Cocoa and Black Pepper Crusted New York Strip Steaks with Bacon Butter
Cocoa with steak? Yes! Cocoa actually enhances the meaty flavor, as does the pepper. (But then, you already knew that about black pepper…) Serve this and ask guests to try to figure out your secret ingredient.
Serve with a bold, red wine with black fruit accents and light tannins, such as a California Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot.
Ingredients
Bacon Butter:
- 1 slice bacon
- 1 tablespoon minced shallots
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
Steaks:
- 4 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons coarse ground black pepper
- 3/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 (12-ounce) bone-in New York Strip Steaks, about 1-inch thick
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Directions
- For the bacon butter, heat a small skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until crisp, turning once or twice, 6-7 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board, let cool then finely chop. Place bacon in a bowl and add the shallots, softened butter and salt; mix well. Wrap butter in a piece of plastic wrap forming into a cylinder about 2 inches long. Refrigerate until ready to serve, can be made up to 4 days ahead.
- For the steaks, combine the cocoa powder, sugar, black pepper, garlic powder smoked paprika and salt in a bowl; mix well. Sprinkle the cocoa mixture evenly over both sides of each steak and let stand at room temperature 15 minutes.
- Melt the butter in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the steaks and cook, until nicely browned and cooked to medium-rare, 5-6 minutes per side or until your desired doneness. Serve topped with bacon butter.