NY Strip Steak - Reverse Seared with Balsamic Mushrooms and Goat Cheese

Every now and then I like to branch out from my consistent ribeye. For me, ribeye remains king, but it is good to allow some other steaks into the rotation. NY Strips are a great option for a lighter meal, and they maintain a beefier taste than other steaks. Since they are typically leaner than ribeye, I like to be more liberal with additional flavors and topping with the NY Strip. This combination of beef and mushrooms is guaranteed to impress even the most loyal ribeye fans.

Ingredients

Steaks

• NY Strip Steaks - about 1 inch in thickness

• Worcestershire Sauce

• 1/2 tsp black pepper, per steak

• 1/2 tsp garlic powder, per steak

• 1 tbsp Killer Hogs Steak Rub, per steak (can substitute your favorite steak rub; Killer Hogs works great with this recipe)

• 1 tsp fresh parsley, chopped, per steak

Mushroom Topping

• 8 oz Cremini Mushrooms

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1/2 cup red wine

• 2 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

• 2 garlic cloves

• Salt

• Pepper

Instructions

1. Start with a quick and simple marinade. Place the NY Strip steaks into a plastic ziplock bag, and add enough Worcestershire sauce to ensure entire surface area is covered

2. Allow the steaks to marinate anywhere from 30 minutes to 4 hours. If longer than 30 minutes, place the steaks in the refrigerator to marinate. I typically do 30 minutes, you get plenty of flavor in this amount of time.

3. Lightly dust the steaks with black pepper and garlic powder

4. Add the Steak rub next (be fairly generous with your rub, depending on how strong it is)

5. Pat the seasoning into the steak

6. Flip steaks and season other side

At this point I usually get the grill started. This 15-30 minutes allows the steaks time to react with the rub and the rub will draw out some moisture from the steak. Since this is a reverse sear, I usually get two grills going:

A Traeger Pellet Grill set at 225°

Big Green egg Charcoal Grill. Heat until it stabilizes, around 450°-500°

Any pellet or charcoal grills will work. It is not necessary to use two grills; one grill will be sufficient, but may require some temperature adjustments in the middle of the cook.

1. Place a probe in the thinnest of the NY Strip steaks

2. Place the steaks on the pellet grill at 225°, until internal temperature hits 100°

This can take anywhere from 20 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the steaks and other variables. This is a great time to start on any other sides, and also the mushroom topping. I like start the mushroom topping when internal temp hits around 80°; this usually works out best timing-wise.

1. Check the temperature on your charcoal grill to validate it has stabilized around 450°-500°

2. Remove the steak once it hits 100° on the pellet grill

If you are not ready to sear these steaks on the charcoal grill, you can wrap them individually in foil and keep them at room temperature. This is necessary if you are using a single grill and you need to get it up to temperature. I do it all the time to finish up sides, or other items. I have left them foiled up to 30 minutes before searing and they still came out great.

1. When ready, sear each steak on the charcoal grill for 3 minutes on each side. If you have some grill grates, I usually rotate 90 degrees half way through the sear to get nice diamond-patterned grill marks

2. Once done, remove steaks and allow them to rest for around 10 minutes

3. Lightly sprinkle fresh chopped parsley over the steaks

Mushroom Topping

1. Wash the cremini mushrooms

2. Remove the stems and slice the mushrooms

3. Finely chop 1-2 cloves of garlic

4. On the stove, heat olive oil in a pan at medium to high heat

5. Add mushrooms, and cook until they start to brown, about 5-7 minutes. Stir every minute or so to brown all sides

6. Stir in chopped garlic

7. Add salt and pepper to taste

8. Add red wine - just enough coat the bottom of the pan

9. Add Balsamic vinegar

10. Stir all ingredients, allow to reduce slightly and remove from heat

11. Place mushrooms on top of NY Strips

12. Sprinkle a little bit of grated goat cheese on top of mushrooms

For sides, I recommend our Spinach Salad with Pine Nuts. One thing I have had a lot of compliments on, is picking up a loaf of French bread from the local bakery. Mix some oil and Italian herbs for dipping, and this easy side is a great compliment to the steak, and works as an appetizer while waiting.