Steak With Balsamic Reduction Sauce

Even though I'm not a carnivore anymore, I still cook meat on a regular basis for the Irishman and Parker. This particular recipe is one that the Irishman could eat on an almost daily basis and it also was the first red meat that Parker ever ate...and liked!

The ingredients are: steak, black pepper, 2 tablespoons butter, olive oil and 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar. I usually pair the balsamic sauce with a ribeye, but our local co-op had these great top sirloins, so I picked one up for the Irishman.



I want to bring your attention to the fact that this organic, grass fed top sirloin was less than $5 for 11 ounces. Good quality and humanely raised beef doesn't have to cost more - just go check out your local co-op.

Ok, now you're going to liberally crack fresh pepper on your steak. Go ahead and sprinkle some salt as well.



With your saute pan on med-high heat, add in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter to the pan. Once the butter melts, add in your steak, peppered side down. Go ahead and add pepper and salt to the other side of the steak once it''s in the pan.



After about 3-4 minutes, flip your steak and turn down the heat to medium. Look at that gorgeous caramelized crust.



Once the steak is done to your liking (the Irishman prefers his medium-rare) move it to a plate while you make the sauce.



Once the steak is out of the pan, add in your 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar...



when it starts bubbling, turn the heat down to low and whisk continuously. (It's very important that you don't burn the balsamic vinegar, so make sure you turn it down.)



While you whisk, you want your balsamic to reduce by half. In other words, you want the 1/2 cup to reduce down to 1/4 cup. I usually just tip the pan to see where it's at and when it is the consistency of pancake syrup, it's usually done. As an aside, when you cook balsamic vinegar, you cook off the bitterness and what is left is a sweet, deep flavor.



Now, whisk in the other tablespoon of butter.



Once the butter is melted, pour the reduction over the steak.



I wish that I had a "finished" picture to show you, but the Irishman was standing behind me for the last 5 minutes of this recipe and literally snatched the plate up the second that I finished pouring the sauce. So, while I didn't taste it myself, I took absolute silence of the next 7 minutes to indicate that it was, indeed, a winner.