Sunny days and warm nights mean it’s time to pull out the grill and bask in the return of cookout weather.

Whether inviting a large crowd or simply eating dinner outside, this juicy ribeye steak recipe is perfect for any summer gathering. It also will make tasty leftover steak sandwiches the next day. Even better, serve your guests a new take on surf-and-turf by pairing steak with these grilled oyster brochettes.

Elevating your cookout with Virginia seafood is a way to support Virginia’s robust industry. The commonwealth is ranked as the nation’s fourth largest seafood producer and the largest on America’s Atlantic coast. Virginia’s seafood industry contributes over $1 billion annual to the economy, with about 6,000 Virginians working on the water and over 200 seafood companies headquartered in the state, according to Virginia Seafood and the Virginia Marine Products Board.

For a list of retail buyers in your area supplying fresh Virginia seafood, visit virginiaseafood.org/contact-list/virginia-seafood-retail-buyers/.

Rib-eye Steaks with Blue Cheese Butter and Mushrooms

2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
½ teaspoon pepper
4 boneless rib-eye steaks, cut 1ʺ thick (about 12 ounces each)
8 medium portobello mushrooms, stems removed
¼ cup olive oil
salt
chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Blue Cheese Butter:

½ cup crumbled blue cheese
¼ cup butter, softened
3 tablespoons chopped, rehydrated sun-dried tomatoes, not packed in oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Combine garlic, thyme and pepper, and press evenly onto steaks. Set aside.

Brush mushrooms with oil.

Place the steaks on a grill grate over medium, ash-covered coals, and arrange mushrooms around the steaks.

Grill steaks, covered, for 10-14 minutes (over medium heat on a preheated gas grill for 9-14 minutes). For medium rare, cook steaks to 145˚ or to 160˚ for medium doneness, turning occasionally.

Grill mushrooms 16-18 minutes (over medium heat on a preheated gas grill, 12 to 15 minutes) or until tender, turning occasionally.

Meanwhile, combine blue cheese butter ingredients in a small bowl until well blended.

Cover and refrigerate two of the steaks, four mushrooms and ½ cup blue cheese butter to use in Ribeye Steak Sandwiches (recipe follows).

Spread remaining butter over the other two steaks.

Coarsely chop the remaining four mushrooms and divide them evenly among four plates. Carve the steaks into slices, and arrange them evenly over mushrooms.

Season with salt to taste and garnish with parsley, if desired.

 

Ribeye Steak Sandwiches

Toast eight ½ʺ thick slices of olive bread.

Spread 1 tablespoon of leftover blue cheese butter on one side of each bread slice.

Carve the leftover grilled steaks into slices, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide the slices evenly among the buttered slices of bread.

Top each slice with one leftover grilled mushroom. Divide 1½ cups of fresh baby spinach evenly over the mushrooms.

Close sandwiches with remaining bread slices with buttered sides down. Cut sandwiches in half, and serve.

—Recipe adapted from “Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner.”, Virginia Beef Council.

Grilled Oyster Brochettes

¼-½ teaspoon spice mixture*
16 oysters
1 teaspoon lemon juice
4 bamboo skewers soaked in water
16 mushroom caps
4 strips bacon
1 red or green bell pepper, cut into 1ʺ pieces
3 teaspoons butter
2 teaspoons chopped parsley
4 lemon wedges

For spice mixture*, combine 1 teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper, ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper, ¼ teaspoon ground red pepper and ½ teaspoon dried oregano.

Drain oysters and sprinkle them with lemon juice and the spice mixture.

Using a skewer, place a mushroom cap on the end, then the end of a bacon strip, then a pepper square, then an oyster, then wrap the rest of the bacon strip around the oyster and the pepper and then onto the end of the skewer.

Continue alternating until the skewer is full. Repeat with remaining skewers.

Brush with butter, and broil over charcoal for 4 to 6 minutes, turning twice.

Sprinkle with parsley, and serve with lemon wedge if desired.

Brochettes also may be broiled in an oven about 4ʺ from the heat for 5-7 minutes.

—Recipe adapted from the Virginia Seafood and Virginia Marine Products Board.