Grilled Dry-Rubbed Rib-Eye Steaks | Everyday Dorie

I’ve forgotten how long it has been since I last grill a piece of steak preferring, primarily, a plant-based diet. This week’s recipe at Cook-the-Book-Fridays is none other than making a grilled dry-rubbed ribeye steak from Everyday Dorie. I soldier on. Part of it is because of my ongoing participation in the group project to cook every recipe in the book from cover to cover. Taking exceptions seems to me a slippery slope. Furthermore, I do eat meat occasionally.

My best memory of a phenomenal piece of steak was in Kyoto prior to the pandemic. It was a piece of kobe beef. The chef took such deliberate expert care in cooking and presenting the dish. I knew I was in for a real treat. It didn’t disappoint. The steak was every bit as tender and juicy, yet beefy; it melted in my mouth. Kobe beef is considered a delicacy, valued for its flavorful, fatty and marbled texture.

With that in mind, I go about selecting a piece of ribeye steak looking for one with the most marbling effect (the intermingling of fat within the lean muscle structure). Next, I prepare Dorie’s rub which consists of: brown sugar, kosher salt, chili powder, paprika, Old Bay seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, Chinese five-spice powder, ground pepper, cinnamon, cumin and a pinch of red pepper flakes.

About an hour before cooking, dry the steak thoroughly. Then rub the steak generously on both sides with the spice mixture. Keep the steak at room temperature, covered. Overtime, I notice the sweat coming out of the steak. So I proceed to dry it one more time before cooking.

I don’t want to fire up the grill for only one piece of steak. Therefore I elect to cook it on the stovetop. Get the pan sizzling hot and cook the steak about 3-4 minutes on each side. Turn once if you can help it. My trusty assistant is the instant-read thermometer looking for 130°F interior meat temperature as the target for a medium-rare steak.

All in all, I don’t know how much the rub brings to the table for the ribeye steak. Given a quality cut, salt and a generous grind of fresh pepper may be all that’s needed. If anything, the spice and sugar in the rub make it hard to see how the meat is naturally searing and crusting. The visual cues I look for are somewhat distorted. I end up unnecessarily turning the steak over in more times than are desirable, interfering with the browning reactions. (Nothing is as tasty as the roasty fond that sticks to the bottom of the pan to deglaze with and cook into a sauce.) Perhaps, I need to get used to grilling a steak laden with spice rub — but I’m not.