Date Night on the Ranch

Part of owning land is never wanting to leave the ranch! Most of our date nights end up with us trying new recipes. We’ll season our meat, check cows while it marinates, sip a beverage while watching the sunset, and then try out new techniques of cooking. We don’t know about y’all… but steak is our love language; so we are going to share one of our favorite, “go-to”, simple date night meals with an underrated technique for cooking a great slab of beef, without firing up the pit! 

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Ingredients

For the steak:
· Your choice of steak 
· We are using a 10 oz Wagyu Top Sirloin
· Preferred Steak Seasoning 
· 2-3 tbs of butter or olive oil
· Sliced Onion – optional for additional flavor
· Other flavor options – Sprig of thyme, rosemary, garlic cloves, etc 

For the Black Pepper Quail:
· 1-2 lbs of quail, your preference on cut
· “Olive Oil and Vinegar” Salad Dressing
You can also use Italian dressing, but quail are such a small bird that we find it’s too over powering of a flavor.
· Garlic Pepper Seasoning 
· 1/3 cup of all purpose flour
· Cooking Oil 

For the Garlic Okra: 
· 1 bunch of Fresh Okra, washed and sliced diagonally lengthwise 
· 6-10 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
· 1 tablespoon of olive oil
· 1 tablespoon of garlic powder 
· Salt and pepper to taste

Directions for steak –

· Bring the steak to room temperature. Lightly tap dry with a paper towel on both sides. Season with your favorite type of steak seasoning. 

· We keep it simple using salt, fresh ground pepper, and a dash of garlic powder. Season generously on both sides. Remember the larger the cut of meat, the more seasoning it can handle. 

· On the stovetop, bring a pan to medium-high heat.

· Preheat oven to 400 degrees

· Place 2-3 tablespoons of butter (for better flavor) or olive oil, in the pan. Once butter is almost completely melted, place steak in pan.

· Let one side sear (should take one or two minutes) then flip over to the other side for an additional one to two minutes

· Once you’ve flipped the steak, carefully tilt the pan allowing the excess butter to puddle in the lower side of the pan. Using a spoon dip into that excess butter and coat the top of the steak repeatedly for about 30 seconds. 

· Place the oven safe pan into the preheated oven and set timer for 10-12 minutes. For some extra flavor and an extra side, place a linear sliced onion into your pan prior to placing in the oven. (If you chose to use additional herbs, add ‘em to the butter and baste the meat before placing in oven).

· For medium rare remove the pan from the oven at approx. 130 degrees. 

· Place on cutting board and lightly tent the meat with foil, allowing it to rest for 5-6 minutes.

For this date night we split the steak, serving it sliced across the grain.

Directions for fried Quail: 

· For this date night we used quail legs. However, the recipe can be used on whole quail or quail halves. 

· If using frozen quail, thaw first. 

· Place quail in a gallon freezer bag with a generous amount of “Olive Oil & Vinegar Salad Dressing” & Garlic Pepper Seasoning.  The dressing does two things- adds some subtle flavor and makes the flour you’re going to dredge these quail in later stick to the quail without making the whole bird taste like nothing but batter like you’d get using an egg wash or a buttermilk application. Shake the bag well, distributing the marinade mixture evenly on the quail. Place in fridge for at least 2 hours.

· Whisk 1/3 cup of flour with 1.5 tablespoons of Garlic Pepper in a small bowl. 

· Remove the quail from the marinade and dredge thoroughly in the flour, coating all sides generously. Place aside on a plate. 

· Bring a pan to medium-high heat

· Place a generous amount of cooking oil (we used olive oil) in the pan. You don’t want the quail to float, but there needs to be enough oil so that a majority of the quail is covered and it fries evenly. 

· Quail is a small piece of meat so it doesn’t take long to cook ‘em. Cook each side to a golden brown color, or to an internal temperature of at least 150 degrees. Keep your eye on them because they will cook quickly.

· Remove the cooked quail from the pan and place on a plate covered with paper towels to catch excess grease. 

You are ready to serve once they’re all cooked!  

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Directions for Garlic Okra:

· Thoroughly wash Okra and slice diagonally. You can leave the steams on- they give another texture element and cook nicely. 

· Slice your garlic cloves into thin pieces. If you don’t have garlic cloves, you can substitute minced garlic, but we highly recommend thin slices as they fry up and crisp deliciously. 

· Heat olive oil in a frying pan over medium high heat. Once oil is hot, add the okra to the pan. Toss in the oil and fry for 1-2 minutes. 

· Add the garlic slices and fry for another minute or two. If the okra is drying out, add another dash of oil. 

· As the garlic become fragrant, add the garlic powder slowly in two or three batches, tossing it around in the frying pan. The garlic powder is going to coat the okra. 

· Cook to desired tenderness. The longer you cook, the more caramelized and heavenly it’ll get! Season with salt and pepper and serve! 

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Matti Tackett

Associate at Texas Ranch Sales, LLC

Matti has been an avid huntress from an early age and has recently become involved in the cattle industry. She has been a spokesperson for the National Rifle Association and has worked with their Institute for Legislative Action.  If Matti’s not working hard to fulfill her clients’ ranch dreams, she’s probably out hunting somewhere.