Coffee Rubbed Skirt Steaks with Avocado-Lime Butter

It seems that I have been travelling for work all over the country this summer. On the few days that I have been home, I want an easy-to-throw-together meal like this beautiful thick strip steak. It may seem like it has a few components and it does, but with a well-stocked griller’s pantry, you can have a great-tasting meal like this with only a few minutes of preparation at mealtime.

Keep a great selection of you favorite store-bought or homemade rubs like my Cowboy Coffee Rub on-hand. It literally takes minutes to prepare and I keep it in a jelly jar in my spice cabinet. I seasoned the steak the night before and when I get home from a long day there it is ready to grill!

Compound butters are another great way to dress up steaks, chicken, vegetables, potatoes, etc. With a stick of softened butter, they really don’t take more than a few minutes to make and you can keep them in the freezer for months. After you mix it together, roll the butter up in parchment paper and freeze. Slice and serve when you need it… Genius! BTW – the Avocado-Lime Butter in this recipe is pretty spectacular. 🙂

By utilizing my griller’s pantry, there are only really a three components to this recipe – steak, rub, and compound butter (plus a little oil for grilling). Easy grilling summer… there’s no reason to heat up the house!

Skirt steak(s), at least 1 1/2-inches thick
Cowboy Coffee Rub (recipe follows)
Olive oil
Avocado-Lime Butter, for serving (recipe follows)
Lime wedges, for serving

Season steaks generously with coffee rub. You can cook them at this point, but they’ll be so much tastier if you allow them to cure in the refrigerator for a couple hours and as long as overnight. If you let them cure, remove from refrigerator 45 minutes before grilling to take the chill off the meat.

Set up grill for cooking over direct high heat. Brush and oil the grates before cooking.

Drizzle steaks with a little olive oil and lay them on the grill at a 45 degree angle to the grates and cook for 3 minutes. Use tongs to rotate the steaks 90 degrees (think 10 and 2 on a clock) and cook for another 3-5 minutes (we’re shooting for medium-rare, cook longer for more well done). Like all things, the actual cooking times will depend on the thickness of your steaks and the actual temperature of your grill.

Again using tongs (never a fork), flip and finish cooking to the desired temperature (125°F to 130°F for medium rare; 130°F to 135°F for medium; 135°F to 140°F for medium well. Carryover cooking will raise the temperature another 5 degrees). Total cooking time with be 6 to 8 minutes per side for medium rare. Let the steak rest for 7 or 8 minutes before cutting into it.

Top with a couple slices of Avocado-Lime Butter and a couple wedges of lime for squeezing over the steak. Oh, and don’t forget the ice cold beer!

Cheers and Happy Grilling!
~Jeff

Cowboy Coffee Rub

makes about 1 cup

1/4 cup finely ground coffee
1/4 cup Bull All Purpose Rub
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoon ground cumin
2 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder

Stir to combine all of the rub ingredients until well combined. Will keep stored in an air-tight container for up to 6 months.

Avocado-Lime Butter

1 half ripe avocado
Juice from 1/2 lime
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1 pinch cayenne pepper

Dice avocado and toss with the lime juice in a small mixing bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and mash with a fork until well blended. Use a rubber spatula and scrape onto a piece of kitchen parchment or plastic wrap. Roll up and twist the the ends to form a cylinder. Refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours until firm. Remove parchment and slice to serve. Can be stored in the freezer for up to 1 month.