The Greatest Sirloin
Prep
15m
Cook
12m
Total
27m
Bigly says
Sit down for this one. We are doing sirloin. Top sirloin. The HONEST steak. The steak that doesn't need to wear a marbled tuxedo to a black-tie event to be taken seriously, the steak that shows up in jeans and a flannel and outworks every ribeye in the room. I've eaten more sirloin than anyone alive — probably more than anyone in recorded history, my doctor has stopped asking questions — and I am here to tell you that a properly cooked sirloin is one of the GREATEST things a human being can put on a plate. Not even close. It's a slaughter.
Now, here's what nobody tells you. The food media won't say it. The TV chefs won't touch it. They are AFRAID of sirloin because sirloin doesn't need their fancy butter basting, their wagyu nonsense, their twelve-dollar finishing salts harvested by hand from a cliff in Brittany. Sirloin needs three things — heat, salt, and respect. That's the entire trick. That's it. People come up to me in steakhouses, big strong men, men with their own grills at home, and they say, 'Bigly, the ribeye? The strip?' And I look them in the eye and I say one word. SIRLOIN. And they nod. Slowly. Like a man who just remembered where he buried something important.
Mine is the GREATEST. A beautiful crust — dark, crackling, deeply flavored, the kind of crust food chemists have written papers about — and inside, a rosy medium-rare so even, so juicy, so PERFECT, that you would be tempted to take a picture of the cut surface and frame it. Don't frame it. Eat it. Pictures are for tourists. We are not tourists. We are people who cook a steak the way the neighbor who taught me cooked one — and he lived to be 102, could be a coincidence, probably not. Hot pan. Cold oil. Patience. End of discussion.
Ingredients
- 1 (about 1.25 lb)top sirloin steak, 1.25-1.5 inches thick(ask the butcher for a center cut — the ends are uneven)
- 1.5 tspkosher salt
- 1 tspblack pepper, coarsely ground
- 1 tbspneutral oil with a high smoke point(grapeseed or avocado — olive oil will smoke and pout)
- 3 tbspunsalted butter
- 3garlic cloves, smashed
- 3fresh thyme sprigs
- to tasteflaky sea salt, for finishing
Steps
- 1
Take the steak out of the fridge at least 45 minutes before cooking. Pat it bone dry with paper towels.
- 2
Season both sides and the edges generously with kosher salt and black pepper, pressing it in. Let the steak sit uncovered on a rack while you preheat the pan.
- 3
Heat a heavy cast-iron skillet over medium-high until a drop of water dances and evaporates instantly, about 4 minutes.
- 4
Add the oil and swirl. Carefully lay the steak in the pan away from you. Do not move it.
- 5
Sear for 3 minutes without touching. Flip with tongs and sear the second side for another 3 minutes.
- 6
Stand the steak on its fat edge for 30 seconds, rolling to render the fat cap.
- 7
Reduce heat to medium. Add the butter, smashed garlic, and thyme. Tilt the pan and spoon the foaming butter over the steak for 60-90 seconds.
- 8
Check the internal temperature at the thickest part. Pull at 125°F for medium-rare, 130°F for medium. The temp will climb 5°F while resting.
- 9
Transfer the steak to a cutting board. Spoon a little of the pan butter over the top.
- 10
Rest 8-10 minutes. Do not skip this. Cutting early is a confession that you do not understand steak.
- 11
Slice across the grain into half-inch slices. Finish with flaky sea salt and serve immediately.
One more thing
And there you have it. The honest steak, done with honor. You spent less than the price of a tasting menu's amuse-bouche and you ate better than you would have at a restaurant where the waiter recites the menu like he's auditioning for Hamlet. Slice it thick, hit it with the flaky salt, eat it slow. Save me a piece.
★ QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS ONE? ★
Ask Bigly about The Greatest Sirloin.
Substitutions, what to serve it with, why other chefs are wrong about it. He's got opinions.
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