Rump Steak with Wine-Balsamic Coffee Glaze

Tender rump steak cooked to pink perfection and served with a delicious savory sauce with coffee, red wine, brown sugar and balsamic vinegar, so good you will have to stop yourself from eating the sauce with a spoon.

Coffee adds a wonderful smoky note to any marinade or sauce. Never mind just using it in sweet concoctions. Try it in something savory!
If you’ve been reading along here for a while, you know that I am a lover of coffee.  In fact, coffee has been known to bring out the poet in me, as evidenced by this post back in August of 2012, when I shared the following haiku.

Precious elixir

My good reason for rising

Coffee, always.  Yes!

I love to use it in muffins, like this one, and this one, and this one. Sometimes I just make actual coffee, like this post on how to make your own coffee syrup for the perfect iced latte anytime.

Ah, yes, my love of coffee is well documented. I offer as exhibit F, this birthday greeting, written in coffee beans by my elder daughter who was entrusted with my blog password when she created my lovely header and logo.

The point of this preamble is that you won’t be surprised to learn that my hand shot up when my friend, Jenni Field, of Pastry Chef Online, said that the publisher of a book with coffee recipes was looking for bloggers to review the book and try out the recipes. “Me, me, pick me!” I said, with gaiety and wild abandon, virtually speaking. Happy dance was actual. Because: Coffee!

There was a mix up and the hard copy of my book went missing – cue much sadness and despondency – but then, they sent me a pdf of the book and my world was suddenly better again. Because: Coffee!

While I didn’t get to hold the book in my hands, I did manage to make notes and “bookmark” several recipes I wanted to try. Patricia McCausland-Gallo is the author of Passion for Coffee (<affiliate link) and that passion shines through on each and every page. She tells the story of coffee like a romantic fairytale that came true for the world, starting with the discovery of the effects of eating raw coffee beans on animals, which made the humans take notice, to the roasting and enlarging on their essence through modern times.

The creative recipes use coffee in many imaginative ways, sweet, savory and in between, adding depth and richness, sometimes with just a hint of coffee and other times with a walloping bang that you don’t want to miss.

I can tell you that the coffee ice cream is fabulous and one day I’ll share that recipe as well, but for the book review and introduction of the giveaway, I wanted to jump outside the usual sweet comfort zone and try coffee in a savory dish. It was, in a word, exceptional. The defining factor for me, and one that is often discussed at length at the dining table when I try a new recipe is “Should I make it again?” The answer was a big Yes.

Rump Steak with Wine-Balsamic Coffee Glaze

The original recipe called for flank steak, which I couldn’t locate here so I substituted a similar cut, which worked beautifully. I also used espresso powder in place of the granulated coffee since that’s all the instant coffee I keep in the house.

Ingredients
For the steak:
2 lbs or 930g rump steak
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon freeze-dried or granulated instant coffee (or espresso powder)
1 tablespoon olive oil (I didn’t measure, just drizzled some in.)
1/2 teaspoon salt

For the sauce:
2 teaspoons freeze-dried or granulated instant coffee (or espresso powder)
3/4 cup or 180ml beef stock or broth
1/4 cup or 60ml red wine
1/4 cup or 60ml balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup or about 65g dark brown sugar
Beurre manié

For the beurre manié – to thicken the sauce – instructions here
2 1/2 teaspoons flour
2 1/2 teaspoons butter, softened

Method
Sprinkle the steak with thyme, black pepper and coffee and pop it in a Ziploc bag. Drizzle in the olive oil and give the whole thing a good massage from the outside.

Place in the refrigerator for a couple of hours or overnight to marinate.

About 15-20 minutes before you are ready to cook, remove the steak from the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature.

Meanwhile, measure the ingredients for your sauce into a large measuring cup and stir well to combine and to dissolve the brown sugar.

Make your beurre manié. (Check out the link in the ingredients list. It's really easy.) Set both aside.

Heat a heavy sauté pan over medium heat. (I used high heat because that’s how my stove works best for searing.) Season the steak with salt and sear for three to four minutes on each side.

Side one.

Side two.

Cover and cook for five more minutes. (I cut this back to two minutes because we like our steak very pink!) Remove from the pan and cover. Rest for 10 minutes before carving.

The microwave cover is very effective for this stage.

While the steak is resting, we can make the sauce. Add the sauce ingredients to the pan and scrape all the lovely browned bits left behind from the steak as you bring the liquid to the boil.

Now add your beurre manié a little at a time, whisking all the while, until it has all been added. Continue to cook the sauce until it thickens.

