Outer Banks Recipe Corner: Pirate Steak

I almost titled this new – and completely awesome – blog series “Outer Banks Gourmet,” but then I realized that we really aren’t a gourmet crowd around here.

Don’t get me wrong, we love great food, and the Outer Banks has some exceptional restaurants (ever been to Colington Cafe? No?! You need to go!), but the beach is all about big, messy meals, with shells and juice flying around and big groups being loud and having fun. More party, less gourmet.

So I went with the more aptly-titled Outer Banks Recipe Corner. Any guesses what we’ll be discussing?

Ding, ding, ding. OBX recipes. You’re smart.

And I think this subject is long overdue. I know how it is, you get here with a house full of people, and you’re ready to throw-down OBX style, and then you realize you don’t know what OBX style is. Or you return home after a great week of throwing-down OBX style, and you yearn for more, but where do you turn?

Don’t worry, we have you covered. This is your spot for all sorts of tasty goodies with an Outer Banks flare.

Stay tuned, we’ll be sharing all sorts of great Outer Banks recipes, but let’s start with a necessity for all your primal food lovers; Pirate Steak. So OBX, right? Pirate! Love it! Now you have a reason to say Arrrggghh while you’re eating.

Now go out and consume some awesome OBX food. Oh, and by the way, please share your amazing creations with us; we’d love to hear all about your good food and good times.

Got any great Outer Banks recipes to share? Please send ‘em our way…just use the comments section below.

Have fun!

PS – If you’d rather not cook tonight, take a look at our OBX Eats series for some awesome Outer Banks restaurant reviews.

Ingredients:

• Beef tenderloin
• Marinade:
  • Olive oil
  • Lemon juice
  • Montreal seasoning (standard mix of pepper and spices)

Directions:

1. Start with one whole tenderloin.  One piece comes in a long bag and weighs between 4 and 6 lbs on the average.
2. Take the whole tenderloin out of the bag.  The bottom will have sections of thin white sinuous material.  Take a knife and remove this by running the knife carefully under the white making sure not to take off too much meat.  It will take 10 minutes to do this carefully and is worth it when you go to eat it.  It does not have to be perfect – just get the major sections off.
3. The larger tenderloins should be cut into three sections. On a larger piece you will notice that one end is very thick, the other end thin and the middle section is uniform and cylindrical.  Cut the large end where it starts to taper into the middle section.  Cut the thin end where it starts to taper away from the uniform middle piece.
4. Now you have three sections.  This will ensure that you are able to cook the whole piece correctly because the large end needs more time than the small end. (On the grill you would never be able to get it all cooked correctly if still in one piece).
5. All pieces get marinated in the following:
   • Olive oil
   • Lemon juice
   • Montreal seasoning
6. In a pan or plastic bag, put enough olive oil to generously coat all of the meat.  Squeeze the juice of one lemon for a whole tenderloin.  Coat all sides of the tenderloin pieces in olive oil and lemon juice.  Cover all pieces generously in Montreal seasoning. Really shake it on so that the tenderloin is almost completely covered. Let marinade for several hours – or overnight if you like more flavor.
7. If you are cooking on the grill, sear the meat first on high heat.  Ideally you need some flame because you don’t want all of the Montreal seasoning to stay on the steak – so you actually burn some of the pepper mix off.  Depending on your taste, I also scrape some of the excess Montreal seasoning off as I grill.  However, if you are enjoy spicy flavor, leave it on.
8. Monitor your steak carefully. This fine cut of meat can go from “almost done” to done very quickly.  If you are grilling over the fire, rotate frequently and check with a thermometer or by cutting the meat.
9. The large head is almost thick enough to be a roast, and needs to be treated that way.  In a restaurant you would see this piece cooked as a Chateau Briand, usually for two persons or more.  You cook it, then take it off the grill and let it rest for ten minutes before you slice it. (It will continue to cook while resting.)  This ensures that the juices do not drain out of the meat when it is sliced. Slice pieces to desired thickness.
10. The uniform middle section is typically what you see as a filet mignon in a restaurant.  In this case though, when you are cooking for many, keep the whole section together.  You can also cut into individual steaks if you want to. However, you would not marinade individual steaks the same way because the marinade would become too overpowering.  Cook to desired doneness and slice pieces as needed.  The uniform middle section does not need to rest as the big section does after cooking.
11. The small section or tail is typically used in other dishes because of its size and the fact that that portion is not uniform.  You would see this portion of the tenderloin used in a beef stroganoff, or other dish where a fine cut of meat and smaller pieces are needed.  (This end will cook quickly and is most often consumed by the chef while grilling under the guise of quality control.)
12. Enjoy!