The Best Steak Recipe Ever

Osteria Mozza is hands down our favorite recipe in Los Angeles. It just never EVER disappoints. We love lots of other places, but time and time again when we have a special occasion or are just desperate for a lovely meal sans toddler we head here. I love the pastas, especially the orrechiette with fennel sausage and chard (so good!!!). Mike's favorite dish is the steak, or the porcini rubbed bistecca to be exact. Recently he completed a very stressful job so I wanted to recreate his beloved dish at home. I actually have the Mozza cookbook at home but their version sounded a bit different then the recipe the waiters described to us on a recent visit.

Here is a simple version I found on-line from the executive chef Matt Molina. It was beyond easy to make and so freaking good. I didn't even use a rib-eye cut, because Whole Foods didn't have it available and it turned out great. I just modified the portions. I think this would work great with any old steak cut:

Tagliata of Porcini-Rubbed Rib Eye

INGREDIENTS

1.     3/4 ounce dried porcini mushrooms, finely ground in a spice grinder (I used the Vitamix and it worked great)

2.     2 tablespoons sugar

3.     1 tablespoon kosher salt

4.     1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

5.     1 tablespoon crushed red pepper

6.     5 garlic cloves, minced

7.     1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

8.     One 3 1/2-pound bone-in rib eye steak (3 inches thick)

9.     Balsamic vinegar, for drizzling

1.     In a bowl, mix the porcini powder, sugar, salt, black pepper, red pepper, garlic and olive oil. Rub the paste all over the steak. Cover and refrigerate for 12 hours or overnight. Scrape off the excess paste; let the steak stand at room temperature for 1 hour.

2.     Light a grill, or heat a grill pan and preheat the oven to 450°. Grill the steak over medium heat for about 25 minutes per side, until crusty and brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center registers 125° for medium-rare. Alternatively, brown the steak in a grill pan over moderately high heat, about 12 minutes per side, then roast in the oven for about 40 minutes. Let the steak stand for 15 minutes.

3.     Slice the meat across the grain, drizzle lightly with balsamic vinegar and serve with an arugula salad.