Sirloin Steak Tips

Elk season opened Saturday. South drainage, new position, the bull using the water source I'd identified in September. He came in at seven-fifteen, earlier than I expected, moving fast, not stopping at the water — just heading south along the drainage toward the aspen bench. I had to adjust: not the clean broadside I'd planned for, more of an angling shot at forty-five degrees. I waited until he paused and I took it.

Clean shot. He went thirty yards and was down before I reached him. I did the work, dressed him on the mountain, called Jake Brennan from the trailhead. Jake came. We packed in four miles, two trips, same as every year. The truck loaded by four in the afternoon.

The liver that night. The ritual. The cast iron, the onions going low and slow while the liver was sliced and floured. I ate standing at the stove the way I always do, in the cold of the shop kitchen, the day still on me, the mountain still in my hands. This meal exists in a category that almost nothing else exists in: the meal you don't make for other people, the meal that's only for the specific person who did the specific thing that earned it. I've thought about writing about it directly — more directly than the magazine column — but I'm not sure the full version of it belongs in public. Some things are private not because they're shameful but because they're complete in themselves.

The meat hangs in the cold shop for a week. Then the processing. Then the chili. The sequence hasn't changed in eight years. It won't change now.

I don’t always write the recipe down — some meals are ritual enough that the body remembers them without instruction. But the cast iron method I use for liver translates directly to sirloin steak tips, and it’s the version I’d share with anyone who wants to understand what I mean when I talk about a meal that belongs to the person who cooked it. Same pan, same logic: high heat, fat, patience, then butter at the end. The mountain doesn’t require explanation. Neither does this.

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 15 min | Total Time: 25 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

2 lbs sirloin steak tips, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tbsp neutral oil (vegetable or canola)
3 tbsp unsalted butter
4 cloves garlic, smashed
3 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1/2 tsp dried)
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Instructions

Season the tips. Pat the steak tips completely dry with paper towels. Combine salt, pepper, garlic powder, and smoked paprika, then season the meat evenly on all sides. Let rest at room temperature for at least 10 minutes.
Heat the pan. Place a cast iron skillet over high heat for 2 to 3 minutes until smoking. Add the oil and swirl to coat.
Sear in batches. Working in two batches to avoid crowding, add the steak tips in a single layer. Sear without moving for 2 to 3 minutes until a deep brown crust forms. Flip and sear the opposite side for 2 minutes more for medium-rare, or 3 minutes for medium. Transfer to a plate and repeat with remaining tips.
Build the butter baste. Reduce heat to medium. Add butter, smashed garlic, and thyme to the pan. Once the butter foams, tilt the pan and spoon the butter over the seared tips continuously for 30 to 45 seconds.
Finish with Worcestershire. Add Worcestershire sauce to the pan, stir to combine with the butter and drippings, then return all steak tips to the pan and toss to coat. Cook 30 seconds more.
Rest and serve. Transfer to a clean plate and rest for 5 minutes before serving. Spoon any remaining pan sauce over the top.

Nutrition (per serving)

Sirloin Steak Tips — The Cast Iron and the Quiet Afterward