Spicy Steaks with Scotch Bonnet Chili Butter and Baked Potato Bar Recipes

This is a really simple recipe and most of you I'm sure know exactly how to cook a great steak and baked potato but last nights dinner was so scrumptious I just had to post the recipe.
 

Scotch Bonnet Chillies are Baby Loves favourite, they are incredibly spicy and are often used in Caribbean and African cuisine.  Scotch Bonnets are not for everyone so use what ever chili you like for your butter but the spice really compliments the creamy freshness of the sour cream and the sweetness of the maple smoked bacon perfectly, so I say go spicy.  My photographs are terrible, I know and I'm sorry, I'm worse at photographing savory then I am at sweet and that's saying something!  Needless to say the pictures don't really convey the deliciousness of this dinner.

Obviously adapt and alter the toppings as you wish, I would have liked to have done more but I was only feeding myself and Baby Love.  I love the idea of the Baked Potato Bar, it's something I picked up in Vegas and in true American fashion this is a pretty heavy dinner.   The baked potato would probably have been more than enough for me, that being said the spicy steaks were seriously delicious.  This is definitely a mans meal and Baby Love was most impressed.

For the Baked Potatoes:

Preheat your oven to 210C (400F)

Scrub your potatoes in cold water and pat dry.

Sprinkle the potatoes with sea salt and drizzle with olive oil.  Rub the salt into the potato skin and prick the potatoes a couple of times with a fork.

Place directly onto the oven rack and bake for about an hour to an hour and a half, or until a knife slips easily through the centre.

Remove from the oven and cut a cross into the top of each potato, using a fork fluff up the inside of the baked potato adding a little butter.

For the Baked Potato Bar:

Cheddar Cheese

Sour Cream

Chives/Dill

Crispy strips of Bacon

I used a strong English Cheddar, sprinkled the Sour Cream with a little Dill (Chives would have been better, if I had had any), and cut maple syrup smoked bacon into short strips and fried them until crispy. 

Place the toppings in small individual bowls and line them up so everyone can pick and choose their own.

For the Steaks:

I used Aberdeen Angus Fillet Steaks just for preference but use what every steak you like, as long as they're thick, juicy and good quality.

  I seasoned the steaks with sea salt and black pepper and drizzled with garlic infused olive oil.  I then used a peppery spice mix that includes chili flakes, black  peppercorns, horseradish and garlic salt.  You can make your own or most supermarkets now stock great spice mixes in little grinding pots, (Jamie Oliver actually does a really good one). 

 Wrap the steaks in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least an hour.

We like our steaks well to very well done but everyone is different so here are lots of different cooking times.

Rare -  Cooking time: 2-3 minutes each side.

Medium rare –  Cooking time: 3-4 minutes each side.

Medium - Cooking time: 4-5 minutes each side.

Medium well -  Cooking time: 5-6 minutes each side.
Well done - . Cooking time: 6-7 minutes each side.

Very well done -  Cooking time: 7-8 minutes each side.

For the Scotch Bonnet Chili Butter:

Use 1 Tbsp of softened Butter per person

1/2 Scotch Bonnet Chili (I was making for 2)

Very finely chop the chili and vigorously mix into the butter.  Wrap the butter in plastic wrap and mold into a log shape, refrigerate for 1 hour and then slice into individual discs.  As I was only making two discs I dolloped a tbsp of chili butter onto some plastic wrap and shaped each disc individually.

Plate up the potatoes and the steaks, topping each steak with a disc of chili butter.


I think this is great to serve to friends with cold beer and good conversation, I also think the baked potato bar is a great idea for kids, it's like potato pic n' mix.  The chili butter was fantastic with the steaks and I'm crazy for crispy potato skin.

This is only my second savory post and I hope you like it, I will try to take better pictures for the next one : )

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Spicy Steaks with Scotch Bonnet Chili Butter and Baked Potato Bar Recipes