Ribeye is the most popular steak cut in the UK. It is prized for its rich flavour and tender, heavily marbled texture. The fat renders and bastes the meat during cooking, resulting in a juicy and succulent steak. But cooking ribeye and other steak cuts isn’t always straightforward. First, you must ensure you have the right pan and fat type to cook the meat in.
But most of all, it’s about the seasoning, says cooking expert Stuart Ovenden. Sharing his Borough Market ribeye steak recipe, he suggested ditching standard salt, pepper, and garlic combinations for something else. “Ribeye has a deep, umami-rich flavour that is particularly suited to an earthy mix of coffee and spices”, said Stuart.
Anyone who’s partial to a home-cooked steak will know that salt is the standalone hero ingredient for most grill recipes.
Salt draws moisture to itself and soaks up the meat juices on the surface of your steak. These juices aren’t lost because the salt has absorbed them, but it does create a drier surface on your piece of meat.
This is helpful because it creates a nice crust on the outside of the steak, while the salt stays on the meat, keeping the juices and flavour intact.
Kosher salt is coarse salt, the most common salt used in steak cooking. It has large flakes, which makes it easy to pinch with your fingers and sprinkle over your cut of meat.
Stuart’s rub takes steak to the next level in flavour and appearance, giving the meat a lovely, rich brown crust. He explained that the coffee rub will work on any steak, but ribeye has a particularly complementary flavour.
How to season ribeye steak
Ingredients
- Two tbsp ground coffee
- Two tbsp dark brown sugar
- One tbsp smoked paprika
- One tsp ground coriander
- One tsp garlic powder
- One tsp onion powder
- Two tsp flaky sea salt
- Two tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- 2 x 750g-850g ribeye steaks, roughly 2-3cm thick
- One sprig of rosemary
- One clove of garlic, crushed
You’ll be making more of the rub than you need for this recipe, so store the rest in an airtight tin or container.
It will keep for a month or so and is also great on venison, chicken, and pork.
How to cook a tastier steak
Make the rub by mixing together the coffee, sugar, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper.
Season the steaks with a little salt and pepper, then sprinkle over the rub (approximately two tablespoons per steak). Make sure that the meat is completely covered, including the edges and any fat.
Place on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking tray, then refrigerate for three to six hours.
Remove the steaks from the fridge about an hour before you cook, to allow them to come up to room temperature before cooking. Heat the oven to 200C.
Heat two tbsp rapeseed oil in an ovenproof frying pan or cast iron skillet, then add the rosemary and garlic. Add the steaks and cook for two minutes on each side to create a nice crust, then transfer to the oven for approximately 10 minutes, or until a digital meat thermometer reads 55C (for medium-rare; go for 60C if you prefer medium).
Let the steaks rest for 10 minutes before serving.
These steaks are great with homemade chips and a crisp winter leaf salad, said Stuart.