Badly Bungled Black ‘n’ Bleu Bon Voyage

My dear wife is gone on a vacation with her mother, so the cats and I are baching it. When I asked her what she wanted for her last meal on the Egg before she left, she said she had a craving for a big ol’ steak topped with bleu cheese.

I decided to try a black ‘n’ bleu version using a nice pair of a dry-aged New York strips and my cast iron griddle. The black is the nicely charred black pepper crust and the bleu is the simple bleu cheese sauce on top.

2 – 8 to 10-ounce New York strip steaks
Olive oil
Freshly-ground black peppercorns
Kosher or sea salt
2 tablespoons bleu cheese crumbles
1 tablespoon heavy cream

I drizzle both sides of the the steaks with olive oil and then seasoned them with a few grinds of salt and pepper. I let the steaks sit out at room temperature while I got the grill fired up and made the sauce.

I set the Big Green Egg up for a direct cook at nuclear temps (700+°F). When the grill was roaring like a dragon, I put the griddle directly on the grate and let it heat up for about 15 minutes.

I made the cheese sauce by working the cream into the crumbled cheese with a  fork until everything is combined, but still a little chunky. I stuck it in the fridge to set up a little.

Been wondering where the bungled part comes in? See that harmless looking griddle? I tossed the steaks on there for what was supposed to be 3 minutes per side.

Let’s just say that there was much smoking and sizzling. So much so that I flipped the steaks early at 2 minutes. Whoa – that’s some serious char.  By the time I got my Thermapen out of the drawer and checked the temp they were both at 135°F internal and headed into that dreaded grey zone called “well done.”

Hoping against hope, I pulled the steaks off and let them rest for 10 minutes. Then topped them each with a scoop of the bleu cheese sauce and served them with a salad, baked potato, and sauteed mushrooms.

The Verdict: ★★★☆☆
I feared the steaks were ruined, but they ended up tasting great – the black pepper offset the bleu cheese in a way that made the steaks rich, but not over the top. The char was perfect and the steaks were still a bit juicy, but they were badly over-cooked.

Luckily my dear wife is very forgiving and enjoyed her meal. I’ll try these again, but next time I’ll dial down the heat to the 500°F range and flip them once a minute, checking the temp more often.

She’s back in 10 days, maybe she’ll send home fresh salmon, and we’ll have surf and turf!

5 thoughts on “Badly Bungled Black ‘n’ Bleu Bon Voyage”

  1. Dave — It appears you use a BGE. I too have one. My father has done steaks similar for 40-50 years on an outdoor fireplace. I copied his use of a simple steel plate on my egg. My believe, steel not as porous as the cast iron. Rock salt liberally sprinkled on the hot steel — then as much butter as you think you can stand. The salt will contain the butter some from running off a less than level grill. Then, yes, 2 minutes a side. The butter sears the meat and the salt give it a wonderful taste. If I knew how to post a picture I’d show you piece I had cut to fit on BGE. All the same —- your steaks look great!

  2. Thanks! I’ve seen a similar method with steel disks from a plow. I’ll have to try salt and buttering the pan next time.

  3. If those are “bungled” I’d still take that over most restaurant steaks, wouldn’t you? Nicely blackened steaks!

    1. Thanks – yeah they tasted great, now it’s just a matter of tinkering to get that lovely char and medium rare.

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