Steak with Lime Mojo

Some people think beef tenderloin should be reserved for prissy date night celebration dinners only. I mean don't we usually wrap the thing in bacon, or top it off with hollandaise with crab or bernaise sauce and call it special?

Well, I'm about to blow that theory all to heck - not that hot August Friday nights aren't enough reason to celebrate that is. You see Sprouts, our favorite market where we buy darn near 99 percent of our meat, had a sale on filet steaks last week and while this recipe from Fine Cooking specifically called for "cube steak", it was more per pound by a longshot than the filet so I thought why not? I mean wouldn't you rather have a filet than a beat up hunk of round any old day? Yeah, that's what I thought too!

I tied our filets up into nice tight little rounds, gave them a pat dry and a dusting of coarse ground black pepper and then went ahead with making the mojo. Mojo is a garlicky citrus sauce popular in Latin American cooking that's used to add flavor with a capital "F" to darn near anything. In this instance, orange juice, lime, lots of garlic, fresh oregano and cumin all go into this scrumptious marinade.

The point is however, not to marinate the meat for longer than 10 minutes or it'll turn to mush and heaven knows filet can be mushy enough without benefit of too much citrus. 

Cooked on a hot gas grill to the perfect medium rare for me, and blue rare for you know who, the filets are topped with sauteed onions and sweet red pepper that benefit from a splash of reserved marinade. Served with a side of black beans mixed with a little corn, some jalapeno, red onion, a little of the marinade and a nice fresh tomato, our weekend started off with a definite Latin flair.  

Give this one a try when you've a chance because I doubt you'll be diasappointed. The fresh flavor's quite spectacular and I for one will be trying the mojo out again using other proteins, like maybe chicken, pork or lamb. Can't wait! 

Steak with Lime Mojo (from JBug’s Kitchen adapted from Fine Cooking)

Marinade:

4 cloves garlic, peeled

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon fresh oregano

6 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar

2 beef tenderloin filets, about 6 ounces each

1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 onion sliced

1 red bell pepper, sliced

In blender or small processor, combine garlic, salt, cumin, oregano, lime juice, orange juice and sugar. Process until smooth. Reserve a quarter cup of the marinade and place rest into a flat dish the right size to hold the marinade and steaks.

Tie steaks tightly using kitchen string into nice little rounds. Pat meat dry and season lightly with salt and pepper. Place meat into marinade and allow to sit at room temperature for no more than 10 minutes.

Remove steaks from marinade and grill until done to your tastes. Remove from grill and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Meanwhile sauté onion and red pepper until vegetables are softened.  To serve, remove string from steaks and top with sautéed vegetables. Drizzle with reserved marinade. Makes 2 servings.

A year ago - Brats with Braised Cabbage

Two year's ago - Sticky Ribs with Apricot BBQ Sauce

Three year's ago - Nicoise Salad well kinda'

Comments

[Lea]

There you go working your mojo, again! Beautiful! Totally Beautiful!

[June]

Ha,ha,ha,ha. That's cute!

[Monet]

Delicious! I'm all about steak...any night of the week! Thank you for sharing with us!

[June]

Thank you Monet, and thanks for visiting JBug's Kitchen. I enjoyed reading your blog and look forward to a return visit. Congratulations to you on the new addition to your "Auntiedom". What a beautiful baby!

[Lorraine]

I was thinking pork tenderloin as I was reading the recipe, but I take this beef any day of the week for sure.

[June]

Lorraine - I know, I was surprised how good it was. We've had a Cuban style pork roast a la' mojo here before too and it is darned delicious.