Cowboy Steaks

      There are times in life when you just need a big hunk of meat.  For me it's not often, but when I want a steak I don't want a dinky little filet, fat is what makes steaks taste good and filets just don't have enough.  I do like my flank steak, but usually I prefer flank in something like tacos, and flat irons are popular, but they are so hard to judge the temperature. Porterhouse steaks are nice, but you are paying for bone just as much as for the meat, and you might as well just buy a strip.  For me, though, there are really only two kinds of steak I really love.  Both are PERFECT for this recipe.  I love Ribeyes, and actually I love sirloin.  Ribeyes to me are the perfect
 combination of meat marbled with delicious fat that makes for juicy flavorful awesomeness.  The sirloin is very flavorful (and a little more lean, if that is what you are looking for)  but for me it is more about the emotion it evokes than anything else.  When we were young my dad would bring a big slab of sirloin home, about 3lbs an inch and a half to two inches thick.  We would grill it up whole to a beautiful perfect medium rare then slice it for us all to share.  I really do feel that often the memory that food evokes does more for the meal than the flavors (remember Ego from Ratatoullie and how the perfect meal reminded him of mom?)
      So the message here is pick your favorite steak.  You want something big (because evidently all cowboys are from Texas and everyone knows that everything is bigger in Texas).  Usually I go with 16 oz or bigger.  First you are going to marinade it for at least 4 hours, and as long as overnight.  I put my marinades in a bag so that I can squeeze all the air out and have less liquid covering the meat.  Mix together
1/2 cup whiskey
1/2 cup salad oil
4 sprigs thyme
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 onion, thinly sliced
1 TBS Salt
1 TBS cracked black pepper
put everything in a ziplock bag along with the steaks.  squish everything around so that the steaks are completely coated. After it has hung out for a bit and becomes super awesome you will need to start up your grill and make your rub.  The rub is a little bit of fun and inspired by ingredients that a cowboy might carry with them on the trail.  Spices like chili powder combined with herbs and coffee grinds- The coffee is important here, it really helps with the flavor.  I use my mortar and pestal and grind together
2 Tbs Coffee beans or grinds
1 tsp black peppercorns
1/2 tsp toasted cumin seeds
1 tsp dry thyme
 if you don't have a mortal and pestal a coffee grinder works great.  Once everything is finely ground add
2 Tbs kosher salt (or if you have it sea salt)
1 Tbs chili powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbs  brown sugar

Remove the steaks from the marinade and rub them down with a good amount of your spices.  Next onto the grill!  Use something that will get a bit of smoke on the steaks.  If you have a charcoal grill they have all sorts of wood flavored charcoal.  If you are working with a gas grill get some wood chips (follow the directions on the bag) and make a smoke pouch to get that extra flavor.  I always prefer my steaks medium rare, but obviously cook it how you like.  Don't forget to let it rest before you cut into it so that you don't loose all the juices.  In the end you will have an extra delicious, extra awesome steak.