Balsamic Peppered Sirloin

Peppered steak in a pool of balsamic sauce accompanied by New Potatoes in Chive Butter.

I've been keeping my eyes peeled for a tempting steak recipe since I made Basil Sirloin with Potatoes. When I bought the steak for that, it was a FamilyPak of top sirloin (and the bulk pack had the best price of all the "Paks"). I froze what I didn't use and it's just been sitting in the freezer.

I came across this recipe and knew I had to give it a go. Conveniently, by the time the steaks thawed out in the fridge, I had an open can of broth from when I made Chicken Thighs with Carmelized Onions. I like that. Minimalizing my waste.

Balsamic Peppered Sirloin

1 1/4 lb. beef top sirloin steak (1 inch thick), cut into 4 pieces

2 tbsp cracked black pepper*

1 tsp coarse salt

1 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil

1/2 c lower-sodium chicken broth

1/4 c balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp unsalted butter

Pat steaks dry; coat both sides with pepper, pressing to adhere. Sprinkle with salt.


Heat large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add oil; heat until hot. Cook steaks 7 to 9 minutes for medium-rare, turning once. Remove steaks; cover loosely with foil. Let stand 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, add broth and vinegar to skillet; boil 2 minutes or until sauce is slightly reduced, stirring to scrape up any browned bits from bottom of skillet. Remove from heat; whisk in butter until melted. Serve over steaks.

*Cracked black pepper can be found in the spice aisle of the grocery store. To crack your own, place whole peppercorns in heavy resealable plastic bag. Pound with flat side of meat mallet or side of knife until coarsely ground. Or crank course pepper from your Kirkland pepper grinder like I do.

Pros: It was easy, the steak turned out great (even though it was done in a skillet, which I find is usually boring) and it was fast -- less than 30 minutes! I'm a pepper fanatic and this worked well for me. I was even impressed with the sauce, not an easy feat.

Cons: Rodney didn't care for the amount of pepper I put on (to be fair, probably more than called for) and actually scraped some off into the sink with a paper towel. Hey! I would've eaten those! However, Rodney just reiterated as I was typing, "That was some good shit!" I'm blushing.

Cost:

• steak: $2.49/lb = $5
• broth: $1

Total: $6 which means Rodney's serving was $4.50 and mine was $1.50.

Definitely gonna repeat this one!

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