An “urban cantina” in Santa Monica where we have lingered over delicious, creative meals is the Border Grill, that L.A. institution overseen by Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger. I was happily surprised to see these two chefs profiled in a “Cooking Class” feature written by Karen Kaplan in the January 1986 issue of Bon Appétit. The Border Grill had only recently opened, and the chefs were also launching City Restaurant at the time.
In the article Milliken and Feniger offered 3 menus for dinners that were French, Portuguese, and Mexican-inspired. Garlic-stuffed steaks accompanied by rajas, a rich mix of peppers, cheese and cream were the centerpiece of the Mexican menu.
The simple ingredients meshed with complex flavors and beautiful colors of these recipes appealed to me. I liked that the steak recipe called for a lot of garlic—8 cloves per ribeye!—but I wanted to revise how to handle this pungent bulb. Milliken and Feniger cooked the garlic that the steaks were stuffed with quite briefly, suggesting only 2 minutes over medium heat in vegetable oil. I decided to cook the garlic much more slowly and use the flavored oil for other parts of the recipe.
Stuffing the steaks around their perimeter with the roasted garlic allowed the mellow garlic flavor to permeate the interior of the meat. It’s a pretty easy step that can be done hours before grilling the steaks, but really transforms the meat.
The green onions and serrano chilis that hit the grill while the steaks are resting were quite flavorful. Topping the steaks with lime juice before serving brightened the meat exceptionally well.
This recipe turned out to be a big hit for our dinner. Turning the rajas into a topping for baked potatoes rounded out the meal. These steaks brought the creativity and flavors of the famed Border Grill to our table. What did we think? ¡Muy bueno!
Grilled Garlic-Stuffed Ribeye Steaks
Ingredients
- 2 ribeye steaks --each 3/4 to one inch thick
- 16 cloves garlic
- 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
- 4 green onions
- 4 serrano or jalapeno chile peppers
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 fresh lime cut in half
Instructions
- Peel the garlic cloves, leaving them whole. Place garlic and oil in small skillet over low heat. Cook for 20-30 minutes, turning occasionally until the cloves are golden brown. Remove from the skillet with a slotted spoon. Allow garlic to cool to room temperature. Reserve the flavored oil for the Baked Potatoes with Rajas or another use.
- Cut half of the roasted garlic cloves in half. Reserve the remaining whole cloves of garlic for a garnish. Using a small knife, cut slits in ribeye steaks around the perimeter. Move the knife back and forth within each individual slit to make the opening inside the steak a bit wider than the slit on the outside edge. Twist the knife inside each slit to widen the opening and push ½ garlic clove into slit so that it is not visible on the exterior. Repeat every one inch or so around the steak around the complete perimeter of the steak.
- Season steak on both sides with ground pepper. Refrigerate until 30 minutes before grilling time. (The stuffing of the steaks can be done several hours in advance)
- Allow steaks to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking. Heat a grill pan over medium high heat*. Place steaks on hot grill pan, sprinkle the top with salt according to taste, and cook until browned, flipping once (and salting other side), about 7 minutes per side for medium. When cooked to desired level, remove to heated plate and cover with foil. Allow to rest 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, place green onions and chiles on grill pan. Cook over medium heat, turning so that they are grilled to desired doneness.
- Place steaks on serving plates. Garnish with green onions, chiles, and roasted garlic. Squeeze juice from fresh lime half over each steak.
- Serve with Baked Potatoes with Rajas or other desired dish.
Notes
Recipe can easily be doubled, tripled, etc. Adapted from Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken in Bon Appétit (Jan. 1986)
