Coffee Rubbed Steak

Steak. I love steak. I think I could eat steak everyday. I'm serious. Especially if it is grass-fed, which is what we try to buy most of the time. The best steak I've ever had in my life was at Mesa, Bobby Flay's restaurant in LasVegas. I was there with some of the cast and crew of The Great Food Truck Race Season 2 while we were filming the Las Vegas episode. The chef from the Hodge Podge truck, Chris Hodgson, wanted to go to  Mesa and despite being on a tight budget, I decided to join the group. I'm SO glad I did. I had eaten at Mesa once before, but I ordered chicken and only found it underwhelming for the price. I was unsure what to order this time around when Chris suggested that we let the chef pick for us. When the waiter placed coffee rubbed filet mignon in front of me my eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas who just discovered the motherload of presents. Ever since then I've wanted to recreate that rub but have been worried I would mess it up and tarnish my memory of that perfect steak. Also, a coffee rubbed steak recipe calls for well, coffee. Surprise, surprise. And I NEVER have coffee on hand... because we don't own a coffee maker and we don't drink coffee at home. In fact, we rarely ever drink coffee. Well, I rarely ever drink coffee. I think Adam secretly indulges often behind my back and then claims he's not a coffee drinker.

So, I put off making this life changing coffee rubbed steak because I didn't want to buy a whole package of ground espresso only to use a few tablespoons, then I remembered those coffee grinding machines at the grocery store and thought maybe I could get a small amount like, 1/4 a cup. So, after standing in front of one of those grind your coffee machines for all of about 20 minutes and having no idea how to make it work and where to find a bag to put the grounds in... was I suppose to bring my own?! I finally just gave up, and bought a whole package of espresso grounds.

Which means every recipe I make from here on out must include espresso grounds, until that pack is gone. So get ready for espresso and eggs, zucchini topped with espresso, and espresso crusted chicken! Haha, just kidding.

But in all seriousness, get ready for this coffee spice rub. It will knock your socks off and leave your taste buds wanting more. And in fact, it may have been better than the steak I had at Mesa. Take that, Bobby Flay. (And also, thanks for the recipe Bobby Flay.)

Coffee Rubbed Rib Eye

adapted from Bobby Flay's Recipe

(PRINTABLE)

2 - 4 steaks (I used grass-fed rib eye, but you could you use any quality cut of steak you like)

olive oil
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

For the rub:

2 tablespoons ancho chili powder
2 tablespoons finely ground espresso
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
1 tablespoon brown sugar (omit the sugar to make this paleo)
1/2 tablespoon dry mustard
1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 tablespoon freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon garlic powder 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place a cast iron skillet over high heat. Rub each side of steak with olive oil. Sprinkle steaks lightly with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. 

Rub 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of coffee rub on each side of steak.

Place steak in the hot cast iron skillet, cook for 3 to 4 minutes, flip the steak over and cook 2 more minutes. Transfer skillet to the oven and cook to desired doneness. This depends on the thickness of the steak. Medium rare could be anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes. 

I like to press down on the steak with my finger, it should feel like the fleshly skin between your thumb and pointer finger for medium rare. 

Let steak rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

**Update - I highly recommend being heavy handed with the rub, I use 2 tablespoons on each side. Also when we grilled the steak instead of using the pan to oven method the flavor was much, much less pronounced. I highly recommend using the pan to oven method when using this rub. 

Store excess steak rub in a 4 oz mason jar for future use.

Love, Luck, and Happiness!