We bought a bbq meat pack recently, from one of the local butchers. And in it were 4 blade steaks. They looked like really decent cuts with just the right amount of marbling, and were nice and large. The first 2 that I bbq’d ended up being a bit tough. I used our usual method of salting / seasoning about 4 hours before bbqing, at room temperature.
They were okay. Nothing great, a bit tough. Which was disappointing because of the salting method using makes for a tasty, yet simple, steak.
So this time around I decided to give them a bit of help in the tenderizing department. I started off by beating them with a meat tenderizer to help break up the strands a bit. Then marinated them for the day in a super garlic’y vinaigrette. The rub mentioned in the recipe below is my all purpose rub, that you can find by clicking here. About an hour before putting onto the bbq, I pulled them out of the fridge to warm up to room temperature, and smeared them heavily with homemade pesto.
These steaks were definitely better. Definitely more tender, both to cut and to eat, and great flavour. If you have a poor cut of meat, beating it up and smearing it with garlic and spices is definitely the way to go.
As a bonus, I got to use some of the fresh basil we just planted! A sweet basil and a super sweet basil.
BBQ Pesto Steaks
Ingredients
The Marinade
- Garlic Vinaigrette
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
The Pesto
- 3 handfuls of fresh basil
- 1/2 c parmesan cheese
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- salt and pepper
- handful of toasted pinenuts
- olive oil
- juice of half a lemon
Instructions
- Use a meat tenderizer on the steaks, pounding both sides. Sprinkle with rub and a dusting of garlic powder. Put in bag with marinade, tossing to coat. Place in fridge for the day or overnight.
- Mix the pesto about an hour before using, salting to taste and adding just enough olive oil to make paste.
- Take steaks out of marinade about an hour before bbqing, giving a good coating of pesto on both sides (do so about an hour before bbq'ing to bring up to room temperature).
- Grill steaks to desired doneness!