Grilled Steak and Onions

Grilled steak and onions is an easy recipe to make on the grill. The steak starts with a simple yet flavorful rub, and we serve it with a bold red wine.

The weather has been pretty dreary this spring in New England. Now we finally have a sunny weekend with temperatures predicted to get into the low 90s. Definitely a great time to talk about grilling and wine to go with that grilled food! Thanks to Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla for hosting Wine Pairing Weekend today, talking about wine for grilled food.

Making Grilled Steak and Onions

This grilled steak and onions recipe is quite easy. I tend to keep it simple the first few times I get the grill going in the season. By midsummer I’ll be mixing it up with some more challenging preparations!

We get started by making a simple rub for the steak, and letting the meat absorb its flavors for a bit as we prep to grill the onions.

I have a grill pan that is great for doing the grilled onions. If you don’t have a grilling pan, you might want to pick one up! Here’s an Amazon link to a Weber grill pan that looks similar to what I use. (if you choose to use my Amazon affiliate link, I earn a small commission from the sale at no additional cost to you).

Our steaks took about 14 minutes to come out medium rare, but you really need to get a feel for timing on your grill. Also pay attention to the thickness of the steak. Ours were well over an inch thick; a thinner steak will cook faster. Note that sirloin steaks tend to cook quickly, and you don’t want to overcook them. You could easily substitute another cut here–ribeye and NY strip steak are two of my favorites.

Wine Pairing for Grilled Steak and Onions

The steak certainly calls for a bold red wine. The spice rub and onions made me think of a Zinfandel, which I go for often with grilled steak. I picked up the 2013 Bella Zinfandel ($23, 14.9% ABV) off the shelf at Pairings Wine & Food as a zin they carry that I had yet to try. The Bella Zin is from Sonoma County, one of my favorite regions.

I got lavender on the nose of the Bella Zinfandel. Taste of strawberry and blackberry fruit, along with a bit of white pepper and cardamom. Those spice notes seemed to hold out good potential for the pairing. But that high alcohol content really was evident when having this zin along with the steak, giving a sense of heat in the glass that prevented it from playing the desired complimentary role. I would say this zin is better on enjoyed on its own, and consider other pairing options.

One good alternative could be the 2013 Niner Cabernet Sauvignon ($34 , 14.3% ABV)  from Paso Robles. This cab has 5% Petit Verdot blended with the cab. I enjoyed this cab earlier this spring with another steak dish, and could see it working well with the grilled steak and onions. The Niner Cab has a big violet nose. Lush cherry fruit and velvety mouthfeel. Just a bit lower in alcohol content than the zin, I don’t recall it overwhelming the food like the Bella. I would give the Niner a try with our grilled steak and onions, or experiment with your own pairings and let me know how it goes!

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Grilled Food and Wine Pairings from #winePW

• • • Cindy at Grape Experiences is All Fired Up! Light the Grill and Pour Troon Wines
    • David of Cooking Chat shared Grilled Steak and Onions
    • Gwendolyn of Wine Predator wrote On Grill: Salmon, Squash, Stone Fruit; In Glass: Square Peg Pinot Noir x2
    • Jeff of FoodWineClick posted about Summer Wines With Memphis Style Slow Smoked Ribs
    • Jill of L’occasion planned Wine for A Summer Cookout
    • Julie at Wine-n-Friends paired Smoked Pork and Tempranillo: An evening with friends #winePW
    • Mary at Vindulge has joined us for the first time with Smoked Beef Short Ribs, Wine Braised
    • Michele at Rockin’ Red Blog wrote about Summer Grilling and Wine Pairings
    • Nancy at Pull That Cork shared Grilled Chicken and Rosé, of Course, for #winePW
    • Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm poured and paired Raspberry/Mango Glazed Ham Steaks with Edna Valley Pinot Noir
    • and Camilla – at Culinary Adventures with Camilla – plated her Grilled Octopus and Potato Salad with a Pet Nat from Donkey & Goat.

You can chat with the #winePW crew about grilled food and wine pairings during our live Twitter chat on Saturday, June 10, 2017. Simply tune into the #winePW hashtag on Twitter at 11 am ET / 8 am PT to join the conversation. Check out upcoming and past #winePW topics here.