When it comes to cooking a good steak in our house, we usually keep it pretty simple. We like to salt it like you’re treating a road before it snows (thank you, David Chang!) then cook it using our sous vide machine and finish it on the grill. This Turkish-inspired steak is perfect for when you want to mix things up.
I recently did a post for Moroccan Chicken and Chickpeas that called for pomegranate molasses. I had promised myself that I’d put this bottle to good use so I was pleased when I saw pomegranate molasses listed as an ingredient.
Pomegranate molasses is pomegranate juice that has been cooked down which results in a syrupy tart and tangy liquid. You add to this grated white onion (pulp and juice), Aleppo pepper and freshly chopped rosemary. I loved the colors of the ingredients for the marinade before they were mixed (see photo).
If you don’t have Aleppo pepper (I didn’t for the longest time and finally found it at The Spice & Tea Exchange in Annapolis, Maryland) you can substitute a combination of paprika and cayenne pepper. Hopefully you have some fresh rosemary in your garden like I do.
A grating tip – I recently replaced my very old box grater with a Cuispro four sided box grater. It works so much better for grating all kinds of things including onions. It also has a base which you can use to grate ginger or use to keep your grated ingredients contained. It is dishwasher-safe and doesn’t rust.
While you can marinate this steak for as little as an hour, I fully recommend planning ahead so that you may marinate it overnight.
In order to get a nice crust on this steak, be sure to pat it dry when you remove it from the marinade and grill it over very high heat. You may need to move it around on the grill a bit to avoid flare ups. Some pomegranate molasses contains sugar (like the bottle I currently have) which can cause flare ups even though you patted the steak dry.
Thiis flavorful steak is wonderful hot but also makes a great cold steak for salad.
| Ribeye with Rosemary and Pomegranate Molasses | Print |
- 1 medium white onion, peeled and left whole
- ¼ cup pomegranate molasses, plus more to serve
- 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper (see Notes)
- 3 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary, divided
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper
- 1 12- to 14-ounce boneless rib-eye steaks (about 1-inch thick), patted dry
- Grapeseed or other neutral oil, for brushing
- Set a box grater in a baking dish large enough to hold the steak. Hold the top of the onion (where the stem would be) and grate the onion on the large holes, allowing the pulp and juice to fall into the baking dish. You have enough onion once your hand gets too close to the grater.
- To the grated onion, stir in the pomegranate molasses, Aleppo pepper, 1 teaspoon of rosemary, 1 teaspoon Kosher salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper.
- Add steak and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours – flipping the steak once or twice. If refrigerated for longer than 1 hour, remove the steak from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before grilling. (Alternatively you can marinate the steak in a ziplock bag.)
- Using a gas grill, turn all burners to high and heat the grill, covered, for 10 to 15 minutes. Then clean and oil the cooking grate.
- Scrape the marinade off the steaks and pat dry with paper towels. (Do not skip this step as this ensures you get a nice char on the outside.)
- Brush one side of the steak with grapeseed oil, then place oiled-side down on the grill. Cover and cook until nicely charred on the bottom, about 4 minutes. You may need to move the steak around the grill to prevent flare ups (there’s sugar in some pomegranate molasses which may cause this to happen).
- Brush the side facing up with oil, then flip the steak. Cover and cook until the second side is nicely charred and the centers reach 120°F, another 3 to 4 minutes.
- Transfer the steak to a cutting board and sprinkle with the additional 2 teaspoons rosemary. Tent with foil and let rest for about 10 minutes so that the temperature reaches 135°F for medium rare.
- Cut the steak into thin slices on the diagonal.
- Sprinkle with salt and black pepper and drizzle with additional pomegranate molasses, if desired. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Source: Variation on a recipe from Milk Street, March – April, 2021
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