Top Sirloin Steak with Miso Butter
Top sirloin steak is tender, quick to cook, and delightfully flavorful. Four-ingredient miso butter dolloped over the warm steak makes a gorgeous, umami-packed sauce as it melts.
Servings: 4
Calories: 451kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons (42 grams) butter, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons (10 grams) white miso paste
- 1 large garlic clove minced
- ½ teaspoon sriracha
- 4 6- ounce 170-gram top sirloin steaks
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) safflower oil
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Set a 12-inch cast iron skillet over high heat on the stovetop. Let it preheat while you make the miso butter and prep the steaks.
- Make the miso butter: In a small bowl, stir together the butter, miso, garlic, and sriracha until completely mixed. Set aside.
- Dry the steaks very well with paper towels. Generously sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.
- Swirl the safflower oil into the hot pan and heat until it just starts to smoke.
- Add the steaks in a single layer, without crowding. Sear for three minutes on the first side. They'll develop a nice brown crust.
- Flip each steak and sear on the other side, about three minutes more. See note 7 below for more information about temperature.
- Let the steaks rest on a plate or carving board for at least five minutes. Then slice against the grain or serve whole. Top each steak with a dollop of miso butter right before serving.
- A note on slicing meat against the grain: The muscle fibers in a steak run in a particular direction, and you'll be able to see them clearly when the meat is cooked. They'll appear as visible lines or striations running along the steak. Your task is to cut perpendicular to those lines. This results in tender bites of beef, eliminating any undesirably chewiness by shortening the fibers. You can see this in action in the video.
- If it's important to you that this meal be gluten-free, be sure to use a gluten-free brand of miso.
Notes
- Top sirloin is a lean, flavorful, and super-versatile cut. You can cube it for stew, but you can also sear it in a blazing hot cast iron pan for just a few minutes per side, let it rest, and slice it into a perfect, absurdly tender, right-sized steak dinner.
- White miso is the same fermented soybean paste that gets stirred into your favorite miso soup. It's an umami powerhouse with a balanced flavor profile that brings out the best in these steaks. Bonus: Miso's live, active cultures are great for your gut microbiome.
- Sriracha is optional but great. In the amount we use, it doesn't really make the sauce spicy — it just adds tons of flavor. If you prefer, you can leave it out and still have a great result.
- You can use salted or unsalted butter. I prefer a good-quality salted, cultured butter from grass-fed cows (such as Kerrygold).
- I tend to default to safflower oil for searing, but you can use any neutral-tasting oil with a high smoke point. Other good choices are canola, peanut, or a vegetable oil blend.
- If you want to get fancy, you can make the miso butter in advance, then dollop it onto a piece of plastic wrap and roll it into a log. Chill until firm, then slice and top steaks.
- For rare but not too-rare steaks (my preference for top sirloin), cook until the internal temperature reads 125°F on an instant thermometer. Depending on thickness, this should take about three minutes per side. For medium-rare, cook to 130°F. In any case, let rest for at least five minutes before slicing, to ensure carryover cooking and juice reabsorption.
- Store any leftovers in the fridge for up to a week. They make great sandwiches.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 | Calories: 451kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 46g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 156mg | Sodium: 293mg