First things first:  I’m not typically wild about steak tips.  Mostly because they’re so small that they almost immediately cook to medium well, which is a sin.  But that’s what came in our Butcher Box, so I needed to figure something out.

A caveat before we get started:  The recipe calls for red wine, but that is completely optional for those of us who don’t use alcohol.  The beef stock alone can handle the deglazing nicely.  Also, this recipe is pretty self-explanatory so there aren’t a ton of pictures.  Besides that, it’s kind of hard to represent the sauce in its various stages in still photographs.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Steak tips (about a pound or two)

Portobello Mushrooms, sliced

Onion, chopped

Butter (at least a ¼ cup—don’t skimp)

32 oz Beef Stock

Red Wine (optional)

Salt

Pepper

Garlic, chopped or grated

Thyme

1 Tbsp. Corn Starch

Salt and pepper the steak tips and set aside.

Cook the onion in the butter over medium-high heat until the onion is transparent, then add the mushrooms, give it a stir, cover and let sit for about 5 minutes.  Do NOT lift the lid and stir the mushrooms.  They will give off enough water that they won’t burn.  Besides, if you wind up with a dark coating on the bottom of the pot, that is a feature, not a bug.  Remove the mushrooms from the pot and set aside.

Deglaze the pot with the optional wine and then add half the beef stock, or just with half of the beef stock, and scrape up the brown layer from the pot.  Cook, uncovered, until the sauce has reduced by about 2/3.

Meanwhile, turn on your grill over medium-high flame and allow to pre-heat.  When the grill is ready, add your steak tips and cook for 2-3 minutes per side.  If you cook them for 5 minutes per side, then you might as well go to the Golden Corral and get their overcooked garbage food.  When the tips are cooked, remove from the grill and set aside.

When the sauce has reduced, add the remaining beef stock, the garlic and the thyme.  Return to a boil and cook, uncovered, for another ten minutes.  Whisk in the corn starch (add the corn starch slowly as you whisk, to avoid any clumps) until the sauce thickens.  Turn off the heat, return the mushrooms to the sauce and give it a stir to reheat.

Place the steak tips over a bed of rice and spoon the mushroom sauce over the top.  Serve with a dark green vegetable of some kind, like asparagus or broccoli.