Recipe: Sirloin Steak with Herb Butter, Blue Cheese Butter, or Cilantro Chili Pepper But

SIRLOIN STEAK WITH HERB BUTTER

"For the sake of convenience, we often turn to a very versatile compound butter to jazz up weeknight dinners. Simply take a stick of butter, add a few other ingredients and mash: blue cheese and shallots for steak, cilantro and chili pepper for fish or minced ginger root and orange zest for chicken. A little goes a long way."

1 stick (4 ounces) butter
1 handful parsley leaves, minced
5 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
Four 6- to 8-ounce sirloin steaks

Preheat the grill, broiler or a heavy skillet.

TO PREPARE THE HERB BUTTER:*
In a small bowl, combine the butter, parsley, garlic, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Using buttered hands, form the mixture into a log about 1 inch in diameter, wrap in foil or plastic wrap and chill or freeze for easier slicing.

TO PREPARE THE STEAKS:
Season the steaks with salt and pepper to taste. Grill, broil or sear the steaks, turning once, until they reach the desired doneness, about 4 minutes for medium-rare. Transfer the steaks to a platter; set aside to rest for 3 minutes.

Remove the butter from the refrigerator or freezer, unwrap about 2 inches of the log and slice the butter into 4 pats. Rewrap the remaining butter and freeze for up to 9 months.

To serve, transfer the steaks to individual plates and top each with a pat of butter.

VARIATIONS:

*BLUE CHEESE BUTTER:
Substitute blue cheese for the parsley, 1 shallot for the garlic and omit the lemon juice.

*CILANTRO-CHILI PEPPER BUTTER:
Substitute cilantro for the parsley, 1 minced red chili pepper for the garlic and lime juice for the lemon juice.

Servings: 4
Adapted from source: Grilling: Where There's Smoke There's Flavor by Eric Treuille and Birgit Erath