This Festive Dirty Steak Salad is my new favourite campfire meal! At its core is a juicy, dirty steak cooked directly in the embers of the fire which is accompanied by some delicious festive sides.
Before you’re put off by talk of my festive dirty steak salad, let me just explain what a dirty steak is.
A dirty steak is one that is cooked directly on the coals of an open fire. No pan, no griddle, just raw meat on hot ashy coals.
It delivers the most intense flavour and crust and if you haven’t tried it, I implore that you do soon. Seriously delicious stuff.
Festive Dirty Steak Salad
This festive dirty steak salad is my nod to an unconventional Christmas. Who says Christmas dinner needs to involve turkey? Or even be cooked indoors??
I know a whole heap of people that, family demands aside, would rather spend the most special meal of the year in the woods. The woodsmoke and crisp December air builds an appetite far more than central heating and board games ever could!
Cooked in the garden firepit on a beautifully sunny yet misty day, I spent a lovely few hours tending my coals and cooking my sides.
In between tickling the fire I whizzed up a simple chimichurri sauce using frozen herbs and dried spices that took mere minutes.
Campfire Brussels Sprouts
One of my favourite elements of the meal were the Brussels sprouts. I used frozen button sprouts, that were so tender due to their small size.
I defrosted them first, then heated a knob of butter in a small cast iron pan until sizzling.
The sprouts went in and sat for a few minutes gaining some colour before being turned.
As frozen sprouts are naturally softer than raw ones, they cooked to perfection this way and I highly recommend giving them a go.
Please don’t try this with fresh, raw sprouts – that really isn’t going to end well! Maybe try parboiling them first.
How to Cook Steak on Hot Coals
You need to keep things natural when cooking dirty steaks. Do not use briquettes, lighter fluid or firelighters as this will taint your steak and possibly add toxins to your food.
I used restaurant-grade charcoal from Iglu, a Cornish company that went out of their way to arrange an emergency weekend delivery for my festive feast.
Big thanks to all involved in responding to my BBQ emergency. I owe you all a pint :)
If your steaks were frozen, let them defrost overnight in the fridge. And as always let them stand at room temperature for an hour before cooking for best results.
Then just before cooking, sprinkle generously with salt.
The Perfect Cooking Fire
Wait for the coals to get ashy and white, then get a heavy-based frying pan and bash the coals to flatten them out.
This limits the amount of oxygen around the meat (stopping flare-ups that may burn your steak) and gives a better ratio of ember to steak.
When the coals are pretty level, flap vigorously with a piece of cardboard or similar to blow off most of the ash and heat the coals up a little more.
Then slap those steaks directly onto the embers and wait.
Do not touch them for the first 2 minutes of cooking time, as you want to give the meat time to caramelise and get some good crust happening.
After the longest 2 minutes of your life, flip the steaks over and let cook for another 2 minutes on the other side.
If there are any coals stuck to the steak, just flick them off with your tongs.
Small amounts of ash are fine and will no doubt put hairs on your chest.
My steak was a little under an inch thick and I cooked for a total of 6 minutes to get this medium-rare finish. If you want it less pink, cook for a couple of minutes extra.
Let the steak rest on a warm plate and covered with foil for 3 or 4 minutes. Then slice thinly and top the festive salad and enjoy your unconventional Festive Dirty Steak Salad.
If you need some more campfire cooking inspiration, here’s my whole collection of camping recipes.
- 50 g pot of chopped parsley
- 1 teaspoon chopped red chilli
- 2 teaspoon chopped garlic
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 lemon juice
- 20 Button Brussels Sprouts defrosted
- 1 knob Butter
- 3 Baby asparagus bundles wrapped in bacon defrosted
- 400 g sirloin steaks 2 x 200g steaks
- Salt
- Fresh baby spinach leaves
- Pomegranate seeds
- Whizz up all the ingredients in a blender. Add a little more oil or lemon juice if too thick.
- Heat the knob of butter in a small pan until sizzling. Fry the sprouts slowly, letting the colour build up. Repeat with the asparagus and bacon bundles, ensuring the bacon is cooked through.
- Season both sides of each steak generously with salt just before placing on the coals. Cook for 6 - 9 minutes total cooking time, depending on 'doneness' required.
- Let rest for a few minutes before slicing thinly.
