Dry-aged and sear-roasted to a juicy, flavorful medium-rare. What more can a person possibly want? Well, besides good health, a loving partner and an overall good life, that is? But I digress.
All this was done with only two pieces of equipment: A scorchingly hot cast iron grill pan and an oven set to 450°F.
Now don't get me wrong. Nothing beats the smoky aroma red-hot charcoals infuse into the meat and a charcoal grilled steak is always a step ahead in flavor than one that's pan-seared or broiled. But this one here is pretty cool, too. Especially for times when BBQing is out of the question and steak's on the menu.
A quick word about Argentinian beef. First and foremost, it's grass-fed which means it's lower in saturated fats and higher in Omega-3 acids and that, my friends, can result in lower cholesterol in humans. It is also some of the best beef on this planet, if not the best. The meat comes from Aberdeen Angus, Hereford or Shorthorn cattle. Those happy cows reside on the large Argentinian grass plains called Pampas Húmedas. And the Gauchos (Cowboys), also known as Vaqueros, are the ones watching over the cattle just like John Wayne did in "McLintock!". But let's not become too nostalgic here and concentrate on this wonderful Ojo De Bife.
To get started we place the dry cast iron pan into a 450°F hot oven until it reaches the temperature of the oven. That takes about 15 minutes. While that's happening, let's whip up a little basting liquid called "Líquido de Churrasco" to brush onto the steaks once the sides are seared and right before they go into the oven. The reason the temperature is set so high is because high heat seals in the steaks' juices much quicker and produces a nice, tender and juicy steak even though it was dry-aged. Anyway, back to the Churrasco basting liquid.
Here's what we'll need for that:
6 cloves of garlic, wooden ends cut off and pressed
1/2 tsp of coarse sea salt
1/2 tsp of black peppercorns
1/3 cup of orange juice
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 tsp of ground smoked chipotle pepper
1 tsp of paprika powder
2 Tbsp of lime juice
2 Tbsp of lemon juice
3 oz of finely chopped onions
1 Tbsp of dry oregano
Run the garlic through a garlic press and place into a small bowl and crush the pepper with the side of a knife. Add it to the bowl along with the salt. With the flat side of the spoon, 'mash' the mixture against the walls of the bowl to smoothen it out. Transfer it to a slightly larger bowl and add the lemon juice. Whisk.
Now we add the lime juice, together with the chipotle and paprika powders, the orange juice and the oil. Whisk.
Pour it into a food-safe container and refrigerate for at least 24 hours to let the herbs and spices develop their full flavor. Keep in mind, this is just a basting liquid, not a marinade or steak sauce.
Back to the meat, though. If you have been following this blog a little bit you might have seen the last two entries on how to dry-age a steak at home, here and here. For the Ojo De Bife, we used exactly that method and it worked quite well, although there's a learning curve attached to it when it comes to cooking a dry-aged piece of meat and it's mainly related to the cooking time instead of the aging process.
In preparing the steaks, nothing other than seasoning them with sea salt needs to be done. No marinade and no fancy rubs prior to searing them. The basting comes in once the steaks have been seared and are ready to hit the oven. You could even add a little fresh cracked pepper if you like.
Take the pan out of the oven using a pair of oven mitts (pan's extremely hot!) and place on a stove top burner set to High. Place the steaks into the pan and sear them for about two minutes on each side. After you flipped them the first time, brush some of the basting liquid onto the seared side and repeat on the other side, too. Place the steaks, including pan, into the oven for no more than three minutes or until desired doneness is reached. Remember to use oven mitts again. They will come out with a nicely browned, and in some spots charred, crust.
Serve them with a baked potato, french fries, bread or whatever sides you like. I served mine with roasted balsamic cherry tomatoes and a big baked potato with low-fat sour cream and fresh chives.
Argentinian "El Gaucho" Ojo De Bife
Enjoy...
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