Smoked Paprika and Balsamic Steak with Garlic Herb Butter

Smoked Paprika and Balsamic Steak with Garlic Herb Butter

Happy Canada Day! Many grills will get sparked up to celebrate our nation's 145th birthday today so I decided to feature a simple but incredibly tasty marinade for those holiday weekend steaks. Since the garden has finally come to life here in Newfoundland and my herb garden is in full  growth mode, I've also borrowed the steakhouse idea of  melting delicious herb and garlic butter oozing down over the succulent, perfectly grilled steak. The red color from the paprika and the contrast of the beautiful creamy yellow butter makes for a beautiful presentation that will have any carnivore salivating.

I add a little honey to this marinade because I like the fact that the natural sugar caramelizes on the grill to create great grill marks and extra char flavor but this an optional ingredient.
As with all grilled marinated steaks, the marinating should take place in the fridge but the steaks should be taken out of the fridge for a half hour to an hour before grilling. Grilling a cold steak can make it very difficult to cook the steaks to the perfect level that you prefer and can also make your steak tougher.

• 4 strip loin steaks

Smoked Paprika Marinade

Mix together:

• 6 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 clove finely minced garlic
• 3 tbsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp honey

Add the steaks and marinade to a Ziploc bag, push out as much air as possible and seal. Work the marinade all over the steaks inside the bag. Marinate in the fridge for one to three hours, flipping the bag over at least once. Let the steaks come up to room temperature before grilling. Serve with melting garlic herb butter.

Garlic Herb Butter

Begin by lightly sautéing together over medium low heat:

• 2 to 3 cloves minced garlic
• 4 tbsp butter

You only want to soften the garlic here and not brown it so it will only take a minute or two. Don't have your pan too hot. Cool the garlic and then mix it together with:

• 1 cup soft butter
• 3 - 4 tbsp chopped fresh herbs of your choice. I used chives, oregano and rosemary.

Place the prepared butter onto some plastic wrap and form into a log. Refrigerate until the shape of the log stays intact but take the butter out of the fridge to warm up to room temperature before serving.