15 Ingredients That Will Seriously Elevate Your Steak

Some say that a perfectly seared (or grilled) high-quality steak needs nothing else. That may be true for steak purists, but there are a few things that can take an average steak to the next level. Whether it's a simple seasoning or a flavorful sauce, even the best steaks can benefit from a little extra flavor. While the first bite of a juicy, rich steak is delicious enough on its own, by the tenth bite your mouth may be craving something a little more interesting.

Sometimes it's a blend of rich spices, other times, a piquant sauce. A boost of flavor can turn a cheap, average steak into a mouthwatering meal that you'll enjoy to the last bite. Even pricey dry-aged cuts can benefit from the right kind of side sauce or spice rub. Whether you're looking to "wow" your dinner party guests or just jazz up a weeknight dinner, read on for the best ingredients to elevate your steak.

There are few things in the culinary world that aren't benefitted from a bright hit of fresh herbs. When it comes to steak, there's enough rich, meaty flavor to stand up to even the most flavorful of herbs, including woody ones like rosemary. In fact, rosemary can quickly become overpowering in delicately flavored dishes. But with steak, it's the perfect accompaniment to any cut or preparation.

For seared steaks, a small sprig of rosemary thrown in at the end of cooking with a pat of butter and a clove of garlic makes for the perfect pan sauce. In this perfect bone-in ribeye recipe, the steak gets a double dose of rosemary flavor with a dry rub before the meat starts cooking. For something a little more nuanced, rosemary works great as an aromatic in a classic sous-vide steak recipe. In any preparation, rosemary is more of a flavoring component than an edible herb, so discard the stem before eating.

Even though beef isn't a common ingredient in Indian cuisine, there's no reason not to experiment with Indian flavors for your next steak. You can use masala spice blends as a rub or in a marinade. The heavy punch of spice can easily stand up to the rich flavors of any cut of beef, even super funky dry-aged filets. Masala can refer to a spice blend with any number of ingredients, though most commonly has things like coriander, cardamom, turmeric, ginger, garlic, and chili. 

Why does this combination work? The vibrant depth of flavor in a masala spice blend enhances the richness of a juicy steak. Meherwan Irani of Botiwalla in Atlanta marinates flank steak in a delicious masala marinade before grilling it and serving it as an Indian-style "taco" made with naan bread, sliced red onion, and cilantro. You can easily recreate this at home with either grilled or seared steak. Flank steak is a great option for quick cooking on high heat — the meat will char and toast the spices without overcooking the inside.

Fans of Argentine cuisine are likely familiar with their rich culinary tradition of roasted and grilled steak. Truly authentic Argentinian steak almost always comes with a heavy side of their famous chimichurri. Chimichurri is an herb-based sauce created specifically to work well with beef — but what makes it such a good pairing? The herbs and garlic in chimichurri definitely pack a one-two punch of flavor, but it's the vinegar that brings all those flavors out.

Vinegar can be utilized in a variety of sauces that work great with steak. The punchy, bright, tart flavor of vinegar works in harmony with the salty richness of the steak to really make the dish come alive. Vinegar is one of the key ingredients in most barbecue sauces and a crucial component of one of the most ubiquitous steak sauces: A1. For a super simple iteration, try hitting your steak with a little splash of balsamic or sherry vinegar while it's resting.

Garlic and steak are a match made in heaven. One of the most basic preparations of a perfectly seared steak involves adding a few cloves of garlic into the pan right at the end along with a tablespoon or two of butter to create a rich pan sauce. The hot butter gets spooned over the steak to help bring it to the proper temperature and to ensure a golden-brown crispy crust that oozes with hot garlic butter flavor.

For an even more simple approach, one of the quickest ways to elevate a steak's flavor is to simply rub a cut clove of garlic all over the steak once it's finished cooking. This quick trick imparts a subtle garlic flavor without overpowering the beef. If you're roasting your steak, you can always throw in a couple of heads of garlic at the same time. Then, spread the softened cloves on bread or on bites of steak for a flavor-packed experience.

Most people feel like they can never cook at home and achieve quite the same flavors as professional chefs do in restaurants. But this is largely due to the jaw-dropping amount of butter used in most kitchens. Whether it's mounted in a sauce or tossed in with sauteed vegetables, butter (and its dressed-up cousin compound butter) will undoubtedly improve the flavor of any dish it's in.

Compound butter is the secret to those ultra-delicious steakhouse cuts that are dripping with intense flavor. The best application is to add a small pat to the top of a resting, just-finished cooking steak. Most compound butters use a combination of herbs and other aromatics — like garlic and shallots — that are infused into the butter so that every molecule is riddled with flavor. For a more adventurous flavor profile, chef Ed Lee makes a kalbi-inspired compound butter that's laden with soy, ginger, and red chili. For a bold twist, you can also make a boozy compound butter with whisky or vermouth.

Jam has so many uses beyond just toast. Think of it like an easy shortcut to adding a hit of fruit flavor to a savory meat dish. There are tons of meat recipes that benefit from the sweetness of fruit, from sausage with grapes to pork chops and apples. To kick up your next steak, consider making a tart and sweet jam-based sauce to serve on the side. This unexpected condiment will definitely elevate any cut of steak you serve it with. 

Make sure to choose the right jam for this application. Dark red fruits like cherry or blackberry will pair much better with the rich flavor of steak. Lighter fruit jams like apricot or orange marmalade are too acidic and will either get lost amidst the steak's flavor or clash in a weird way. If fruit jams seem too sweet, consider trying a savory onion or pepper jam. Mix the jam with spices, a little vinegar, and chopped onion or garlic to make the perfect sauce, or use it as a spread on a tasty steak sandwich.

What happens when you combine two of the best types of meat in the known universe? A match made in heaven. Bacon-wrapped steaks are the sumptuous, decadent treat that your weeknight dinners have been missing. Wrapping a cut of beef in bacon before cooking can introduce flavor and complexity thanks to the smoke and fat present in bacon. In technical cooking terms, this is sometimes called barding, a process that adds strips of fat to the outside of a lean cut of meat for the purpose of adding flavor and preventing moisture loss while cooking (via Reluctant Gourmet). 

Typically, the cuts that work best for wrapping in bacon are those that are already somewhat lean. Filet mignon and tenderloin are the most commonly used cuts for this type of preparation. If you want to add that smoky bacon flavor in a different way, you can always top your steak with a tasty bacon jam after cooking.