Back in the day She Who Must Be Obeyed and I spent a bit of time in Billings. We had two children under two and I was asked to participate in a fraud scheme that could have earned me 10-20 in federal prison (had I chosen to participate).
Save for the proximity of the under-appreciated northeast corner of Yellowstone and the Bighorn, we consider those days to have been a tad stressful.
One thing we both remember fondly was a blackened prime rib that one of our favorite eateries downtown served. It was incredibly well spiced, tender grass-fed Montana beef.
Blackening a true prime rib is an ambitious project for home, though we’ve had tasty success with blackened ribeyes.
Commercially prepared blackening spices tend to taste a bit stale and are most often too tame; you’ll want to make your own. This particular blackening spice recipe has a subtle but noticeable southwestern twist with the use of chipotle powder in lieu of the traditional cayenne. It’s damned good and works for all manner of seafood and even chicken as well.
The spices shine on nice thick ribeye though, and they’re done best on the grill given the fumes produced if you’re doing this correctly – a very hot skillet – (though you can manage inside with the vent fan humming).
This will in fact probably serve as our Mother’s day meal for the weekend as spring (if not early summer) has finally arrived in our neck of the woods.
6 12-ounce ribeye steaks, better if bone-in, nice and thick (1 to 1.5 inches)
Blackening Spices
1 cup paprika
1 tsp. granulated garlic
1 tsp. chipotle powder
1 tsp. fennel seeds
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. white pepper
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 and 1/2 tsp. salt
Spice it up. Round up the blackening spice ingredients and combine well in a small bowel. (Keep tightly covered in a cool, dark cabinet or pantry corner.)
Dredge it. Dredge the steaks in the blackening spices so they’re well coated; gently shake off any excess. Let sit at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes.
Fire it up. Fire the grill (hot fire). When you’re ready to cook, preheat your biggest, well-seasoned cast iron over the fire until very hot; should take 10 minutes or so.
Blacken it. Place the steaks in the hot skillet and cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side (assuming you’re cooking a 1 to 1and 1/2 inch thick ribeye) until it’s perfect. Pull it a bit pinker than you’d like as these will keep cooking a bit due to the high heat in the pan.
Serve it up. Plate immediately and serve. We’ve served this with a ‘blackened’ (broiled) tomato – tomatillo salsa in the past that is amazing (email or comment if you’d like the recipe…).
Enjoy.