Add in the juices from the steak plate and whisk again. Try to stop drinking this sauce with a spoon. It’s futile, by the way.

Now slice the steak into thin strips, against the grain of the meat.

Serve with the warm sauce.

Enjoy!

Just to give you a taste of other recipes in this wonderful book, here’s a list of some of my favorite Passion for Coffee book tour posts so far:

• Café Bomba from Jenni at Pastry Chef Online 
• Cappuccino Brownies from Dionne at Try Anything Once 
• Coffee Curried Chicken from Meghan at Travel Wine Dine 
• Espresso & Almond Praline Ice Cream from Maria at Pink Patisserie 
• Mango Prosciutto Salad from Betty Ann at Asian in America 
• Pork Tenderloins with Dijon Mustard Sauce from Heather at girlichef 

*Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links to the book, Passion for Coffee. If you buy after clicking on my link, I make some small change from the sale and you are still charged the normal price. Win-win! I received a soft copy of this book for review purposes, with no other personal compensation. All opinions are entirely my own.

Beef Short Rib Bourguignon

Beef slow braised in red wine is a classic dish needing just a little hands-on work and then a lot of hands-free oven time, resulting in meat that falls off the bones and gravy that you’ll want to slurp up with a spoon.

This week my Sunday Supper family, along with our host, the fabulous Alice from Hip Foodie Mom, is bringing you recipes that require five ingredients or less. The powers that be decided that water, oil, salt and pepper would be “freebies” and don’t need to be included in our count, thank goodness! I decided to adapt a recipe for beef Bourguignon that normally has way more ingredients because I thought it would still be possible to make something rich and flavorful if I chose my ingredients with care and thought.

Each item had to add to the flavor spectrum and bring multiple hues to the finished dish. The beef must contain bones and a goodly helping of fatty meat to add rich beefiness so I chose short ribs over a leaner cut. The red wine would contribute tang and depth as well as help to tenderize the meat as it cooks. The bacon would be honey- or brown sugar-smoked, adding sweetness and smokiness to counterbalance the acidity of the wine. The wild mushrooms would add an earthy undertone to the finished dish which often includes fresh mushrooms. And finally, the shallots would bring sweetness and body to the broth and the braising beef ribs. Using shallots instead of normal onions also allowed me to set aside the smallest ones to add in near the end of the cooking time to mimic the pearl onions that are often included in traditional Bourguignon recipes. I would have dearly loved to add a sprinkle of chopped parsley right at the end, but that would be breaking the rules, and I must admit, I didn’t really miss it for flavor. The color just would have been pretty.

Ingredients
3 1/4 lbs or about 1.475kg beef short ribs
1/2 oz by weight or 14g dried assorted wild mushrooms (I used half the bag pictured.)
1.1 lbs or 500g shallots
5 slices - thick cut or 175g brown sugar or honey smoked bacon (or some other sweet smoked version – maple would probably work too.)
2 cups or 475ml full-bodied red wine
Sea salt – I use Maldon’s flakey salt.
Freshly ground black pepper

Method
Season the short ribs on all sides with a good sprinkling of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cover with cling film and set aside.

Meanwhile, start prepping the rest of your items.

Put your dried mushrooms in a heatproof bowl and cover them with about a cup or 240ml boiling water. Set aside to soak.

Peel and slice your shallots very finely, setting aside all the little bitty ones and leaving them whole.

All the bottom ones were sliced, The little ones up top were saved for the last hour of cooking time.

Slice the bacon into small strips and panfry them until they are crispy, stirring often to make sure the pieces don’t burn.

Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and put in on a saucer.

Use the bacon grease to fry the short ribs, a few at a time, until they are browned and golden on both sides. Don’t crowd the pan or they’ll just steam instead of browning.

When all the meat is browned, pile the sliced shallots into the pan and cover it with a tightly fitting lid.

Preheat your oven to 275°F or 130°C.

Cook the shallots over a medium heat, lifting the cover and stirring occasionally to loosen all the lovely sticky bits off the bottom and sides of the pan.

Meanwhile, scoop the mushrooms out of their soaking water with a slotted spoon and chopping them up a little if the pieces are bigger than bite-sized.

Pour the mushroom water through a very fine mesh sieve, being careful to stop just before you get to the sediment at the bottom.

When the shallots are soft, add in the red wine and cook down until about half the liquid has evaporated away.

Now add the mushrooms and the strained mushroom soaking water. Stir well.

Nestle the ribs in the shallot-y, mushroom-y broth and top with the crispy bacon, making sure to add any juice that accumulated in the bottom of the rib or bacon plates. We can’t let any of that goodness go to waste.

