Cocoa-Rubbed Steak with Bacon-Whiskey Gravy and Crispy Baked Potatoes

Saturday after work, I gathered up the wife and child and headed to the Giant and the liquor store to get the ingredients for another Food Network Magazine recipe (who doesn't love pushing a baby stroller through the liquor store?). This one comes from page 107 of the March 2012 issue, which is devoted to all manner of chocolate dishes.

Cook Time:

Active: 1 hour

Total: 1 hour, 5 min.

For the Steak:

1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons sweet paprika

1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon packed light brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Kosher salt

2 1-pound New York strip steaks (about 1 1/2 inches thick)

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

For the Gravy:

4 strips bacon, diced

1 leek (white and light green parts only), finely chopped

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whiskey

3 cups low-sodium chicken broth

2 bay leaves

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

For the Potatoes:

2 russet potatoes

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon pepper

Instructions:

1. Make the potatoes: Mix oil, salt, and pepper. Pierce potatoes with a fork; rub with oil mixture. Bake on the top oven rack at 375 degrees (put a baking sheet below to catch drippings) until tender, 50 minutes. Slice open and top with butter, salt, pepper, and chives.
2. Make the steak: Mix the cocoa powder, both paprikas, brown sugar, cayenne and 2 teaspoons salt; rub on the steak and bring to room temperature, 30 minutes.
3. Make the gravy: Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring, until crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove to paper towels with a slotted spoon; set aside. Add the leek to the drippings and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring, 1 minute.
4. Remove the skillet from the heat. Add the whiskey, then return to medium heat; if the alcohol ignites, let the flames die out. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Add the chicken broth and bay leaves. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until the mixture is reduced by one-quarter, about 8 minutes. Whisk in the heavy cream and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the gravy coats a spoon, about 7 minutes. Stir in the butter, reserved bacon, and parsley; season with salt and pepper. Keep warm.
5. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over high heat, about 3 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon butter; when it melts, add the steak and sear until a dark crust forms, about 8 minutes per side. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest 5 minutes. Season with salt. Slice and serve with the gravy.

Results:

Perfect potatoes, great gravy, so-so steak. 

You can't really go wrong with potatoes that have been coated in oil and salt. We added butter and sour cream, of course, but used chopped green onion instead of chives (largely because we couldn't locate chives in the store), and the green onion on the potatoes were a nice compliment to the leek in the gravy. I will definitely use this technique for baked potatoes in the future.

I found the gravy sweet from the whiskey and smokey from the bacon, which was a delicious combination. I would have liked it to be a little thicker, but that may have been some fault of my own. I also found that I liked the gravy more as it cooled off; it might make a pretty tasty salad dressing or sauce on a sandwich. 

With the steak, we couldn't taste much of the cocoa. There was no pink on the inside, so maybe I had them on a little longer than necessary, but even so, I doubt it would have tasted much different. Obviously the steak was still delicious (steak is steak), but the cocoa didn't add anything special; I would recommend something with a stronger flavor, like Montreal Steak Seasoning or a similar rub. 

Rating:

Difficulty: 3 out of 5  (mostly from having lots of things going at once)

Taste: 4 out of 5 (brought down by the lack of flavor on the steak)

Will I make this again? Potatoes and Gravy most certainly.

Two down, who knows how many more to go. I can't believe I made a meal without any cheese...this is an anomaly, I assure you. I've already had two reader requests, one for my mother's special-occasion egg strata and one for some chicken empanadas (which I'll need to make sure I still have the recipe for) so stay tuned for some exciting things!

Thanks for stopping by,

~ Jason