My Cajun ribeye steaks electrify your palate with flavor-popping perfection, y'all. Two big one-pound beauties, seasoned ALL over. Then, popped into the fridge for a few hours to dry brine to optimal taste and texture levels. Finally, grilled over white hot coals and basted with a butter sauce until lusciously tender, amazingly flavorful restaurant-quality deliciousness. Yep and yay...
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It Couldn't Be Any Easier, Y'all...
Cajun ribeye steaks are highly seasoned on each side with a south Louisiana-inspired dry brine that enhances the flavor as it tenderizes the meat. The steaks are then grilled and basted at the end with herb-infused melted butter.
Truthfully, the dry brine and the grill do almost all of the work! There are only a few minutes of actual hands-on prep and cooking time in this original recipe. However, each bite is flavored all the way through. And sooo tender and juicy that it's almost unbelievable that you cooked the Cajun ribeye yourself at home instead of eating it out at a fancy-dancy restaurant. Indeed.
Ingredient Essentials
- Choose ribeyes that are about 1 ½ inches thick. This is the ideal size because the steaks are neither too thick nor too thin. Opt for a thicker steak if you have to, and stay away from ribeyes that are less than 1 inch thick. These smaller ones are easy to overcook and dry out on the grill.
- Make sure that your powdered seasonings are fresh and dry, especially the salt, which is the active ingredient in the dry brine part of the recipe. I used table salt in this recipe with great success. You can also use kosher salt, which many dry brining purists swear by, as well.
- Both salted and unsalted butter will work well for the Cajun ribeyes. So just use whichever you have on hand.
How to Make Cajun Ribeye
Start by lining a baking tray with parchment paper. Then, sprinkle about ⅓ of the seasoned salt onto one side of the steaks.
Now, flip the steaks over.
Season the other side of each ribeye. Make sure that you don't have any pungent smells in your refrigerator that would transfer to the steak. Then, slide the baking tray into the refrigerator uncovered.
There will probably be some of the seasoning left. So, don't toss it out. Instead, just set it aside.
And put the butter into the dish. You'll heat this up later to finish off the Cajun ribeye steaks.
After a few hours, take the baking tray out of the fridge. Then, heat the grill to medium-high heat while the ribeyes come up to room temperature on the counter.
When the grill is ready, put the steaks on directly over the center of the coals.
Flip every few minutes. Melt the butter and get the bowl ready. Finally, on the last leg of the grilling time, baste each ribeye with the seasoned butter.
And that's it, y'all!!
The first thing you notice about each Cajun ribeye is its beautiful rich brown exterior. Then, as you take your first bite, you're mesmerized by its over-the-top tender juiciness.
Next, when you swallow, you can literally feel the small flavor-pop explosions going off all over your tongue and down your throat. Yep. And you're hooked into silence until you finish off that very last blessed bite. Indeed.
Share your Cajun ribeye with those who shower you with steadfast love and loyalty. Much food love, and see y'all on the yum side...
Storage
Store the leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Cajun Ribeye Safety
Some people prefer rare and medium-rare steaks. However, the U.S. Department of Agriculture writes against this, stating that beef steaks should be cooked to an internal temperature of at least 145 degrees Fahrenheit to avoid consuming harmful bacteria. The USDA suggests that you use a digital meat thermometer to ensure that your steak is cooked to this temperature.
Top Tip
The dry brine can make these steaks stick to the grill grates. You can stop this from happening by oiling your grates while they are cold, and then again right before you're ready to grill the ribeyes.
Pairings
These other blog recipes go really well with these Cajun ribeye steaks.
Other Meat-Lovers Recipes
Check out some more carnivorous recipes down below.
NOTE: This post was first published on February 9, 2016, and updated and republished on August 23, 2023.
Cajun Ribeye
Ingredients
- 2 1-pound ribeye steaks bone-in or boneless
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon parsley flakes
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried paprika
- salt to taste see notes
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 4 tablespoons butter
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, then lay the steaks down on the paper.
- Put all of the seasonings into a bowl.
- Sprinkle the seasonings over the steaks liberally.
- Turn the steaks over, and season the other side of them. Reserve any leftover seasonings.
- Place the steaks uncovered in the fridge for at least 3 hours, but up to overnight.
- When ready to cook, preheat the grill to medium-high heat, about 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Put the steaks on the grill, and put the cover down, if applicable.
- Turn the steaks after 4 minutes, then wait another 4 minutes before turning them again.
- Melt the butter and stir it into the reserved seasonings.
- Start basting the steaks with the reserved butter after the second flip, then flip and baste the steaks after every third-minute mark.
- Use a digital meat thermometer to finish grilling the steaks to your desired doneness. (See the chart in the notes section.)
- Rest each steak for at least 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
The information shown is an estimate provided by a third-party, online computer-generated nutrition calculator, not a registered dietitian or certified nutritionist. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods and individual portion sizes, along with other factors.
See our full nutrition disclaimer here.
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