Ribeye Steak Sandwich with Tostones and Jerk Mayo
This recipe is sponsored by Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. On behalf of the Beef Checkoff.
I recently was lucky enough to attend the Fresh Air Retreat in Breckenridge, a several day event where I got to meet and share ideas with some of the best food bloggers in the country.
We talked about the unique challenges we face as bloggers, the future of the industry, and the things we can do to be better, all while eating great meals and relaxing in the cool mountain air.
Some highlights of the trip were sabering a bottle of champagne to kick things off, a pear tasting and discussion lead by USA pears, and just meeting and interacting with people in an industry where most of what you do is normally on your own.
But the most amazing part of the whole trip was a beef dinner cooked by Rasheed Philips
You may recognize Rasheed from his time on American Barbeque Showdown. He smoked some Bone-In Ribeye for us, and finished it in a cast iron skillet with jerk butter. The steak was amazing! I was snacking on it all afternoon, since Rasheed was generous enough to put some out on the counter right when it was finished, instead of just waiting for dinner. He also made some plantains to snack on, and the afternoon snacks are what inspired my sandwich recipe today.
Everyone was very interested in Rasheed’s tips and insights on working with beef.
And the steak was absolutely beautiful!
Now on to the recipe!
First make the Jerk Mayo
For my sandwich inspired by this meal, I first was going to drizzle jerk butter over the whole thing, but then I decided it would be fun to switch it up and do a jerk mayo instead. I have loved jerk seasoning my whole life, but I have been especially obsessed with it this summer, so making the mayo was second nature for me. I sautéed the usual jerk marinade ingredients, ginger, garlic, shallot, scallion, habanero, allspice, and thyme, then blended it up with mayo.
That’s some tasty mayo!
Then the Tostones
I wanted to make sure to have super crispy tostones on the sandwich, so I fried these up, smashed them, and then fried them again. I tried really hard not to eat them all dipped in the jerk mayo, and was able to save at least 4 for the sandwiches.
And finally the Ribeye!
Beautiful Ribeye Steak, simply seasoned with salt and pepper, and then seared in cast iron on all sides.
I think this steak would be Rasheed approved.
I had these nice sweet brioche buns that I toasted up lightly. Then the sandwich started with some mayo, then arugula, then the steak, then more mayo, the plantains, a little more mayo, then the top bun!
These were fantastic and brought me right back to that night with great company and conversations!
The Ribeye came out so tender and tasty, and the jerk mayo was perfect to bring all these flavors into a beautiful sandwich. The bun was super soft but the tostones provided a great texture contrast.
Ribeye Steak Sliders with Tostones and Jerk Mayo
Ingredients
Jerk Mayo
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 scallions trimmed and roughly chopped
- 1 shallot peeled and cut into quarters
- 3 habaneros or scotch bonnet peppers stem and seeds removed
- 3 cloves of garlic peeled and cut in half
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger
- 2 teaspoons grated allspice
- about 20 thyme stems leaves removed and stems discarded
- juice of one lime
- 1 cup mayo
Sandwiches
- 2 green plantains skin removed
- oil for frying
- 1 large Rribeye Steak about a pound
- 1 cup baby arugula
- 4 small brioche rolls
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a small frying pan over high heat. Add in the scallions, shallot, habanero, garlic, ginger, allspice, and thyme and cook about 3 minutes over high heat. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
- Put the lime juice and mayo in a large bowl or a food processor. Add in the contents of the frying pan. Blend in the blender, or in the bowl with a hand blender, until smooth. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours until cooled.
- Cut the plantains into about 1 to 1.5 inch pieces. Bring about an inch of oil to medium temp and fry the plantains gently to lightly brown on all sides, about 5 minutes.
- Remove from the oil and allow to cool and dry for a few minutes. One by one, place on a cutting board, and smash the plantain into the traditional tostone shape. Bring the heat up to high and fry again to brown and get crispy. Remove from the oil and season with salt.
- Season the Ribeye Steak heavily with salt and pepper. Bring a cast iron skillet to high temp with a little bit of peanut oil. Cook the Ribeye on all 6 sides, to brown deeply and caramelize the fat around the edges. I was able to bring mine to my desired doneness of medium rare while browning on the stovetop, but if you have a very thick piece of steak, or want it more cooked, you may need to transfer the pan to the oven set at 350 for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Allow the steak to cool for 15 minutes. Broil the buns to toast. Slice the steak thin.
- Build the sandwiches, first with the mayo, then some arugula, then the steak, more mayo, plantains, and finally more mayo before adding the top bun. Serve!
