TODAY Food Club

Nothing goes better with summer corn and juicy tomatoes than the slightly sweet crisp char that makes a sugar steak. This is a phenomenon (hardly any other word will do) that I never encountered until I ended up with a house on Lake Michigan. I followed the lead of many local old-timers and devised the fool-proof technique I share here, derived from generously shared tips on technique and ingredients. Some use sirloin, some use rib-eye, I have even used top round – most agree whatever is cheapest. Also some call for white sugar, some brown, some both. The one thing that is agreed upon is thickness: 3-4” thick, or ‘6 inches if it’s a special occasion.’

Sugar Steak

• Yield: 8 - 10

Ingredients

• One 3 or 4-inch thick slab o’ beef, trimmed, about 4 pounds (sirloin, rib-eye, top round)
• Kosher salt
• Spice rub of choice
• ¼ cup honey
• 1 pound brown sugar

Preparation

1. Place the meat on a small serving tray (avoid heavy plates because you will be flipping two plates and 4 # of meat – I love the small melamine trays). Rub with salt and spice.
2. Drizzle with 2 Tablespoons of honey
3. Pack about half the brown sugar on the top side of the meat.
4. Place a second tray on top and flip meat onto the second tray. Repeat the above process, using all the brown sugar. It is not necessary to do the sides as it will fall off anyway. Set aside for 30 minutes.
5. Flip the tray onto the hottest fire you can build (charcoal or wood preferred) and scrape the stuck sugar onto the (now) top side. Grill until it releases enough to flip, about 7 minutes.
6. Continue flipping every 7 – 8 minutes, until desired doneness, about 30-40 minutes for 4 pound steak.
7. Remove and tent lightly with foil on a tray to catch juices. Rest for 10 minutes.
8. Slice thinly across the grain and drizzle with the jus.

Recipe Tags

• Easy
• American
• Entree

The char of the steak is the perfect balance to super sweet corn and rustic Tuscan panzanella. A 4-pound steak will easily serve 8-10 with some leftovers.