The Brazen Way Dwight Eisenhower Cooked His Steak

Everyone has their own preference when it comes to cooking steak. Some prefer their meat cooked well done. Some are proponents of the reverse sear for the juiciest possible bite. America's 34th president, Dwight Eisenhower, had a preference as well — one that's more unusual: cooked on hot coals.

Eisenhower's preference might have owed a part to growing up in Abilene, Kansas, a town that grew to prominence as one end of a Kansas-to-Texas cattle pipeline, with natural inclinations toward history and outdoorsmanship. He was known to be fond of grilling thick-cut steaks on red-hot coals after applying a simple oil and garlic rub, and, with his signature sense of humor, would impress and shock guests at the White House by cooking in this style.

The former Supreme Commander had a taste for food, loving pickled pig's feet, beef stew, and corn fritters. He even collected and created recipes, including a dessert called prune whip and his own take on vegetable soup, which he believed was best made "a day or so after you have fried chicken and out of which you have saved the necks, ribs, backs, un-cooked" (per the Eisenhower Library). But his most famous impact on the culinary world was his fondness for caveman-style steaks, so much so that Eisenhower steak has become a commonly accepted term for the cooking technique.

Throwing that expensive cut of meat (a three-inch sirloin) straight onto an open fire can sound scary, if not downright wasteful. However, when done correctly, it can lead to surprisingly juicy, flavorful results — though you may have to brush your steak off ever so slightly before chowing down on the delightfully smokey meat.

Dwight Eisenhower's technique for what he called "outdoor steak" was simple. The first step was to let a charcoal fire smolder down to hot coals (still red — not yet ashy). Then, he would coat his sirloin steak in salt, pepper, and garlic powder and throw it into the fire. There, it would cook for about 10 minutes. Lastly, he would take it off direct heat for another 20 minutes, and then dust it off and slice it on the bias. Ike had a taste for rare steak, so cooking times with such a thick cut should be adjusted according to preference. 

Sirloin was Eisenhower's favorite, but a New York strip is another good option for this style of cooking, which is also known as "dirty steak." It's crucial to get high-quality lump wood charcoal, as briquettes contain chemicals that will affect the cook. Fan the ash off the coals with a newspaper before adding the steak to avoid an overly gritty result. A nice topping to an Eisenhower steak is a dab of cowboy butter to really enhance the tender protein.