Cooking with coffee!

Coffee-crusted steak?  Coffee wings? Weird or delicious?

When Starbucks sent us some samples of their new VIA instant coffee, I thought it would be a fun challenge to come up with recipes that use coffee in non-traditional ways.  After some googling, I got plenty of ideas of what can be done.  Then I gave myself two days to complete them in my teeny tiny kitchen.

The guy at the supermarket checkout looked at me in silent awe as I was buying seven different kinds of meat products:  steaks, chicken wings, ribs, ham, ground beef, pork chops and beef for the stew.

Over the course of the weekend I made a whole lot of different recipes, and definitely learned a few things. First, I wish I had a dishwasher. Second, meat with coffee only sounds extremely strange – but tastes amazing, and, in most cases, not at all like coffee! And third,  any time you use chili powder or hipotle peppers, you can go ahead and add some coffee, because it will only make it better.

One of the easiest things to make when cooking meat with coffee is steak.  I made mine two ways:  one marinated in coffee, and one in the coffee crust.  Rib eye steak works well for these, or you can get your favorite cut.

Coffee-Marinated Steak:
2 T Worcestershire sauce
About 2 cups of chilled Starbucks VIA Medium Roast
Combine the ingredients in a plastic bag with the steak, marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Coffee-Crusted Steak:
2 T ground cumin
2 T very coarse ground pepper
1 packet Starbucks VIA Italian roast
Combine the crust ingredients on a plate, coat the steak with the mixture on all sides, and let it sit in the fridge for about 2 hours.

Cooking technique for both versions is the same: using a cast-iron pan, sear on each side for about 2-3 minutes, then finish it up in the 500F oven for about 5 minutes for medium-rare.

The marinated steak is tender, juicy and delicious – and it doesn’t taste one bit like coffee.  The coffee flavor of the crusted one is way more intense but it combines very nicely with the cumin and pepper, adding unexpected depth.

Then this Saturday I went to the Fluff Festival in Union Sq in Somerville – turns out that the great American sugary spread was invented right here near Boston in 1913!   So I got inspired, and upon returning home I created a Fluff-based dessert that went with my coffee theme.  I called it Poor Man’s Tiramisu 🙂

Poor Man’s Tiramisu
Two sweet crackers (I used almond thins)
½ Nutella
½ Fluff
½ packet of Starbucks VIA Italian roast

Spread the Nutella on the crackers, artfully stack them, scoop the Fluff on top and sprinkle the coffee.  Yum!!!

For other recipes that I made this weekend using coffee, check out my blog:
Chipotle and Coffee Chicken Wings
Beef Stew with Coffee
Coffee Chili
Coffee Baked Beans
Coffee Honey Cake
Coffee-Braised Beef Ribs
Red-eye Gravy
Coffee BBQ sauce