Gorgonzola and Roasted Garlic Sauce for Steaks, Beef Roasts, and Burgers

By James Kimble January 5, 2024 5 mins read 90 Views

[FTC Standard Disclosure] We receive no compensation for this post. Any links which may earn us a commission are tagged as [Affiliate Link].

This is the recipe for the sauce that we served with reverse-seared beef tenderloin at the 2023 Chain of Lakes Eggfest. We won 1st place there and this sauce was definitely one of the reasons that we did so well. A lot of folks asked for this recipe so here it is.

Gorgonzola and Roasted Garlic Sauce for Steaks

About Gorgonzola Sauce

This sauce is rich in texture and flavor. Loaded with heavy cream, the sauce is like velvet. It has the flavor trifecta with gorgonzola cheese, green peppercorn, and roasted garlic. It is excellent on:

Beef roasts, such as beef tenderloin or rib roasts,
Steaks, including ribeye, porterhouse, strip and filet, and
Big juicy burgers!

Green Peppercorns

Green peppercorns are just black peppercorns that aren't sun-dried.

Green peppercorns have a fragrant aroma and have a more fruity flavor.
Green peppercorns have less heat and are less astringent in flavor than black peppercorns.
Green peppercorns are more tender, so I crush mine in a mortar and pestle to get rustic, coarse bits for my sauce.
Substitute - If you can't find green peppercorns (I mail order ours), you can probably find those little pepper grinders full of tri-color pepper in any grocery store. Coarsely ground tri-color pepper will work, just dial back the quantity to about 1 teaspoon.

Here's the recipe.

Gorgonzola and Roasted Garlic Sauce for Steaks, Beef Roasts, and Burgers

By www.nibblemethis.com

Published 05/07/2023

This is the rich, velvety, and boldly flavored cheese sauce that we served on beef tenderloin at the 2023 Chain of Lakes Eggest. It was a huge hit with the crowds and helped us win First Place in that event.

INGREDIENTS

4 tablespoons butter
1 shallot, peeled and diced
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon roasted garlic paste
2-3 cups heavy cream
5 ounces of crumbled gorgonzola cheese
1 1/2 teaspoons crushed green peppercorns
kosher salt to taste, about 3/4 teaspoon
1 egg yolk

INSTRUCTIONS

Melt butter in a sauce pot preheated over medium heat and saute the diced shallot for about 3-5 minutes until tender. Stir in the garlic paste and cook for 1 more minute.
Whisk in the flour and continue whisking until it is combined into a roux and has a nutty aroma, 1-3 minutes.
Whisk in the cream and green peppercorn until smooth and creamy. Allow a very slow simmer, about 3-5 minutes.
Once the sauce starts to slowly bubble, whisk in the egg gorgonzola in batches until it has all melted into the sauce.
Whisk in the egg yolk and let cook for 1 more minute.
Add kosher salt to taste.
Keep warm and serve over roasts or burgers. For burgers, this is best refrigerated and placed on top of the burgers after they have been flipped.

Yield: 2 cups of sauce

Prep Time: 00 hrs. 10 mins.

Cook time: 00 hrs. 15 mins.

Total time: 25 mins.

Tags: sauce

Notes and Pictures

I started with a 2.2-pound tomahawk ribeye steak from Butler and Bailey Market.

I used my NMT Umami Steak Seasoning recipe except I ground it finely as seen on the left. I do this for a couple of reasons. One, the fresh grinding activates the flavors a bit more. Two, the fine particles seem to absorb into the meat more easily during a dry brine. Third, the finely ground rub makes a fantastic finish seasoning.

I put the seasoned steak on a rack, loosely covered it with a food bag, and put it in the fridge for a 24-hour dry brining.

After 24 hours, you can see how the rub has adhered to the steak.

For fuel, I loaded fresh Fogo lump charcoal in my Kick Ash Basket and added 2 cubes of red oak Mojobrick Bar-B-Cubes. Then I topped this off with the cleaned, leftover lump charcoal.

I know the wood cubes look like MDF but Bar-B-Cubes are bricks of food-safe wood varieties that are bound together using a 100% natural binder. I know several pro teams that use them in competition and they have won at World Champion levels. I love them in the backyard for their consistency and convenience. I receive no compensation from them, I just like the product.

My grill of choice for this cook was one of my large Big Green Eggs. I used an indirect setup of a cast-iron plate setter (aka ConvEGGtor) and cast iron grates from Craycort.
There are now a lot of cheap cast-iron plate setters out there, but I use the original created by Michael Chance now sold by Smokeware. I've had mine for over 8 years and it is still rocking along.
Cast-Iron Plate Setter [Amazon Affiliate]

My slow-roast portion of the reverse-sear was 275°f until it reached an internal temp of 125°f. Normally, I prefer a cooking temp of 225-250°f but I compromised to speed the cooking time up. You'll still get a nice steak at 275°f but you'll be a little more done on the edges than at 225°f.

While the steak rested, I switched to direct heat and dropped in the griddle plate to cook a side of zucchini. This modular feature is one of the reasons I have been using this grate from Craycort for over a decade.

Tomahawk on Craycort cast iron grate on a big green egg kamado grill

Finally, I seared the steak. I could have done this on the grates or griddle. I went with the grates because I still had zucchini on at the time.

Reverse-seared ribeye steak with grilled zucchini and roasted potatoes, not bad for a weeknight.

Sue Ann Staff Estate Winery The Gritstone

We had a special wine with this - Sue Ann Staff Estate Winery's The Gritstone, a cabernet. It's a dry, medium-bodied red wine that is barrel aged for 20 months. It is named after a generations-old gritstone that remains on their property.

We were lucky enough to have Sue Ann Staff with us at the Eggfest and she brought some of her wines. The vineyards have been in her family for over 200 years, how cool is that? Sue and I both had recipes for gorgonzola sauce so we combined them and this sauce was a fantastic result.