An Inspired Cook

It was a  perfect weekend for firing up the grill and being outdoors.  I think everyone in the neighborhood was feeling it.  You could smell the grillin in the air and we were no exception.  At the farmer’s market I found fresh lettuce and had to have a bunch of the spring mix.   I also picked up some red potatoes for a roasted potato salad that served as my side dish that I plan to share soon.  I put up a skirt steak in the freezer a couple weeks ago and thought it would be perfect to layer over top of my salad mix.  A chipotle glaze would taste good but how to flavor it?   I was on the fence between raspberries and mangoes but the raspberries won out when I found a large pack of fresh berries on sale.  This sauce turned out to be versatile in that I could set some aside to make a salad dressing with plenty left over to glaze the steak.

I assembled the ingredients for the raspberry chipotle sauce which will become the base for the glaze and salad dressing.  The cast includes fresh raspberries, chipotles en adobo, onion, garlic, raspberry balsamic vinegar, honey, olive oil and salt to taste.

In a medium saucepan drizzle olive oil and saute approximately 1/2 cup finely diced onion.

While the onion is sauteing, get a couple chipotles ready to dice.

Chop the chipotles.

Once the onions are tender and translucent, grate the 2 cloves garlic and add to the pan.

Stir for just a minute then add the diced chipotle into the saucepan.

Rinse your raspberries and drop into the saucepan.  As they start to heat up and break down use your wooden spoon to smash them down.

You can use any raspberry flavored vinegar but this raspberry balsamic from the Tasteful Olive has a strong raspberry flavor that really infuses the sauce.

Add the raspberry vinegar and inhale!

Josh picked up this creamy honey that I’ve been dying to try out.  I just love the color and the creaminess.

I added 1/2 cup of the honey.  Stir together and heat for a couple minutes to break down all the sugars from the honey.

It’s thick with seeds from the raspberries and chipotles.  Run the sauce through a strainer moving your spoon in a circular motion.  The liquids will easily strain through leaving about 1 1/2 cups of sauce.

I set aside 1/2 cup of the sauce for the salad dressing and will place the remaining sauce on the stove to simmer.  Stir often about 20 – 30 minutes.

The sauce will thicken and reduce by about half.  This proved to be more than I needed for the amount of steak that I grilled but it should keep in the fridge for future grilling.

I had set aside 1/2 cup of the raspberry chipotle sauce.  All it needed was some olive oil to make a tasty salad dressing.  I drizzled in about 2/3 cup of olive oil while whisking furiously

I made a rub for the steak consisting of ancho chili powder, black and red (which is equal parts red and black pepper), smoked spanish paprika, brown sugar and salt.

There was 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 teaspoon ancho chili powder, 1 teaspoon smoked spanish paprika, 1/2 teaspoon black and red, 1/2 teaspoon salt.  Mix it all together until it’s crumbly.

Like this.

My skirt steak was almost 1 1/2 pounds.  I generously rubbed the spices over the steak on both sides.

I drizzled a little olive oil and placed it on the hot grill and basted some of the chipotle glaze over top.

This steak was thin and only needed about 3 minutes on each side.

We like our steak medium rare and it was perfect at 3 minutes on each side.  I’d give it a minute more on each side for medium.  Set it aside to rest while you got the salad plates ready.

My farmer’s market salad was fresh and colorful but needed a good wash and spin before going on the plate.

Slice the steak thin and layer over your salad greens.  Drizzle some raspberry chipotle dressing over top.


Raspberry Chipotle Steak Salad

1 1/2 pounds Skirt Steak
Steak Rub, recipe follows
Raspberry Chipotle Glaze, recipe follows
Fresh Salad Greens
Raspberry Chipotle Salad Dressing, recipe follows

Generously rub steak seasoning over skirt steak, drizzle with olive oil and place on a hot grill.  Baste steak with raspberry chipotle glaze and grill 3 minutes on each side for medium rare, a minute more on each side for medium.  Let rest 5 minutes.  Slice thin across the grain and serve over fresh salad greens with raspberry chipotle salad dressing.

Raspberry Chipotle Sauce (adapted from Mexconnect)

1/2 cup Onion, small dice
2 cloves Garlic, grated with a microplane hand grater
2 Chipotles en Adobo, finely chopped
12 ounces fresh Raspberries, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup Raspberry Vinegar
1/2 cup Honey
Salt to taste

In a medium saucepan drizzle olive oil and saute diced onion over medium heat until onions become soft and translucent.  Add grated garlic and  chopped chipotles and stir for a minute more.  Add the fresh raspberries and stir while the raspberries heat up and start to break apart.  Add the raspberry vinegar and honey.  Stir while all the ingredients combine.  Salt to taste.

Remove from heat and strain the sauce to remove any seeds remaining from the chipotles and raspberries.  Set aside 1/2 cup of the sauce to be used for a Raspberry Chipotle Salad Dressing.  Place the remaining sauce back into the saucepan and simmer over medium low heat stirring often for 20 – 30 minutes.  The sauce will thicken and reduce by half turning into a thick basting glaze.

Raspberry Chipotle Salad Dressing

1/2 cup Raspberry Chipotle Sauce, strained
2/3 cup Olive Oil
Whisk 2/3 cup olive oil into raspberry chipotle sauce.

Steak Rub

1 tablespoon Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon Ancho Chili Powder
1 teaspoon Smoked Spanish Paprika
1/2 teaspoon Black and Red Seasoning (equal parts black and red pepper)
1/2 teaspoon Salt

Combine all ingredients into a small bowl.  Use as a rub for steak or ribs.