You've Never Had Steak Like This: Hanger Steak with Blue Cheese Spiked BBQ Sauce

 

It's a new year and so we were inspired to try something new. We're big fans of skirt steak, which we've written about before. But, we've heard a lot of talk about a similar cut called hanger steak. Hanger steak is from the diaphragm of the cow, and is also called "butchers steak" because it's the cut that butchers used to keep for themselves. Similarly to skirt steak, it has a very well defined grain, is juicy and extremely flavorful, and doesn't take long to cook.

We complimented this with a tangy BBQ sauce spiked with delicious blue cheese (a gift from our friends at Hungry in Brooklyn - thanks!), and served up some sherry vinegar braised shallots on the side. We were a bit hesitant about serving up just whole roasted shallots, but after being braised they get nice and soft and delicious, and the vinegar glaze they're tossed in is tremendous.

Give this combination a try for some good gourmet cooking this week!

Making the Dish

Peeled shallots

Start off with the shallots, since they'll take the most time. It's a simple preparation. Preheat your oven to 375, then peel the shallots, but try to keep them intact. You'll need about 3 - 5 per person. In a oven-proof skillet, heat up some olive oil and then toss in the shallots. Cook until they are nicely browned on all sides, and slightly soft.

Browning the shallots and adding in the sherry cooking wine

Then, throw enough sherry cooking wine into the pan so that it comes up to about 1/8 of an inch on the shallots. It'll start to cook off quickly. Move the whole pan carefully into your oven. Let the shallots braise/roast in the oven for about 30 - 45 minutes, until they're nice and soft.

Sauce ingredients

While the shallots are cooking, start making the sauce. Dice up another shallot and two cloves of garlic. Add a tablespoon of butter to a saucepan and melt it, and then toss the shallot and garlic into the butter with a touch of salt. Cook over medium heat until the veggies are very soft. When soft, add in a tablespoon of worcestershire sauce, the juice of half an orange, a tablespoon of spicy mustard, and a cup of your favorite barbecue sauce. Stir everything together and simmer. Taste, and adjust seasonings if necessary.

Trimming the hangar steak to remove the tendon

Finally, it's time to get to work on the hanger steak. The hanger steak will probably come as one piece with a thick tendon running down the middle. To prep the steak for cooking, you'll have to remove the tendon. Slice down the middle of the hanger steak, cutting the meat away from the tendon. You'll probably need to flip it over once or twice to get it just right. If it's not immediately obvious how to do it, we used this video to see how it was done (not the best production quality, but it tells you what you need to know!).

The trimmed hangar steak, rubbed with salt and pepper

Once you've got your two separate pieces of hanger steak, rub them down with some salt and pepper. Let them rest for a few minutes and come to room temperature. Then, throw them on your grill. You'll want to cook for 4 - 5 minutes per side for medium. If they're not quite done after 4 - 5 minutes, put them in the oven or closed grill over indirect heat for another 4 - 5 minutes and check again.

Cooking the hangar steak on the grill

When done cooking, let rest for 10 minutes or so. While the steak is resting, you can finish off your shallots. Carefully, and with an oven mit, remove the shallots from the oven and place back onto the stove. Chop up 2 - 3 tablespoons of fresh time, and throw them into the skillet, and with them, add about a 1/4 cup of white wine vinegar.

The shallots tossed with thyme and white wine vinegar

Over medium heat, toss the vinegar and thyme together with the shallots. You'll see a glaze starts to form very quickly, and once it has, remove from the heat. The shallots are done.

Crumbled blue cheese and sliced scallions for garnish

To finish, slice the hanger steak against the grain to nice manageable slices. Add a 1/4 of crumbled blue cheese to your sauce and stir together briefly, until the blue cheese softens but does not melt. Then, spoon the blue cheese bbq sauce over the steak.

Mixing the blue cheese into the bbq sauce

Top with some sliced scallions for garnish. Place the vinegar glazed shallots next to them, dig in, and enjoy!

The Result
This is a veritable restaurant quality gourmet dish that you've just made in your own home! The hanger steak is meaty and juicy and delicious. The bbq sauce is a touch tangy, and a touch creamy and savory from the blue cheese. The shallots are soft, subtly sweet, and the tang from the vinegar glaze works perfectly with the bbq sauce.

Overall, this is a great way to mix things up and start up the new year with a bang. We hope you enjoy!

One Year Ago: Jumbo Shrimp Buzara Style, Buzara di Scampi


Click through for the full ingredients list

Hanger Steak with Blue Cheese Spike BBQ Sauce

Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min

(Serves: 2 - 4)

1 hanger steak - trimmed
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp pepper
1 minced shallot
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1/2 orange juiced
1 tbsp spicy brown mustard
1 cup bbq sauce
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese

Vinegar Glazed Shallots

Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 50 min

(Serves: 2 - 4)

6 - 8 whole shallots
3 tbsp fresh chopped thyme
3 tbsp olive oil
1 cup sherry cooking wine