Sweet Coffee-Rubbed Ribeyes

Spring. March. The light returning. The MSN coursework and the ER and the book — three simultaneous commitments that would overwhelm a lesser schedule but that Santos women handle the way Santos women handle everything: by cooking through it. I study between shifts. I write between study sessions. I cook between everything. The cooking is the connective tissue, the activity that binds the rest, the garlic-scented thread that runs through the studying and the writing and the nursing and holds them all together.

The book is in its final chapters. The Philippines chapter — the chapter about the trip I haven't taken yet, the imagined Iloilo, the market I see in my head, the adobo I've never tasted but know by heart. The chapter is the wish. The chapter is also the plan. The Iloilo Fund is approaching the threshold. The trip is possible within a year. The chapter about the imagined Philippines will be followed, eventually, by a chapter about the real Philippines. The imagined will become the lived. The writing will become the walking. The market will become my feet on the ground.

I made moose adobo — Pete's moose, the last of the fall hunt. The moose braised in the vinegar and I thought about the book's arc: floor to table, PTSD to adobo, Alaska to (someday) Iloilo. The arc is not finished. The arc is being lived. The living and the writing are the same thing, happening simultaneously, the woman and the book growing up together, the recipe and the story cooking in the same pot.

The moose was Pete’s — last of the fall hunt — and it braised in vinegar the way adobo is supposed to: low, slow, filling the whole apartment with something that smelled like a decision. When I don’t have moose, or when the imagined Philippines gives way to a very real Tuesday with a clinical exam at seven in the morning, I reach for ribeyes with a coffee rub instead. The bitterness of the coffee, the sweetness holding it back — it’s the same tension the arc is in right now, almost finished, not quite there. This is the recipe I make when I need the meat to do some of the work for me.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 12 minutes | Total Time: 22 minutes (plus 30 minutes rest) | Servings: 2

Ingredients

2 boneless ribeye steaks (about 1 inch thick, 10–12 oz each)
2 tablespoons finely ground dark roast coffee
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, coarsely ground
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon neutral oil (avocado or canola)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 sprigs fresh thyme (optional)

Instructions

Make the rub. In a small bowl, combine ground coffee, brown sugar, smoked paprika, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, and cayenne. Stir until evenly blended.
Season the steaks. Pat ribeyes thoroughly dry with paper towels. Press the coffee rub firmly onto all surfaces of each steak, coating evenly. Let steaks rest uncovered at room temperature for 30 minutes — this allows the rub to set and the chill to leave the meat.
Heat the pan. Place a cast-iron skillet over high heat for 2–3 minutes until very hot. Add the oil and swirl to coat. You want a hard sear, not a steam.
Sear the first side. Lay the steaks away from you into the hot pan. Do not move them. Sear undisturbed for 4–5 minutes until a deep, dark crust forms. The coffee and sugar will caramelize — this is exactly what you want.
Flip and finish. Flip the steaks once. Add the butter and thyme to the pan. As the butter melts, tilt the pan slightly and spoon the foaming butter over the steaks repeatedly for 3–4 minutes, until the internal temperature reads 130°F for medium-rare or 135°F for medium.
Rest before cutting. Transfer steaks to a cutting board and tent loosely with foil. Rest for 5 minutes. Cutting too soon loses the juices — patience here is part of the recipe.
Serve. Slice against the grain or serve whole. The crust should be nearly black in places, sweet and bitter and deeply savory. Eat while it’s hot.

Nutrition (per serving)

Sweet Coffee-Rubbed Ribeyes — The Meat That Holds the Arc Together