Dry-Rubbed Skirt Steak

I was watching iconoclasts on the Sundance Channel the other night and they had Chef Mario Batali interview of Michael Stipe of REM. I was pleasantly surprised with the show and the interview. But the show got me thinking that I had never tried any of chef Batali's recipes. So I went online and looked for a non-pasta recipe from him and found this dry-rubbed skirt steak. What's so great about it, you ask? The man uses ground dry porcini mushrooms in the rub. The best part is that you can either grill outdoors, or make it in your broiler. Serve it atop an baby green salad. Manga!

INGREDIENTS (serves 4)

• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon hot red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon finely ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup dry porcini mushrooms, ground to a fine powder in a spice grinder
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 pounds skirt steak, trimmed of fibrous fat
• Best-quality extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
• Best-quality balsamic vinegar, for drizzling

DIRECTIONS

1. In a small bowl, combine the sugar, salt, garlic, red pepper flakes, pepper, mushroom powder, and olive oil and stir well to form a thick, fairly dry paste. Rub the past all over the steak, coating it evenly, and refrigerate, wrapped in plastic for 12 hours or overnight.
2. Pre-heat the grill or broiler and remove the steak from the refrigerator and brush off the excess marinade with a paper towel. Cook on the hottest part of the grill for four minutes on one side then turn carefully with tongs and cook three minutes on the other side.
3. Allow the steak to rest for three to five minutes, then slice against the grain. Drizzle with the olive oil and the balsamic vinegar and serve immediately.

Recipe courtesy of Mario Batali copyright © 2003.