Cast Iron Grill Pan Steak

Happy 22nd birthday to my little brother, Michael!
Aww wasn't he the cutest little kid in the world?! No wonder he was the favorite..

Holy smokes this steak was so good it deserves its own post!

Steak was on sale at our grocery store when I shopped, so I grabbed a package of two NY strip steaks. (Black Angus for $6.98 a pound is a good deal, right? It's normally $14.98 per pound. I figured us eating these 2 steaks at home for under $10 is a lot better deal than what we'd pay at a restaurant!)

I removed them from their package and put them in a zip bag with a marinade I concocted of only two ingredients. But, believe me, these two ingredients were key in making this steak a knock out!

The first was a few tablespoons of a sundried tomato "dipping oil" my parents brought when they came for Christmas. We don't sit around and eat hunks of bread often so I've been trying to use it in creative ways here and there. Basically it's olive oil, spices and herbs, chunks of sun dried tomatoes, and a little balsamic vinegar.

The second was a free sample from Jack Daniel's for their Original No. 7 recipe sauce. It was a little 1 oz. trial size packet, but you better believe the big bottle is on my grocery list as I type. (The sample was requested by me from their website because I am a free sample whore. They did not give this to me, have no idea who I am, and I was not compensated. Happy FTC?!)

In went the steak and because of an unexpected change of plans to dinner that night, it marinated for a whole day and was dinner the next night.

I let the cast iron grill pan heat up for a few minutes and first cooked the polenta (coming up in the next post), then cleaned quickly with a damp paper towel gripped by tongs. After re-spraying on went the steak with a delightful sizzle! For medium rare cook for about 2 minutes, then rotate 90° and cook an additional 2 minutes. Flip to the other side (which will cook quicker) and cook for about 1 minute, rotate 90°, and then cook another minute. This will guarantee you awesome grill marks!!

Move to a plate and let rest a few minutes before cutting into it to eat. This was completely and utterly delicious. Johnny told me after the first bite that it was "probably" the best steak he's ever had. Considering how he gushes over steak house steaks I'll take that as a compliment!

This marinade will definitely be appearing in the future. The combination was heavenly! Slightly sweet, a bit smoky, a little tang from the balsamic and the Jack Daniels... full of body and a great compliment to the red meat!

Served with a small side salad of mixed greens, carrots, celery, and sunflower seeds.