So, I love steak…really any kind of steak but my go to cut seems to always be a ribeye. Although rather fatty in general, it contains a lot of flavor (the flavor coming from the fat). Usually, when I cook a ribeye at home, I’ll heat up a cast iron pan until scorching hot and simply pan sear it for a few minutes on each side. I season it simply with just a good quality salt and freshly ground pepper. Usually I add a touch of vegetable oil or canola oil to the pan. Two other keys for a perfect steak: let it come to room temperature prior to cooking and after the steak is finished, let it rest at least 10-15 minutes to ensure all the juices stay in the steak. That’s about it…really that’s all you need to do to get a great steak with a great seared crust. My wife and I definitely prefer our steak on the rare side, so this recipe is really timed for that temperature. If you prefer yours better done, simply cook it a few minutes longer for medium rare and so on.

Anyway, on to the Cowboy ribeye. Cowboy ribeyes should be bone-in and rather large (2lbs on the lighter side to 3lbs on the larger). When I lived in Texas my first exposure to a Cowboy ribeye prepared in this manner was at Stephen Pyles’ restaurant, Star Canyon. The rub was complex and contained a good amount of heat. You can google Stephen Pyles and his Cowboy Ribeye recipe and I would if I were you…he’s generally considered the Godfather of new Texas cuisine and he’s a wonderful chef. It’s a great recipe but I think the ingredients are difficult to come by here in New Jersey without either searching high and low locally or ordering from the Internet. So, I created my own recipe that pairs down the ingredient list to just a few, adding in some that I like personally and some that are simply classic Cowboy ribeye ingredients. The ingredients are also certainly attainable locally. I made this for Tara and me last night and frankly, I thought it was pretty good. No, I thought it was super good and I generally don’t say that as I tend to be a pretty tough critic on my food.

The end result, is a steak with a thick, black crust that imparts heat as well as a touch of salty and sweet. If you want to serve it Texas-style, add a pat of butter at the end prior to slicing. I skipped that as I prefer it without butter. However, a lot of Texas steak houses finish steaks in this manner.

So, we paired this with a simple salad. However, if you want to continue on with the Texas theme, why not try roasting a sweet potato and seasoning it with chili powder, cinnamon, and a bit of real butter. Finish the whole thing with a bit of salt and pepper and you are set. For something sweet to follow, I’d definitely suggest peach cobbler…there’s nothing that screams Texas more than that. Peaches are plentiful in Texas and the State produces some of the best in the country. So google your favorite peach cobbler recipe or even google Texas peach cobbler. I’m sure you’ll find something great. Who knows, when Jersey peaches start coming around in a month or so, perhaps I’ll post my own peach cobbler recipe…stay tuned for that.

With no further discussion, here’s a pretty easy and tasty Cowboy ribeye recipe. Enjoy!  Recipe follows after the jump. Continue reading →