it was close to being done. What was it? It was a lamb roast, shoulder I believe. What was the rub on it? Yep, you guessed it. Anchovy paste. I'm sure my foodie friend did more than just the paste, so I'm not doing her recipe justice, but the point is on that night in August of 2012, I ate anchovies for the first time in I don't know how long. The lamb was amazing. The rub phenomenal. It opened my eyes to those little fish again. Anyhow, we fast forward to May 10, 2014.
My wife and I subscribe to some food magazines, and as you have probably gathered from the likes of authors who created many of the recipes we've tried, we tend to attempt the 5 star specials from the tried and true. Well, a few months ago, my wife cut out a recipe for "Minute Steaks with Herbed Anchovy Butter". The cut of meat in question? Round Steak. I had no idea what I was supposed to do with Round Steak, so this recipe easily fit the bill. AND...it would force me to use something with which I have never used in preparing any food. Anchovies.
Let's talk about Round Steak briefly. At Paulina, these cuts are about 3.5 lbs each. And from what everything I have read suggests, there is not a lot of flavor in Round Steak. So, my education (even before buying it) was well worth the research. Best cut for Beef Braciole? Round Steak. For those not aware of braciole, it's flattened steaks rolled up with a stuffing inside, usually slow braised in a tomato pasta sauce and served with a side of pasta. I've had it. I love it. And I'm excited to make it some day. You take the Round Steak and cut it into long pieces, and take a meat tenderizer and pound them down to 1/4 inch thick. Well, for this Minute Steak recipe, I did the same thing, except got the steaks pounded to 1/4 inch thick by about 6 inches in diameter.
But before we get to the meat preparation, let's talk about herbed anchovy butter. I took 2 small chopped shallots, 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar and 2 tablespoons of fiileted chopped anchovies in oil and sauteed it together over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until the moisture all evaporated. I let it cool in a small bowl, and added a stick of unsalted butter, 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper of a 1/4 cup of chives, parsley and tarragon (all equal parts). I took cooking gloves and mashed it all together, rolled it out onto a sheet of parchment paper and rolled it into a stick and put it into the refrigerator.
Back to the steaks, I seasoned both sides of the steaks with Montreal seasoning. I heated a cast iron skillet with canola oil, and cooked these steaks for only 40 seconds per side. That's it. I stacked them on a serving dish, and put a "pad" of herbed anchovy butter in between each one and served them. The sides of choice? We made cauliflower au gratin and a mixed green salad. And it was phenomenal.
So, for those who like me used to quote J. Geils Band, perhaps next you place your order, don't forget to say, 'Anchovies Please!'.
26 down, 33 to go!
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