Shallot and Stout-Glazed Steak with Cumin-Pepper Onions

This is the latest recipe I have constructed from "The Best of American Food and Beer". It turned out excellent, save for the fact that I over-cooked my steak. I share a grill with three other apartment units and something was amiss with the propane. I began cooking the steaks on high, and it was barely warming the meat. I came back 5 minutes later, still nothing. I could literally touch the grates with my hands. Fast-forward 5 additional minutes, huge flames, steaks searing to death, nice.

The steak:

• 5 large shallots, thinly sliced (I used 3, these are quite expensive)
• 5 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons salted butter (I used unsalted)
• 2 bay leaves
• 12 ounces American dry or sweet stout (I used my 1.5 year old vanilla bourbon imperial porter)
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce, sea salt, freshly ground pepper
• 2 lbs skirt steak, trimmed (I used top sirloin)
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons orange juice

1. Melt butter in saucepan. When all butter is melted simmer in shallots and garlic until garlic turns golden
2. Add bay leaves, beer, tomato paste, Worcestershire, sea salt, pepper and whisk together. Simmer for about 20 minutes.
3. Remove bay leaves. Add 1 cup of sauce to plastic bag with steak and marinate 6-8 hours (I left it overnight). Keep remaining sauce in a separate container and refrigerate.
4. Allow sauce to come to room temperature and whisk in vinegar and orange juice. Grill steak to desired level (well done for me unfortunately), brushing steak with sauce for the last 2 minutes of cook time. Serve with cumin-pepper onions.

Cumin-pepper onions:

• 3 large yellow onions sliced into 1/2 inch thick medallions
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon paprika
  
• 1 1/2 tablespoons ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (I used 1/2)
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
  
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder (I used 1/2)
• 1/4 tsp sugar
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Drizzle onion medallions with olive oil. Mix together all powdered spices.
2. Place on grill under medium-high heat. Grill until tender, turning once. Be careful when flipping, as the onions do not want to stay together!
3. Remove onions from grill and lightly dust with spice mix, add more as desired.

This recipe was very tasty. The glaze on the steak was delicious. I will definitely be making this again, it's a shame I had to have it with well-done steak (I'm more of a medium-rare kind of guy). The spices blend nicely into a pungent/spicy/sweet/salty/meaty concoction that adds nice flavors to the onions. The book recommends pairing this with an American Pilsner or Dark Lager beer. I had neither of these styles on hand so I paired it with homebrewed Belgian-style pale ale, a very clean-tasting brew with a slight biscuit note in the finish. Any light, crisp, refreshing style of beer should pair nicely with this dish. These types of beer are highly carbonated and cleanse the pallet, which allows for better enjoyment of the roasty steak and spicy onions.