Grilled Steak with Caramelized Onions + Mulberry Glaze

Have you ever been driving on a beautiful summer evening when all of a sudden your nose picks up a delicious smell? You keep sniffing and your eyes roll back as you realize someone is outside grilling. No matter how full you may be, it triggers a reaction that is impossible to ignore. For me, it makes me immediately want a huge juicy steak, or a burger topped with crunchy, cold lettuce.

Now that I’ve moved back to Ohio temporarily, Troy and I have more outside space. I’ve been taking advantage of this as much as possible, even with a hurt ankle (another story for another time). I’ve made grilled steak, pork chops, burgers, grilled asparagus — for the first few weeks, we basically lived outside and cooked there as well. 

Another benefit of spending time outside is making use of natural ingredients. As we’ve been exploring, I’ve found wild onions, mint, and all sorts of wild berries. Raspberry, mulberry, and I think blackberry plants are tucked away in various corners of Troy’s property, and in high school he used to drive me around and make little pit stops at the different bushes. Mulberries are his favorite, so one night I decided to incorporate them into dinner. 

Ingredients
Steak – pick your favorite cut!
Onion
Mulberries – or pick your favorite, as long as it’s something mild and not too sweet
1/4 cup sugar
1 lime
Garlic
Rosemary
Water
Worcestershire sauce
Salt
Pepper

I have so much fun grilling because it’s a completely different cooking experience than the stove top. It’s so easy to just slap something on the grill and leave it be until it’s ready, but at the same time you can really develop complex flavors. For this recipe, I also cooked over a fire to make the glaze, so grab a skillet. 

I started by slicing my onions; don’t slice too thin, because we’re going to grill them first. That’s one mistake I kept making when grilling. I love getting beautifully thin slices, so I’m in a habit of doing that. However, those little babies are going to fall right through the grill (duh) so keep it fairly thick.

I wanted a simple, flavorful steak so I only seasoned it with salt, pepper, and a little bit of Worcestershire sauce. I let that sit in a bowl to marinate as I prepared the onions. 

Grill the onions until they become a nice brown color. I even like to char some pieces. As those cook, set your skillet over the fire to start warming it and grab a bowl for the berries. Use a spatula to muddle them a bit, then just barely cover with water. Add in the sugar and stir. In the summertime, my mom always used to have angel food cake and strawberries on hand for a sweet treat, and this is how she prepared the strawberries. It creates such a beautifully sweet sauce!

Once the onions are done transfer them to the skillet. Then, pour the berry mixture into the pan and let it reduce a bit to thicken. Squeeze in lime juice and toss in the halves when you’re done to maximize the flavor. 

As this reduces, start your steak. Troy likes his super rare (like…really, really rare) so I usually completely finish my sides before starting the meat. However, time these up as you see fit. Cut the tip of the garlic off, or slice it in half, and put that on the grill next to the steak. I love doing this because you end up with awesomely soft cloves that you can just squeeze out and use to top the steak. Place rosemary sprigs on top of the steaks as they cook. 

Let the onions keep simmering until your desired thickness, then you’re done! I apologize for some sloppy plating, but we just ate on paper plates outside after I grilled. Also, I’m still working on those grill marks. Someday I want to recreate this dish and put it on a white background – the contrast between the purple and white would be beautiful!

If this sounds like something you’d love, be sure to share it on Facebook! There’s all sorts of things you can do with the fruits and vegetables in your yard or garden and I’d love to know what you’re doing. 

Happy cooking!