T-Bone Steak with Ancho Chile Onion Marmalade

     T-Bone steak the most popular steak that there is.  By most people's standards, a T-Bone is the next best steak to a porterhouse.  T-Bone steak has a smaller percentage of tenderloin attached to the bone than a porterhouse.  Most steak connoisseurs do agree that the sirloin strip section on a good T-Bone steak is superior to the sirloin section of a porterhouse.  As with any steak, a slight amount of fat marbling in the meat should be present for a tender and flavorful steak.  Prime grade beef is the highest grade of beef and it has the highest amount of fat marbling in the grain of the meat.
     Ancho chile is a dried mild poblano chile.  Ancho chile has a deep, fruity, mildly spicy flavor that is perfect with steak.  Onion marmalade is perfect for roasted or chilled meats.  Apples and onions both have a very high pectin content.  Pectin is the jelly-like substance that is in jams, preserves and marmalades.  The flavor of ancho chile onion marmalade tastes nice with a good steak!
   
     Ancho Chile Onion Marmalade Recipe:  
     TThis recipe makes about 1/2 cup of marmalade!  The pectin in the onions will naturally combine with the sugar to gel the small batch of marmalade.  For large batches of this marmalade, add a packaged pre-made pectin in the proportion called for fruit preserves.
     Heat 2 cups of water in a sauce pot over medium heat.
     Cut 1 dried ancho chile open.
     Remove all the seeds and stem.
     Cut the ancho chile into thin strips.
     Add the ancho chile strips to the gently boiling water.
     Boil the chile, till it starts to become soft and reconstituted.
     Add 1 cup of thin julienne sliced onion.
     Add sea salt and white pepper.
     Add 1/4 teaspoon of onion powder.
     Add 1 teaspoon of minced ginger.
     Add 3 drops of worcestershire sauce.
     Add 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar.
     Add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.
     Add 1/3 cup of sugar.
     Taste the liquid.  The balance of sweet and sour should be slightly on the sweet side.  Adjust the flavor if necessary.
     Reduce the temperature to low heat.
     Simmer and reduce the marmalade, till it starts to become thick.
     Add 1 cup of water.
     Simmer and reduce the marmalade a second time.
     When most of the liquid has evaporated, the marmalade should have the color of the ancho chiles and it should have a jellied marmalade texture with exposed pieces of onion.
     Set the ancho onion marmalade aside.
     Any extra fresh marmalade can be kept refrigerated for 7 days.
   
     T-Bone Steak Seasoning Recipe:
     Place 1 tablespoon of sea salt in a bowl.
     Add 3/4 tablespoon of table grind black pepper.
     Add 3 pinches of cayenne pepper.
     Add 4 pinches of cumin.
     Add 2 pinches of garlic powder.
     Mix the ingredients together to make the steak seasoning.

     T-Bone Steak with Ancho Chile Marmalade:
     Sprinkle a few pinches of the steak seasoning over a 14 to 16 ounce T-Bone steak.
     Allow the seasonings to flavor the steak for 10 minutes.
     Heat a char grill or a cast iron grill over medium/medium high heat.  (A broiler in an oven is okay too.  I used a broiler for the steak in the pictures.)
     Grill or broil the steak on both sides, till it becomes cooked to the temperature of your preference.
     Set the steak on a dish or roasting rack and let it rest for 2 minutes.
     Place the T-Bone steak on a serving plate, with the sirloin section closest to the customer.
     Place a generous spoonful of the ancho onion marmalade on the bone of the steak.
     Sprinkle 1 or 2 pinches of the steak seasoning over the steak.
     Place a potato and vegetable of your choice on the plate.
     Garnish the plate with Italian flat parsley sprigs.
     Garnish the ancho chile onion marmalade with a pickled yellow hot chile pepper.
   
     The sweet, savory onion and the fruity mild ancho chile flavor are so very nice with a T-Bone steak.  The marmalade has a sweet tangy mild chile onion flavor.
     In fine dining restaurants, bottled pre-made steak sauces are taboo.  All of the steak sauces are made in the restaurant kitchen instead.  A steak is always better with a fresh sauce or accompaniment that is made specifically for that cut of beef.  This is a very easy steak marmalade to make and the flavor is well worth the effort!  Bon Appetite!  ...  Shawna