Harissa Butter Steak on the Grate
Strip steak over coals with a spiced compound butter, plus asparagus cooked in the same fat.
- calories
- 720
- weight
- 10 oz
- cal / oz
- 72
- protein
- 48 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 20 min
- total time
- 35 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $$$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Grill grate
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- Real dishes
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| New York strip steaks | 4 steaks | about 1 inch thick, kept cold in the cooler |
|---|---|---|
| Unsalted butter | 1/2 cup | softened, blended at home |
| Harissa seasoning | 2 tbsp + 1/2 tsp | dry blend, not the wet paste |
| Chives | 1 tbsp | chopped fine at home; dried chives work |
| Salt | 1 3/4 tsp | divided |
| Pepper | 1 1/2 tsp | |
| Garlic powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Asparagus | 1 lb | ends trimmed at home |
| Olive oil | 2 tbsp |
Method
- At home, mash the softened butter with 2 tbsp harissa, the chives, and 1/4 tsp of the salt. Roll it in parchment, chill, and pack it in the cooler.
- Build a fire and let it burn down to coals. Set the grate over it. You want to hold a hand at grate height for about three seconds, no longer.
- Pull the steaks out and let them sit while the fire settles. Season both sides with the remaining salt, the pepper, and the garlic powder.
- Toss the asparagus with the olive oil and the 1/2 tsp harissa in the pot or a foil tray.
- Grill the steaks 4 to 5 minutes a side for medium rare. Move them off the direct heat if the fat flares.
- Rest the steaks on a plate for 8 minutes. Cook the asparagus on the grate during the rest, turning once, until it blisters.
- Cut a coin of the harissa butter onto each steak and let it run before you cut in.
This is a car-camping dinner because there is no way around it. Strip steak and a butter log both need a cooler, and neither dehydrates into anything worth eating. What travels well is the butter itself: mix it at home and it holds for weeks cold, so at camp you are only managing a fire and a timer.
The compound butter does two jobs. Harissa is a dry spice blend of chiles, garlic, cumin, coriander, and caraway, and fat is what pulls those out. It also replaces a pan sauce, which you cannot make on a grate. The asparagus goes on during the rest so the fire, the grate, and the resting time all get used once.
Packing
The butter log goes in the cooler wrapped in parchment then foil, or it takes on the smell of everything else. Season the steaks at camp, not at home, or they weep in the bag.
Variations
- No cooler and no fire: a cast iron pan on a two-burner does the same thing, though you lose the smoke.
- Ghee mixed with the harissa keeps at ambient temperature for a couple of days and travels better than butter.
https://www.lodgecastiron.com/blogs/recipe/grilled-new-york-strip-steaks-with-harissa-butter