- Pile up a warm plate with the sides, baby spinach, steak strips and pomegranate seeds and serve with the bowl of chimichurri sauce.
countrywoodsmoke says
Brilliant :) such a big fan of cooking steaks this way, the flavour and char is off the scale. Have a Great Christmas x
Jane Sarchet says
Thanks Marcus, you too!
Janie x
Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy says
Adding bacon to anything is guaranteed to make it more delicious. This looks like my kind of salad!
Jane Sarchet says
Exactly Dannii!! :)
Janie x
markr356 says
I love the idea of cooking in the coals! And yes those gaucho steaks are not bad.
Jane Sarchet says
Really juicy aren’t they Mark? Being defrosted rather than fresh I was really surprised at how juicy they were.
Janie x
glamorous glutton says
That sounds delicious, love the sound of all those ingredients. We’re going unconventional this year with a porchetta cooked in an outdoor wood fired oven. Should be smoky and delicious. GG ps have an amazing day. GG
Jane Sarchet says
Oh GG that sounds incredible! Your outdoor oven has been a foodie highlight of 2016 hasn’t it!
Janie x
Sharee @ Savory Spicerack says
I am loving this way of cooking that you have shared. I always light up my fire pit during the cooler seasons. So I can only imagine how nice it would be to cook this way during the cool season as well. Thanks for sharing!
Jane Sarchet says
Absolutely Sharee, BBQ’s aren’t just for summer!!!
Janie x
Platter Talk says
Steak grilled directly on the coals? Interesting technique. We will have to try your method, once the snow melts and we start building camp fires again.
Jane Sarchet says
You have snow??! I am SO jealous :)
Janie x
culinaryginger says
I love the name, dirty steak and these look like great products.
Jane Sarchet says
It’s a great name isn’t it?! Very fitting for a steak cook in the fire!
Janie x
Jessy @ The Life Jolie says
How pretty and festive this is! I’m a lover of all things steak (and asparagus! Wow, it’s gorgeous!). This looks amazingly delicious!
Jane Sarchet says
Thanks Jessy :)
Janie x
claudia says
This sounds so yum! Wish I had this recipe a few days ago when we did boring steaks in the house. Despite the snow we have here in Canada in the winter I hope to have hubby continue open fire cooking. The current plan is to do our Christmas turkey (hubby does not know this yet…as he is the fire chef!) over an open fire and maybe brined before.
festive greetings all,
Claudia
Jane Sarchet says
Thanks Claudia :) I recently visited the HQ of the supermarket I bought these steak at – they cooked us a brined turkey for lunch on a BBQ and it tasted utterly delicious. Good luck with yours, I’d love to know how you (hubby!) gets on ;)
Janie x
Claire Jessiman (@foodiequine) says
I am reading this having just come back from a day in the woods! We cooked up a storm but nothing nearly as impressive as this. My bushcraft mad teenage son would adore this on Christmas day. He’s currently talking about BBQing the turkey!
Jane Sarchet says
Yay for letting him BBQ turkey – give him instructions and timings and let him get on with it! Give you more time for sipping gin based cocktails ;)
Janie x
littlesunnykitchen says
Love the idea of a campfire meal for Christmas dinner! That’s an unusual way to spend Christmas; in the woods, I really want to do that sometime… the bacon wrapped asparagus looks amazing as well!
Jane Sarchet says
Oh Dee, that asparagus was so sweet – I don’t think I’ve ever had such tender young spears, they were beautiful :)
Janie x
fabfood4all says
Love your different take on Christmas dinner! I’ve never cooked meat on coals before so am intrigued:-)
Jane Sarchet says
Thanks Camilla, it was a lovely meal that was great fun to make :)
Janie x
laura_howtocook says
I love the thought of cooking this dish as my Xmas meal, so much more fun and novel plus who can resist a steak cooked over hot coals, yum! I also love the look of those bacon wrapped asparagus, Iceland have really moved on so much in recent years
Jane Sarchet says
I have been really impressed with the ingredients I’ve bought from there this year Laura, their seafood is especially top quality (coming from a girl that lives on the Cornish coast that is praise indeed!)
Janie x
Kavey F says
Oh my gosh, I’ve never heard of steak cooked directly on the coals but really love the idea! The finished salad looks delicious. Such a cool idea!
Jane Sarchet says
Thanks so much Kavey :)
Janie x
Kate Veggie Desserts (@veggie_desserts) says
A campfire Christmas dinner is such a great idea! I love that frozen foods help make it a breeze.
Jane Sarchet says
Something a bit different isn’t it Kate :)
Janie x