Salt and Pepper Rib Eye Steaks with Mock Hollandaise Sauce

By Kent Whitaker

Sometimes “easy” is the way to go when grilling a steak! And the easiest way to season a steak is by using salt and pepper! You get plenty of flavor, it is simple, and it's versatile. With salt and pepper, you can go any flavor route you want after the steak is grilled. You can use garlic, Italian seasoning, or even Tex-Mex flavored steak butter.

Or you can top with grilled onions and mushrooms, seasoned mixed vegetables, or shrimp and scallops. Or you can top it with a Hollandaise sauce! It is all up to the flavor you’re going for. Here is an easy method for using salt and pepper as a steak seasoning complete with an easy Hollandaise sauce.

Seasoning Your Steaks

4 Ribeye Steaks

Dash of olive oil

Coarse Salt

Fresh Cracked Pepper

Brush your steaks with olive oil, sprinkle on your salt and pepper and allow to rest. Make sure you hit the top and bottom of the steaks as well as the sides. You can use table salt, kosher salt, sea salt, or even flavored salt. Sometimes I enjoy a brand of wood-smoked salt that I sometime buy at a local market.

The point is, if you don’t have a fancy type of salt then just grab your kitchen shaker. The same goes for pepper. Fresh cracked is wonderful but regular black pepper will work perfectly.

Rub the salt and pepper into the steaks and allow to rest for at least 30 to 45 minutes.  This is the perfect time to work on your mock Hollandaise sauce.

For the Mock Hollandaise sauce

Making a traditional Hollandaise sauce can be tricky! It involves plenty of whisking or an emulsion blender. The trick is emulsifying the eggs and fat so that they don’t separate. It’s like making mayonnaise. That’s where this Mock Hollandaise Sauce comes into play! Start by using the mayo in your fridge! The hard part is already done!

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1-2 teaspoons Dijon mustard (to taste)

Dash ground paprika

Dash hot pepper sauce

Whisk the hollandaise sauce ingredients together in a sauce pan and warm on the stove while stirring for a few minutes. You can add a splash of water if your sauce is too thick. You can warm it in a microwave, but the saucepan method seems to make for a creamier sauce. You can also add in parsley flakes for a touch of color if desired.

Rare, Medium, or Well Done?

Grill your steaks over high heat or skillet cook to your liking. The time needed will vary depending on your grill heat, how thick your steaks are, and even the weather. But a good rule of thumb when judging steak doneness is… using your thumb!

Touch the steaks on the grill to feel the firmness – they will firm up as they cook. Now, touch the fleshy part of the palm of your hand below the thumb. That’s like the firmness of a raw steak. Now touch your thumb to the tip of your first finger.

That flesh below your thumb firms up and is like the feel of a rare steak. Press the thumb and second finger together and you get medium rare. The thumb and ring finger mimics medium well and your thumb and last finger is well done. Or, use just about any newer battery-operated thermometer and follow the settings for rare, medium, and well.

Before serving, add a pat of butter to the top of each steak, allow the steaks to rest for a few minutes, and drizzle evenly with your Mock Hollandaise sauce.

Do not stress about following the recipe exactly. It is hard to go wrong with something as simple as salt and pepper steak. And the same goes with the sauce – adjust the recipes to your liking!

Author Bio: Kent Whitaker, also known as “The Deck Chef,” is an award-winning culinary writer and cookbook author. He has also penned Young Reader, NASCAR, and History titles. The former winner of the Emeril Live Food Network Barbecue Contest also covers football, motorsports, leatherwork, and bass fishing. Kent and his wife live in East Tennessee.