We rarely eat steak, but Ariel's boss bought him some filet mignon recently. I didn't want to mess it up so I did some research and ended up just pan-searing the steaks and then offering this sauce on the side, along with bacon crumbles. Ariel liked it that way because then he could eat part of the steak plain (purist style) and the rest with sauce on it. This is a luxury sauce for sure, but it would be just as good brushed onto grill meats or served on hamburgers.
Ingredients:
3/4 cup bourbon
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tbsp Tamari or soy sauce
2 tbsp high quality barbecue sauce, ideally Jack Daniels brands, or extra thick Worcestershire sauce if you don't have any good barbecue sauce
2 tbsp cold butter (not margarine) cut into 4 pieces
First, cook the steaks in a heat-safe skillet. While they're cooking, whisk the sauce ingredients together.
When the steaks are done, remove to a plate and pour the sauce into the skillet. Stir to loosen any tasty brown bits stuck to the pan.
Bring to a boil and cook until thickened and all the alcohol is boiled off. Reduce heat to low and drop the butter in one piece at a time. Whisk each piece thoroughly into the sauce to form a suspension. This adds body and richness.
Serve in a small gravy boat or other serving thing with a pour spout.
Note: You can leave out the butter if you are serving a well-marbled steak. Just cook the sauce down a little longer so it's thick enough. The filet mignon is (according to the Internet) so lean that it is best to serve it with a sauce that has fat in it, ideally butter, to bring out the flavor. London broil would probably be the same, but you wouldn't need butter for, say, Delmonico.
