This steak with chile-lime butter is made using shabu-shabu style New York strip steak that’s given a quick sear and then smothered with tangy, smoky, indulgent butter mixed with paprika, ancho chile powder, and lime.
Adapted from Danielle Oron | Food You Love But Different | Page Street Publishing, 2019
This steak with chile-lime butter feels indulgentely luxurious thanks to the richly flavored butter that’s drizzled over the thinly sliced steak. Yet the seemingly restaurant-style dish comes together in mere moments, making it ideal for hectic weeknights as well as impromptu entertaining. (Shh. No one needs to know how easy it is to toss together. And while you’re at it, make a double batch of that butter and stash it in the fridge to top just about anything, from luxe seared sea scallops to virtuous steamed vegetables.)–Angie Zoobkoff
*WHAT IS SHABU SHABU STYLE BEEF?
Shabu-shabu is a style of Japanese hot pot that lowers thinly sliced meats into hot broth to cook it. This recipe calls for that same thinly sliced meat, often referred to as shabu-shabu style, which ensures it cooks ridiculously quickly and ever so efficiently on weeknights. Look for it at Asian markets or ask your butcher to thinly slice it for you.
☞ Contents
Steak with Chile-Lime Butter
Ingredients
For the chile lime butter
- 1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 clove garlic grated or minced
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ancho chile powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika Aleppo pepper, or Urfa biber
- Zest of 1 lime about 1 tablespoon, grated
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons honey
- Kosher salt
For the steak
- Mild vegetable oil
- 1 pound shabu shabu-style* New York strip steak sliced about 1/8 inch (3-mm) thick
- Freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Make the chile lime butter
- In a medium bowl, combine the butter, garlic, ancho chile, Urfa, lime zest and juice, honey, and a few good pinches of salt and mix until combined. Taste and adjust the ingredients accordingly.
☞TESTER TIP: Any leftover butter can be wrapped in plastic and stashed in the freezer. Pull it out on crazy weeknights, slice off a little, and place a thin slice atop plain grilled or broiled beef, chicken, or fish or cooked vegetables of any sort as an easy yet elegant embellishment.
Cook the steak
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, warm about 1 tablespoon of the oil. Season the steak with salt and black pepper.
- Working in batches, cook the steak, undisturbed, in a single layer until well browned, about 1 1/2 minutes.
- Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of the chile lime butter to the skillet and flip the steak. Cook while tilting the pan to swirl the butter and pan juices so they intermingle for 30 seconds more. If needed, add a little more oil to the skillet after each batch to prevent the steak from sticking.
- Serve immediately, topped with as much of the remaining chile lime butter as desired.
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Recipe Testers’ Reviews
I’ve long shared the recipe author’s appreciation of the beautiful, thinly-sliced marbled meats at my local Asian markets, so much so that I use these for my home version of a Philly cheesesteak.
This was a fun variation of a quick meal, one you can use year-round but is especially appreciated in summer when you want to spend as brief a time as possible at the stove. It definitely resembled a posh cheesesteak.
My only reservation is that perhaps the steak I chose was sliced a tad too thin (about 1/16 inch) and seared so quickly that I had to struggle to keep it all turned quickly enough. I was overwhelmed by the shabu shabu section of meat and asked the butcher for help, and he pointed my to American wagyu, top blade. A slightly thicker slice would help buy you a little time.
By preparing the butter in advance, you’re ready to cook and should have everyone ready to sit down and eat as soon as you’re done. While I thought the butter had plenty of flavor when I tasted it before cooking, I think I’d prefer it a bit more intense the next time, increasing the amounts of the peppers.
This was the first time I had a reason to open my jar of Urfa biber, so this purple smokey pepper was a new element. Thank you Santa! The extra butter is stashed in the freezer for the next time I want to grab some shabu shabu beef on the way home.
HUNGRY FOR MORE?
If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #LeitesCulinaria. We'd love to see your creations on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
Jenny Latreille
I really enjoyed this recipe. It was quick, easy, and I had all the ingredients on hand. Honestly, though, the chile lime butter was the absolute star of this recipe. You’ll end up with a lot of leftover butter, but that won’t be much of a problem. I served the steak with rice, roasted corn, and snap peas. The butter was amazing on everything, especially the fresh corn.
I used the full 1/2 teaspoon of ancho chile because it’s easily one of my favorite spices. I had to use smoked paprika as I was unable to get either of the other recommended spices but I still enjoyed the taste of paprika.
I had a frozen strip steak that I sliced very thinly before thawing, trying to get those perfect shabu shabu slices. I’d suggest getting an actual butcher to cut your beef into the thinnest slices possible, rather than freezing it and hacking away at it like I did (but I don’t want to make assumptions about your skill with an enormous, sharp knife!). Given the state of my slices, I was pleasantly surprised that it all disappeared but that’s just proof of how delicious it was.
The steak cooked very quickly, cooking in 2 batches in my large cast iron pan.