Cover the meat with a piece of heavy-duty foil and then put on the cover.

Slow roast in your preheated oven and set a timer for two hours.

After two hours, take the pan out of the oven and tuck the reserved small shallots in the juice around the ribs.

Put the foil back on and replace the lid.  Cook for a further hour.

When the ribs are done, use a spoon to skim off as much of the oil as you can.  The gravy is fabulous just like this, or you can add a bit more water or wine to thin it. I added just a little water and stirred it around.

Serve this short rib Bourguignon with something capable of soaking up some of that lovely gravy. I highly recommend a mash of mixed root vegetables, yams, potatoes and parsnips. Or perhaps just a green vegetable and a crusty loaf of bread.

Enjoy!

Do you need more “five ingredients or less” recipes to simplify your time in the kitchen? Look no farther than this list of wonderful links!

Appetizers, Salads and Starters

Chicken and Spring Greens Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette from Crazy Foodie Stunts
Fennel Citrus Salad from An Appealing Plan
Guacamole Deviled Eggs from Ruffles and Truffles
Kale-Had-a-Hard-Day Salad from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
Latkes with Smoked Salmon and Caviar from Confessions of a Culinary Diva
Salmon and Cucumber “Noodle” Salad from girlichef
Tomato Soup from Run DMT
Tomato, Avocado, and Cucumber Summer Salad from My Healthy Eating Habits
Tuna, Burrata and Black Olive Salad from The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen
Wasabi Cream Cheese Ham Salad from Neighborfood
Yogurt Dill Vegetable Dip from Melanie Makes

Side and Accompaniments

3-Ingredient Beer Bread from Take A Bite Out of Boca
Candied Apple Jelly from What Smells So Good?
Homemade Ricotta from Seduction in the Kitchen
Indian-style Roasted Cauliflower from kimchi MOM

Main Dishes

Baked Asparagus and Eggs from Bobbi’s Kozy Kitchen
BBQ Foiled Chicken from Meal Diva
Beans and Egg Sandwich from Basic N Delicious
Beef Short Rib Bourguignon from Food Lust People Love
Chicken and Potato Bake with Meyer Lemons from Cravings of a Lunatic
Chicken Asparagus Roll-ups from The Dinner-Mom
Chicken with Olives from Noshing With The Nolands
Crock Pot Beer Chicken from Our Table for Seven
Easy Crock Pot Pulled Chicken from Flour On My Face
Garlic Butter Shrimp from Savvy Eats
Greek Chicken Burgers from Country Girl In The Village
Grilled Caprese Salad Sandwich from Rants From My Crazy Kitchen
Grilled Steak with Garlic Cumin Rub from Cooking Chat
Honey Almond Salmon from Family Foodie
Lemon Basil Carbonara from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
Potato Pancakes (Reibekuchen) from The Not So Cheesy Kitchen
Salmon with Tiger Dill Sauce from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
Salsa Verde Chicken Enchiladas from Supper for a Steal
Slow Cooker Turkey Breast from Nosh My Way
Smothered Pork Chop Cups from Having Fun Saving
Spaghetti Squash with Simple Red Sauce from Momma’s Meals
Strawberry Red Wine Glazed Salmon from Cupcakes & Kale Chips

Dessert and Beverages

3-Ingredient Nutella Truffles from URBAN BAKES
4 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cherry Chip Cookies from Ninja Baking
4-Ingredient Butterscotch Peanut Butter Marshmallow Sweets from Shockingly Delicious
5-Minute Strawberry Sherbet from The Wimpy Vegetarian
Baked Custard Cups from Soni’s Food
Best Ever Coconut Macaroons from Hip Foodie Mom
Chocolate & Peanut Butter Squares from Killer Bunnies, Inc
Chocolate Orange Ice Cream from Gluten Free Crumbley
Coconut Cream Mango Mousse from Sue’s Nutrition Buzz
Coconut Crusted Chocolate Ganache Pie from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
Flourless Chocolate Cake from Jane’s Adventures in Dinner
Golden Oreo Rice Krispies Treats from Pies and Plots
Orchid Panna Cotta from Manu’s Menu
Oreo Cookies and Cream Fudge from Alida’s Kitchen
Peanut Butter Buckeyes from Peanut Butter and Peppers
Raspberry Pina Colada Ice Cream from Try Anything Once Culinary
Sopapilla Cheesecake Bites from The Weekend Gourmet
The Ginger Sass Cocktail from Nik Snacks
Vanilla Bean Honey Ice Cream from The Foodie Army Wife
Vanilla Pudding from Magnolia Days