The Faux Butter Basting Technique For Juicy Grilled Steak
There's no one right way to cook a steak, and that's a wonderful thing. Given the array of steak cuts and the range of preparation methods, the variety of what a creative cook can achieve leaves plenty of room for experimentation. While cooking your steak in a cast iron pan gives you the opportunity to baste your steak with butter while you cook it, there's no denying that cooking your steak on the grill introduces delicious flavor as well. However, our faux butter basting technique gives you the best of both methods.
A steak seared on the grill is, without a doubt, one of life's simplest pleasures. And if you're the one at the helm, perhaps you choose to add a little smoke by using wood chips or pride yourself on achieving perfect grill marks. But once you try our faux butter basting technique, no steak will be complete without it. When you watch a cooking show, you'll see expert cooks furiously basting a steak with butter, sometimes with the herbs themselves, and here's the secret: you can create that herb-infused buttery goodness all on its own simply by melting butter in a saucepan and letting fresh herbs like rosemary and thyme steep for a bit.
How do you use your butter infusion?
There aren't any set rules for your butter infusion; you can play with flavors to your heart's content. Fresh rosemary from the garden, a clove of garlic, some crushed red pepper, fresh citrus zest, thyme, sage, or tarragon from a planter ... feel free to use whatever strikes your fancy. Once you've added your herbs and flavorings to hot melted butter, simply hold that warm, fragrant infusion until you've brought your steak off the grill, perfectly cooked to your liking.
When you're ready to plate your meal, drizzle the infused butter over the steak as it rests, layering on both richness and flavor. You won't need a ton of butter per steak — a tablespoon or two for each steak is plenty. A light touch keeps your steak from swimming in butter, and the gentle infusion of the herbs in that butter means the flavors complement the steak rather than overpowering it. Any leftover infused butter (if you're lucky enough to have some) would be heavenly drizzled over baked or roasted potatoes or even some grilled asparagus or corn.