Smoky, seared, perfectly medium rare steaks. A savory Japanese inspired take on chimichurri, jammy eggs and a luxurious roasted and seared bone marrow.
It’s a stress-free successful dinner that’s neither too heavy nor will result in a food coma. Because date night shouldn’t be a stressful thing, and it shouldn’t be boring or experimental either. This is a surefire date pleaser that can be done strictly by the numbers. If your date is ok with cilantro, that is.
Japanese Chimichurri
This was first posted way, way back in 2019 as part of an old series called Dinner and Chill, 7 years ago. If that doesn’t make me feel old, I don’t know what would. In this series I used as few ingredients and as simple steps as possible.
As far as I know, this was one of the first times on the internet anyone mentioned Japanese chimichurri. Since then, a lot of variations (and outright copies) of this dish and presentation have appeared, even including in nicer restaurants I’ve been to. I’m not saying I take full credit for this, but you know, I take some credit for this.
Cooking Notes
I’ve done this steak a bunch of times now, at 200ºF, it takes 40 min on the steak total, and at 350ºF, it takes 20 minutes, both times are for a decent 1 1/2” higher end supermarket steak. If your oven goes that low and you have the time to spare, the 200ºF will produce a more evenly cooked steak, but to be really honest, I don’t think it’s always worth the extra time.
I like to get my steaks to 115ºF, which is a perfect medium rare after searing. Steaks don’t need to be rare if they are high quality, and can often be off-putting if you don’t know for sure that the other person likes their steaks rare. Medium rare is always a safer choice. If you’re cooking on 200ºF, near the end the steak tends to go up 1 degree per minute. A fast meat thermometer is your friend here, and they are cheap.
Sear your steaks 1 minute per side if using a stainless steel pan, and 30s per side if using cast iron. In both cases, use a liberal amount of high heat oil and allow the oil to get hot enough to just about start smoking. Turn on your exhaust fans, open some windows, and be ready to fan smoke away from your smoke detector. A splatter screen is highly recommended.
Boiling the eggs ahead of time and then storing them unpeeled in the fridge will make both cutting and peeling them much much easier.
Ingredient Notes
Bone marrow is typically very easy to find at any major grocery store, but if they don’t have any out, ask the butcher shop for soup bones.
What do you need?
A high sided baking pan, a rack, and a cast iron or stainless steel skillet (or any skillet without a non stick coating). Things that will make your life easy and awesome: a cheap splatter screen and meat thermometer. Tiny spoons for the bone marrow would work great as well.
Other easy date night steaks
Happy date night,
-Mike
Date night steak with japanese chimichurri, roasted bone marrow, and jammy eggs
A savory Japanese inspired take on chimichurri, jammy eggs and a luxurious roasted and seared bone marrow.
Serves 2
- 2 steaks of choice, 8oz each
- 2 marrow bones
- 1 clove garlic crushed
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp fresh cilantro chopped
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 4 large eggs
Preheat your oven to 200ºF (or 350ºF if it doesn’t go that low). Season your steaks on both sides and arrange on a foil lined baking tray. Place your bone marrow along side the steaks to roast, or do what I do, and place a rack over top to allow any excess fat to drip down and baste the steaks for you (this only works at 350ºF and if the bones are not frozen). Warm steaks in the oven – 40 minutes for 200ªF and 20 minutes for 350ºF. Use a meat thermometer to check it halfway through, every oven is different.
Combine garlic, rice vinegar, cilantro, sesame oil, and salt, and set aside. This amount makes what you see in the photos, so if you want a lot of sauce, double these amounts.
Bring a pot of water to the boil and cook your eggs for 6 1/2 minutes. Once done, plunge into an ice bath or under cold running water to stop the cooking. Set aside.
When your steaks hit 115ºF, remove from oven. Heat 2-3 tablespoons of oil in a skillet over high heat until the oil is smoking. Quickly sear the top and bottom of each marrow bone, then carefully sear each steak for 30 seconds per side (if using cast iron) or 1 minute per side (if using stainless).
Peel your eggs and cut in half, then slice your steaks against the grain and serve with chimichurri, jammy eggs, and roast bone marrow.
Nutrition Facts
Date night steak with japanese chimichurri, roasted bone marrow, and jammy eggs
Amount Per Serving
Calories 948
Calories from Fat 502
% Daily Value*
Fat 55.8g86%
Saturated Fat 18.3g114%
Cholesterol 658mg219%
Sodium 722mg31%
Potassium 1379mg39%
Carbohydrates 1.6g1%
Fiber 0.7g3%
Sugar 1g1%
Protein 104.1g208%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.