Harris Ranch hickory brown sugar steak with whiskey butter

Ingredients

Candied shallots
1 lb. shallots, peeled and chopped
1 cup sugar
1 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup merlot wine
1 cup demi-glace

Whiskey butter
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup candied shallots (see recipe)
1 tbsp. whiskey or bourbon
1 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

Hickory brown sugar rub
1 cup kosher salt
1 tbsp. liquid hickory smoke
4 cups brown sugar
1 cup granulated garlic
1/2 cup table grind black pepper

Steak
3 (14-oz.) ribeye steaks
3 tbsp. olive oil
Sea salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

For candied shallots: Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and low simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until liquid is syrupy. Remove from heat and cool. Refrigerate until needed, up to 3 days. Makes 2 cups. Leftovers can be used to add flavor to mashed potatoes or your favorite pasta recipe.

For whiskey butter: Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Slowly mix together until well incorporated. Makes 1 cup.

For hickory brown sugar rub: Start by making hickory smoked salt: Mix salt and smoke together and spread out on a cookie sheet. Let dry at room temperature or dry in your oven on the lowest temperature. Stir and rub salt between your fingers periodically. Room-temperature salt is ready the next day; oven-dried should be ready in a couple of hours. When dry, combine in a mixing bowl with brown sugar, granulated garlic and black pepper. 

For steaks: Make sure grill is on medium heat, so it doesn't flame up at the meat. Brush room-temperature steaks with olive oil, season with sea salt, pepper and hickory brown sugar rub, and place on grill. Grill for 3 minutes, then spin halfway to make hatch marks. Grill for another 3 minutes. Flip steaks and repeat. Once steaks have an internal temperature of 135 degrees, they should be perfectly medium-rare. Total cook time is 10 to 12 minutes. After that, remove meat from grill and let it rest for 5 minutes. Evenly dispense butter on top of steaks, then slice steak with a sharp knife against the grain and serve. 

Serves 3