Want to make a meal that’s easy yet impressive? Start with steaks—every guest feels indulged by a steak. Then grill those steaks—easy peasy. Then when they come off the grill, top them with a couple of pats of mouthwateringly flavorful, silky-sexy lemon-thyme butter. The butter will melt into the just-cooked steaks, flavoring them and making a small pool of sauce to swipe onto every elegant bite.
For more about easy, elegant summer entertaining, read this post. For more about flavored butter, read this post.
Serves 4
- 4 steaks, about 1 inch thick, excess fat trimmed (see note)
- 2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- About 6 tablespoons Lemon-Thyme Butter (recipe below)
Prepare a grill to medium-high and lightly oil the grate. Sprinkle the steaks with the salt and pepper and grill until cooked to your liking, about 4 minutes per side for medium-rare or 5 minutes per side for medium. (For more about how to tell when meat is done, read this post.)
Transfer the steaks to plates or a platter and top with the Lemon-Thyme Butter. Set aside to rest, loosely covered with foil, for 5 minutes before serving.
Lemon-Thyme Butter
Makes about 1 1/3 cups
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
1 large shallot, cut into chunks
Zest of 2 lemons
Salt to taste
In the bowl of a food processor, combine the butter, thyme, shallot, and lemon zest and pulse to combine, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Add salt to taste.
Transfer the butter mixture to a sheet of parchment or waxed paper, fold the paper over the butter, then use something with a straight edge, like a ruler, to push the butter into a log. Roll the log up in the paper, cover with plastic wrap, and store in the refrigerator for up to a week or in the freezer for several months. To use, slice off as many pats as you need, then re-store.
NOTE One of the beautiful things about steak is that it comes in single-serve portions—everyone can have the cut they like best. So buy whatever kind you choose, but note that cooking times for, say, filet mignon might vary from, say, a rib-eye.
