Buffalo Hanger Steak with Chimichurri

Hanger steak is one of my favorite cuts - it has tons of beefy flavor, and can be quite tender if it isn't overcooked.  I've heard that it gets its flavor from "hanging out" so to speak by the kidneys and other organs.  I'm not really a huge fan of offal meat, but if tasted like hanger steak I think I could get on board.  I've made beef hanger steak a number of times, but never buffalo.  If I'm cooking buffalo, it is usually in burger form.  In fact, I think turkey and buffalo burgers vastly outnumber the beef burgers consumed in this apartment.

Anyway, I wanted to make a special dinner, because yesterday we were celebrating our 5 year anniversary.  We both like buffalo, and we're both fans of hanger steak.  We finally decided to combine the two, and picked up a nice sized buffalo hanger steak at the Dupont Farmers Market (it probably weighed 1.3 pounds).  Like all un-butchered hanger steaks, there was a line of gristle running down the middle that had to be taken out.

Wanting a more summary prep, Meghan suggested a chimichurri sauce.  Having never actually made one before, we were able to pull up some recipes on my phone at the market.  While every recipe is different, one thing is universal for chimichurri - parsley, and lots of it.  Given the centrality of parsley in the sauce, we splurged and bought some really nice looking farmer's market parsley.  I think chimichurri sauce can pretty much be doctored according to taste; if you like more vinegar, add more vinegar.  If you like lots of garlic, add more garlic.

Here is how I made the sauce.  In a blender, combine:

• one bunch parsley, stems mostly trimmed
• 3 tablespoons packed fresh oregano - I used the rest of CSA oregano from a couple weeks back)
• 6 garlic cloves
• 1 spring onion, green and white parts course chopped
• pinch of salt and pepper (adjust to taste)
• small pinch red pepper flakes

Transfer to a bowl, and stir in about 1/2 cup of olive oil and a 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar (I used sherry).

I marinated the steak in about 1/2 of the sauce for 2-3 hours, and set the rest aside.  I then seared it in a very, very hot cast iron skillet for about 5 minutes per side.  Unfortunately, this took it a little past medium rare.  The steak came out somewhere between medium rare and medium, and ended up a little tough.  Beef hanger steak really can't be cooked past medium rare, and I think the possible toughness is exaggerated with buffalo. The taste was great, and the texture was still passable.

On the side, I roasted some red young potatoes tossed in olive oil with salt and pepper at about 400 degrees for maybe 20-25 minutes.  They were small, so they cooked quickly.  When they came out, I tossed them with some CSA thyme, and topped with more chimichurri.

Finally, I cooked a big pack of trimmed, washed mustard greens.  One thing I really like is that Whole Foods has started carrying a number of varieties of pre-cut, washed greens - collards, mustard greens, beet greens, different mixes.  These are great for weeknight dinners, they save a lot of time and are just as healthy as the huge bunches you'd buy otherwise.  Anyway, I sauteed 3 garlic cloves, chopped coursely, in olive oil until they got blonde.  I then dumped in the greens, and added a cup of homemade vegetable broth.  Then, I covered and cooked for about 6 minutes over medium heat, until most of the liquid was absorbed.  I think cooked uncovered for a minute or two.  These turned out brilliantly; I think the veggie broth was really the key.  I load my broth up with lots of carrots, celery, onions, a parm rind, etc. and it usually turns out pretty dark and with some nice sweetness.  This really mellowed out the flavor of the mustard greens, which can be pungent and even a little bitter.

All in all, everything turned out pretty great:

"Fine Wein" pairing suggestion... We had this with a bottle of wine we'd been saving for a special occasion - a  Jordan Cambernet Sauvignon 2005.

We had tried this winery's cab about 4 years ago, when we went out to my favorite steakhouse in Boston: Grill 23.  It is owned by the same group that owned Excelsior, a really nice high-end place that looked out over the South side of the Common.  Excelsior is no longer in existence, but it is where Meghan and I went out the evening we kind of decided to get serious - five years ago yesterday.  Anyway, we'd been searching for this wine for a while.  When it turned up at Costco for a pretty reasonable price a few months ago, I picked up the bottle.  The pairing was perfect; for a cabernet it is complex, mild, and full of fruit flavors. Buffalo is leaner than beef, and a bigger, ballsier cabernet full of tannins was not what we were looking for here.  I really would recommend this with any lean red meat - it is delightful.  I also claimed credit for picking a wine that was bottled the year we started dating.  This was obviously completely intentional.