Gaucho Ribeye

"I always thought filet mignon

 was the steak to beat, but the

 fat content in a ribeye is fantastic."

*Neil Patrick Harris*

When it comes to steaks, make mine a bone-in ribeye every single time. I just love the deep marbling and the luscious taste of fat on my tongue. While it is said that the bone helps to contribute to the robust taste of this cut of beef, truth-be-told is that I live to hold the bone in my fingers and gnaw off every little shred of meat until the bone is bare.

The rub I am sharing with you today comes from Argentina...the beef capital of South America. The Argentines take their beef and grilling very seriously. Accordingly, this is one seriously delicious rub. And when I grill, I'm going to cook the ribeye over charcoal and a little wood smoke. But this is not going to be any ordinary wood smoke. Meet my secret weapon:

What you see before you are chunks of oak. But these chunks of oak do not come right from the tree. These oak chunks are from the barrels that were used to age Cabernet Sauvignon. So not only does the steak get infused with the oak scent, it also gets infused with the scent of Cabernet Sauvignon. And believe you me....you can really taste the wine in your steak. You can get these spectacular wood chunks here: http://charcoalstore.com/products/Wood-Chunks/CH-7079.html

If you are going to go full-in for the Argentine experience, you must wash down your steak with a Malbec from Argentina. The grapes thrive in the high-altitude districts like Luan de Cuyo and Uco Valley. Malbec is a deep magenta color and your tongue will enjoy the flavors of black cherry, blueberry, blackberry, cocoa, coffee and tobacco leaf. It's a spectacular wine at a very reasonable price.



INGREDIENTS


For the Steaks
4, bone-in ribeye, about 16 ounces each and 1 1/4 inches thick


For the Gaucho Rub
5 tsp Kosher salt
2 TBS black pepper
2 TBS mild red chile powder
1 TBS garlic powder
1 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp rosemary


DIRECTIONS

1. Combine rub ingredients and mix thoroughly. Apply rub to both sides of meat, coating well. Wrap steaks in saran wrap and refrigerate overnight (or at least 4 hours).
2. Prepare a grill for direct cooking over high heat.
3. When coals are white hot, add 3-4 wine chunks to fire. Then place steaks on grill. Cover grill and cook for 6 minutes. Then flip steaks, cover grill and cook for 5 more minutes. *
4. Remove steaks from grill and tent with foil. Let the steaks rest for 5 minutes, then serve.

*The cooking times noted here are for a medium rare steak. For steaks of different sizes or different degree of doneness, go here: http://terrygruggen.blogspot.com/2013/03/steak-cooking-guide.html



Wine pairing: Argentine Malbec