Back to Recipes

Black Pepper-Crusted Bone-In NY Strip with Smoked Bleu Cheese Butter

Meredith Deeds
Servings

4 to 6

Prep Time

30 minutes

Cook Time

1 hours

Category

Steak

Black pepper and blue cheese go together beautifully. Cracking whole black peppercorns just before using them to coat a juicy, incredibly marbled bone-in strip steak and pan-frying it to perfection allows the pepper to retain the maximum amount of piquant flavor. Topping that pepper-crusted steak with a blue cheese compound butter would be sublime, but this is next-level cooking, so no ordinary blue would do. No, for this steak a smoked blue cheese is in order. Smoked blue cheese gives this pan-fried steak an unexpected flavor and deep, smoky aroma. The butter melts over the warm sliced steak, creating an over-the-top easy, sophisticated sauce. Make sure to serve this dish with a loaf of crusty bread, because you will want to mop up every drop.

Ingredients

    Steaks

    • 2 USDA Prime Bone-In NY strip steak
    • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
    • 2 tablespoons cracked black pepper
    • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

    Compound Butter

    • 2 ounces smoked bleu cheese, room temperature
    • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
    • 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
    • 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

    Directions

      Steaks

      1. Pat steaks dry with paper towels. Season each with 1 teaspoon salt on both sides. Allow to rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 1/2 hours.
      2. Heat oil in a large cast iron skillet over high heat. Pat steaks dry again and season each with 1 tablespoon pepper, pressing the pepper into the steak to help it adhere. Add to hot skillet, and cook, turning frequently until internal temperature has reached 110°F for rare or 130°F for medium about 8 to 12 minutes.
      3. Remove the steak from pan and to rest for 5 minutes. Slice while still warm. Divide among serving plates, top with the blue cheese butter and serve.

      Compound Butter

      1. Smoked bleu cheeses (like Rogue Creamery’s Smoky Blue) is finding its way into cheese cases in general grocery stores, as well as specialty cheese shops all over the country. If you can’t find smoked blue cheese, feel free to use regular blue cheese. Keeping the ingredients at room temperature will make them easy to blend. Make sure the flavored butter is at room temperature when you’re ready to serve. This will ensure it melts easily over the warm steak.
      2. In a small bowl, combine the blue cheese, butter, smoked paprika and garlic. Let stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 1/2 hours. (To make ahead: Keep covered and chilled for up to 2 days. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour before serving.)