Ribeye Steaks Marinated in Coffee

Have you ever heard of such a thing? It certainly hadn't occurred to me, but now that I've tried it, I'm a believer.

On restaurant menus I've seen, say, espresso-crusted steaks and that kind of thing, but I had never run across the idea of using brewed coffee as a marinade until my friend Charmin clued me in last week. The marinade gave a rich, subtle flavor to the steak, and it was extremely tender and juicy, as well.

The ribeyes were from Stan of Triple S Farm. They were very large (weighing in at one pound each,) and very good. Here's an article that appeared in the Herald & Review about Stan's award-winning farm. You can find him every Saturday at the farmers' market in the Lincoln Square parking lot.

Here's what I did with the marinade this time. Feeling lazy, I guess, I used garlic powder; next time I'll use fresh garlic. I thought about adding a bit of honey, as well, but in the end I didn't do it. Some brown sugar in there would probably be a great idea.

2 pounds ribeye steak
2 cups brewed coffee
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
Lots of freshly ground black pepper (I don't know how much I used; I just kept pumping the grinder until I was tired)

In a gallon zip-lock bag (or in a bowl large enough to hold the steaks), combine the marinade ingredients, swishing the bag around to mix. Add in the steaks, start closing up the bag, pressing out as much air as possible as you close it, then lay the bag in a dish. Turn the bag occasionally while marinating. I marinated these steaks for about 2 hours, but you could do as little as 30 minutes or as long as overnight.

Grill the steaks for about 4 minutes per side for medium-rare (our hunky specimens were about an inch thick). Remove the steaks from the grill and let sit for about 5 minutes before serving. Consume farmers' market grilled asparagus on the side if you dare!