Grilled Delmonico Steak Adobo

From License to Grill, by Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby.

Serves 6

If you have ever seen green onions (aka spring onions), you know that they look like large scallions with a bulb about the size of a golf ball. These babies are just plain awesome on the grill. In Mexico, where they are constant companions to tacos al carbon, they are charred and served up with a little coarse salt and pepper and a squeeze of lime. If you ever see them in a market, buy them; they will rock your world.

The other parts of this dish are not so shabby either. The sweet, smoky corn relish works nicely with the crispy, charred super-flavor-packed crust of the tender, juicy Delmonico, aka rib-eye steak. The Mexican-inspired paste that we use to cover the steak is known as adobo and, as with all spice rubs, it crusts up beautifully. If you can’t get hold of Delmonico for this dish, New York strip steak makes a fine substitute.

• For the Spice Paste:
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh oregano
• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons cumin seeds, toasted if you want, or 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 3 tablespoons grainy mustard
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar

• 4 12- to 16-ounce Delmonico (rib-eye) steaks
• Salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
• 8 spring onions, roots trimmed off
• 2 limes, quartered
• Sweet Corn Relish (recipe follows)

1. In a small bowl, combine all of the paste ingredients and mix well. Sprinkle the steaks with salt and pepper. Reserve about 1/4 cup of the spice paste, and rub the steaks generously with the remaining amount.

2. Place the steaks on the grill over a hot fire and cook for 5 to 7 minutes per side for rare. If you like your meat more well done, cook it until it is almost the way you like it but not quite there, since it will cook a little more after you take it off the heat. To check for doneness: Cut into a steak and check to see if the center is slightly less done than you like it.

3. Remove the steaks from the grill, brush on the reserved spice rub, and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, sprinkle the spring onions lightly with salt and pepper and place them on the grill. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, rolling over several times, or until the outsides are brown.

4. Remove the spring onions from the grill and slice in half lengthwise. Serve each of the steaks with a halved spring onion, a squeeze or two of lime, and a big spoonful of the Sweet Corn Relish.

Sweet Corn Relish

• 4 ears corn - husked, desilked, blanched in boiling salted water for 2 minutes, and drained
• 1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and diced small
• 1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and diced small
• 1 small red onion, peeled and diced small
• 1 to 2 tablespoons minced fresh chile pepper of your choice
• 1 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons molasses
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley
• Salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

1. Place the corn around the edges of a hot fire, where the heat is lower, so it is just barely over the coals. Cook the corn, rolling it around frequently, for about 3 minutes, or until well browned. Remove from the grill.

2. As soon as the ears are cool enough to handle, slice the kernels from the cobs into a small bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and toss well.