
Cowboy Steak With Grilled Red Onion Salad
By Brooke Caison
Approved by the Delish Test Kitchen

Yields:
3 - 4 serving(s)
Prep Time:
25 mins
Total Time:
1 hr 15 mins
Unleash your inner Bill Pickett and feed your whole posse with this hearty, flavorful cut of beef. Cowboy steak is one of the many names for the ever-popular rib eye, with the distinguishing features of a slightly protruding rib bone and a thickness of 2 1/2 to 3 inches. Legend has it that cowboys would eat this cut of meat using the bone as a handle, and that sounds like innovation to me. Rib eye is already praised for its fattiness, which gives the cut its extremely beefy flavor, but leaving the bone in takes the rib eye to a new level. As the meat cooks, the rich, deeply beefy flavors of the bone’s marrow seep into the meat, creating an unbeatable steak-eating experience.
What’s the difference between a rib eye, cowboy steak, and tomahawk steak?
The rib eye is cut from the loin and the shoulder of the cow from ribs 6 through 12. When served with multiple bones, it’s a proud and impressive standing rib roast. When served with just one long (at least 5 inches), frenched bone, it's a tomahawk steak. And when served with a short, frenched bone, it’s a cowboy steak.
What’s the best method for cooking cowboy steak?
Any method you’d use to cook a standard rib eye can be applied to the cowboy steak. My go-to method for large, expensive cuts of meat is the reverse sear, a method that was first introduced to the world by British chef Heston Blumenthal. The method gets its name from the reversal of traditional wisdom for cooking red meats. Instead of starting at a super-high temp and cooking the meat through at a lower temp, it calls for the meat to cook at a low temperature and finish at high heat. Do yourself a favor and protect your meat investment with a corded probe thermometer. It will allow you to closely monitor the internal temperature of the meat and avoid overcooking it. The result is a more evenly cooked steak with a flavorful crust. You can do this with a low oven and a stovetop or even on a grill with two temperature zones.
What do you serve with cowboy steak?
I topped this with a spicy butter that’s a nod to the flavors in Nigeria’s favorite street food—beef suya, which is made from skewers of beef rubbed in suya spice and grilled to tender, spicy, earthy perfection. Some of the traditional Nigerian ingredients that go into suya spice (like kuli kuli or grains of paradise) can be tough to find depending on where you live, so I made a couple of tweaks to keep this easy enough for a busy weeknight. Beef suya is typically served with a spread of fresh tomatoes, red onions, and sliced cucumbers to cut through the spicy, fatty beef. Since I’m not a huge fan of raw red onions, I threw them on the grill instead. Some time on the grill brings out their natural sweetness and gives the onions a softer texture to contrast with the crisp cucumbers.
Store leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Check out this list for our favorite ideas on how to use leftover steak.
Have you made this yet? Let us know how it went in the comments below!
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Ingredients
Cowboy Steak
- 1
(2-lb.) cowboy steak, trimmed
- 2 tsp.
kosher salt
Vegetable oil, for grill or skillet
Suya Spiced Butter
- 1 Tbsp.
roasted unsalted peanuts
- 1
chicken bouillon cube (about 1 tsp.)
- 1 Tbsp.
cayenne pepper
- 2 tsp.
garlic powder
- 2 tsp.
onion powder
- 2 tsp.
smoked paprika
- 1 tsp.
ginger powder
- 3/4 tsp.
kosher salt
- 4 Tbsp.
unsalted butter
Grilled Red Onion Salad & Assembly
- 1
large red onion, sliced into 1/4"-thick rings
- 2 Tbsp.
vegetable oil, divided
Kosher salt
- 1 Tbsp.
fresh lime juice
- 8 oz.
cherry tomatoes
- 8 oz.
Persian cucumbers (about 5" long), sliced into half-moons
- 1/4 cup
packed fresh cilantro leaves
Directions
Cowboy Steak
- Step 1Pat steak dry and season all over with salt.
- Step 2For a gas or charcoal grill: Prepare a grill for 2-zone heat (for a charcoal grill, bank most of the coals on one side; for a gas grill, set one burner to high and one or two burners to medium-low); clean and oil grates and preheat 5 minutes. Place steak over medium-low heat, cover, and grill, flipping halfway through, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part registers 115°, 20 to 25 minutes.
- Step 3Move steak to hottest side of grill and continue to grill, flipping halfway through, until thermometer registers 130° for medium-rare, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer steak to a cutting board, tent with foil, and let rest 5 to 10 minutes.
- Step 4For a cast-iron skillet:Preheat oven to 250°F. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of steak, close to the bone. Place steak on a wire rack set inside a sheet tray and roast until thermometer registers 115° to 117°, 45 to 50 minutes. Tent with foil and let rest 10 minutes.
- Step 5In a large cast-iron skillet over high heat, heat 2 tbsp oil. Sear steak until thermometer registers 130°, 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Transfer steak to a cutting board, tent with foil, and let rest 5 to 10 minutes.
Suya Spiced Butter
- Step 1Using a spice mill or coffee grinder, pulse peanuts and bouillon cube until mixture is fine and crumbly. Transfer to a small heatproof bowl. Add cayenne, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, ginger powder, and salt and stir to combine. Reserve 1 teaspoon spice mixture for salad dressing.
- Step 2In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter, stirring occasionally with a rubber spatula. Cook until foam subsides and milk solids start to brown, about 5 minutes. Pour browned butter over spice mixture and whisk to combine. Cover with plastic wrap and chill until ready to use.
Grilled Red Onion Salad & Assembly
- Step 1Preheat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat on grill or stovetop. Drizzle onion with 1 tablespoon oil; season all over with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Grill onions until both sides are starting to char and soften, 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool slightly.
- Step 2In a medium bowl, whisk lime juice, remaining 1 tablespoon oil, reserved 1 teaspoon suya spice mix, and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Add tomatoes, cucumber, cilantro, and onions and toss to combine.
- Step 3Slice steak against the grain. Serve with butter and salad alongside.
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