We had a dream once, where steaks were topped with a thick, salty-sweet bacon jammy goodness. Each bite was euphoric. Then we woke up and decided to turn it into a reality.
For this recipe we used a delicious piece of dry-aged New York strip steak. Dry-aged = more concentrated beef flavoritude. You do have to pay more for dry-aged beef or you could also just dry-age it yourself! (See how in this post.) The strip steak is slightly leaner than others but it still has good marbling and incredible flavor.
This won-the-lottery bacon-onion jam is also delicious on a toasted piece of baguette with a smear of cream cheese or even with some eggs to add the most superlative finishing flair to any breakfast.
STRIP STEAK TOPPED WITH BACON-ONION JAM
PREP TIME: 10 minutes
COOK TIME: about 1 hour for the bacon-onion jam and 8 to 10 minutes for the steaks
RECOMMENDED PELLETS: Hickory, Oak or Mesquite
SERVES: 2
INGREDIENTS
1 sweet onion, quartered and thinly sliced
1/2 lb. bacon, cut into chunks
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons strong brewed coffee
1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup apple juice or water
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Salt, to taste
2 New York Strip Steaks
Olive oil
Traeger Prime Rib Rub
PREPARATION
Start by pulling your steaks out of the fridge about 30 minutes before you finish the bacon-onion jam to allow them to come to room temperature. Go ahead and season them on both sides with the Traeger Prime Rib Rub.
Start the Traeger on Smoke with the lid open until the fire is established (about 5 minutes). Preheat to 350 degrees F, lid closed, for 10 to 15 minutes.
Put the chopped bacon in a cast iron pan and put on the Traeger. You could really cut up your bacon to be how ever large or small you want the chunks of bacon in the jam to be.
Let the bacon cook for about 10 to 15 minutes or until the fat has rendered.
Remove the bacon from the pan and drain out all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon grease from the pan. (Reserve the rest of the fat for use in another recipe.)
Add the onions into the cast iron pan and cook on the Traeger for about 10 minutes or until the onions have softened.
Add in the brown sugar and cook for about 15 to 20 minutes more to allow the onions to caramelize.
Add in the coffee, apple juice or water and cooked bacon and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions really become thick and "jammy" - about 20 more minutes.
Stir in the balsamic vinegar and spoon into a bowl and set aside. (Keep the leftover bacon-onion jam in the fridge. This bacon-onion jam really tastes best at room temperature so always let it come to room temp before enjoying.)
Turn the heat on the Traeger up to High and preheat for 10 to 15 minutes with the lid closed.
Lightly drizzle the steaks with olive oil and cook them on the Traeger for about 4 to 5 minutes on each side, for medium-rare, or until they reach your desired doneness.
After they're done, remove them from the grill and let rest for about 10 minutes before slicing.
Top each steak with the bacon-onion jam and you've got some serious money right there.
PRINTABLE RECIPE: