This classic French bistro cut, the hanger, is also referred to as onglet or butcher's steak. It hangs right below the diaphragm of the steer, and there is only one per animal.
The reason it is called the butcher's steak is because while everyone else is eating the flavorless tenderloin, the butcher is chowing down on this super-flavorful cut.
Yes, you have to cut it across the grain and yes, you will have to chew, but trust me - it is all worth it when you bite into this delicious muscle. Leave the pricey tenderloins for the suckers and buy some hangers. You'll quickly realize that the butchers have known all along: This steak rocks.
Lola Steak Sauce, a reduction of balsamic, red wine vinegar, anchovies, garlic and spices, has good acidity and sweetness to help balance the deep rich flavors of the meat. Pickled chilies contribute acidity, too, as well as some heat. Because the hanger has such strong flavor, with notes of iron and liver, it needs these intense contrasting notes.
Grilled hanger steak with steak sauce and pickled chilies Serves 6
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds, crushed
- 1 teaspoon ancho chile powder
- 4 pounds hanger steak, trimmed of fat and connective tissue
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 cup pickled chilies, sliced
- ½ cup picked onions
- 1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
- Lola Steak Sauce (see below)
- Combine the salt, sugar, coriander, and chile powder in a small bowl and coat the steaks with the mixture. Refrigerate overnight or for up to 2 days.
- Remove the steaks from the refrigerator 30 minutes before you want to cook them.
- Build a hot fire in your grill (or use grill pan). Brush the steaks with half the olive oil and grill them for 3 minutes per side for medium rare. Remove from the grill and let rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
- While the steaks are resting, in a medium bowl toss the pickled chilies, onions, parsley and remaining olive oil together.
- Slice the steaks against the grain, divide among 6 plates, and top with the salad and a drizzle of steak sauce.
Over time, I simply got tired of saying no when people asked me for steak sauce; God bless Cleveland, but it's a little too reliant on A1.
This is a delicious balsamic-based sauce that's sweet, acidic, and spicy from the cloves and cumin and picks up some depth from the anchovy. It's a great sauce for simply grilled steaks or game, and it's delicious on a burger.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- ½ cup raisins
- 1 small yellow onion, diced (1/2 cup)
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon whole cloves
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ tablespoon celery salt
- 1 sprig of fresh rosemary
- 1 or 2 salt-packed anchovy fillets, rinsed and chopped (1 tablespoon)
- Combine the balsamic and red wine vinegars, raisins, onion, garlic, brown sugar, cloves, cumin, celery salt, rosemary, and anchovies in a large nonreactive saucepan and cook over medium-low heat until the mixture has reduced by one third.
- Pour through a fine-mesh strainer twice or until you have a nice smooth sauce; discard the solids.
- Let cool, then cover, and refrigerate in a jar for up to 1 month.
Michael Symon is an Iron Chef on Food Network's Iron Chef America. He is the chef and co-owner of Lola, Lolita, and Bar Symon in Cleveland, Ohio, as well as Roast in Detroit, Michigan.
He was named the James Beard Best Chef in the Midwest in 2009. He lives in Cleveland with his wife Liz and their three dogs and he has a four handicap in golf.
Food Network's Iron Chef, Food & Wine's "Best New Chef, and James Beard's "Best Chef, Midwest" are just a few of the accolades that Michael has received over the years; and while Michael can play on the biggest stages in American cooking, he prefers his hometown of Cleveland and the cooking of his heritage based on recipes beloved by his Greek-Italian Eastern European-American parents and the community of his favorite Midwestern city.
If you've seen him on Food Network, you know him by his laugh. One look through his cookbook and you'll be hooked on his food. Michael's cookbook is more than a collection of recipes. In LIVE TO COOK, he sets out "to make great food more approachable for home cooks and to do so without dumbing down or simplifying the food or the cooking."
Join Michael Symon on Tuesday, December 1 from 5-7 p.m. for an in-store demo and book signing at
Williams-Sonoma Union Square
340 Post Street
San Francisco, CA 94108
Phone: (415) 362-9450
>> Buy this book on Amazon: Michael Symon's Live to Cook: Recipes and Techniques to Rock Your Kitchen
For more information about Lola, visit www.lolabistro.com
