Cooking With Wine: Floyd Cardoz's Grilled Hanger Steak
Renowned Indian-American chef Floyd Cardoz is a master inventor of delicious, vibrant dining experiences. With a restaurant (or two) always in the works, we're surprised he had time to pen his latest cookbook, Flavorwalla — "flavor seller" in Hindi. Need we say more? Buy the man's flavor book and whip up his simple, seasonal fare at home.
I much prefer hanger steak, with its strong, beefy flavor and pleasing chewiness, to more popular cuts, such as tenderloin, which I find bland and even kind of mushy. But unlike with more mild and tender cuts, you can't just throw a little seasoning on hanger steak and slap it on the grill. This recipe requires some advance planning, since hanger steak is best when it is marinated before cooking. A bold marinade complements the assertively flavored meat and tenderizes it a bit as well. Here I use a red wine with big flavor both to marinate the meat and in a reduced sauce — which incorporates the marinade after the meat is grilled. This way nothing — including all that great flavor — goes to waste. Demi-glace is a highly reduced, flavorful sauce based on dark veal stock. It is a time-consuming process to do at home, so I recommend buying good-quality demi-glace.
Use the widest saucepan you have to make the sauce. The wider it is, the more quickly the sauce will reduce to the proper consistency.
- 2 cups red wine
- 1/3 cup sliced shallots
- 4 garlic cloves
- One 1-inch piece fresh ginger
- Leaves from two 4-inch rosemary sprigs
- 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
- 2 pounds hanger steak
- kosher salt
- 2 cups red wine
- 6 allspice berries
- One 2-inch rosemary sprig
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1/2 to 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
- 1 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
- kosher salt
- 1/2 cup demi-glace
- Reserved marinade
- To prepare the marinade, in a large ziplock bag, combine the wine, shallots, garlic, ginger, rosemary, and pepper. Seal the bag and shake it to blend the marinade. Place the steaks in the bag, seal it tightly, and massage the bag to thoroughly coat the meat with the marinade. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, and up to 24 hours.
- Meanwhile, to prepare the sauce, in a medium saucepan, combine the wine, allspice, rosemary, vinegar, pepper, brown sugar, and salt to taste and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the sauce is reduced to one-quarter of its original volume (roughly ⅔ cup), about 30 minutes. Stir in the demi-glace. (The sauce can be prepared to this point up to 1 day in advance and stored in the refrigerator.)
- When ready to grill the steaks, prepare a high-heat grill.
- While the grill heats, remove the steaks from the bag; reserve the marinade. Pat the steaks thoroughly dry with paper towels. Season with salt. Set aside.
- If necessary, bring the sauce back to a simmer over medium heat. Add the reserved marinade and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until reduced to a sauce consistency (the sauce should coat the back of a spoon), about 20 minutes. Taste and season with salt and/or brown sugar if necessary.
- While the sauce simmers, grill the steaks for 4 to 5 minutes per side for medium-rare, or the desired doneness. Remove the steaks from the grill, transfer to a cooling rack, and let rest for about 6 minutes.
- Meanwhile, strain the sauce and discard the solids.
- Thinly slice the steaks against the grain. Serve with the sauce.