Best Steak and Eggs Ever

Steak and Eggs catches my eye, and allures my hunger pains, every time I read the menu at a breakfast roadside café. How about you? But it’s time to elevate this breakfast classic to Hickory Smoked Ribeye Steak and Eggs, with vibrant skillet caramelized peppers and onions, and poblano hash browns; oh my scrumptious! Steak and Eggs is easy to cook on your gas grill using Western BBQ Hickory Smoking Chips!  So get those steaks smoking, add some crispy hash browns too. 

I had to roll out my gas grill, and grab a bag of Western BBQ Hickory Smoking Chips when the inspiration for a  grilled breakfast-all-day dish hit me! Thank you Western BBQ Products for sponsoring this post. Hubby and I put the “this is so good” comment on #repeat! 

ORIGIN OF STEAK AND EGGS

In short, “Steak and Eggs” origin is credited to Australia! In 1926, a poem was written about the dish even suggesting that is was Australia’s national dish! By World War II Australia was strongly identified with the dish, Steaks and Eggs. However, the United States Marine Corps caught on soon and made this hardy dish as their pre-landing breakfast! After all, Steak and Eggs is loaded with protein and nutrition while being delicious! \

With that in mind, Steak and Eggs became the traditional NASA astronaut’s breakfast! Alan Shepard, the first astronaut, enjoyed eating Steak and Eggs before his flight on May 5, 1962!

Zoom forward to May 10, 1996! Did Aunt Meg’s Steak and Eggs, with mashed potatoes and gravy, catch your palate’s attention in the movie Twister? The huge platter of deliciousness left viewers drooling! Subsequently, American roadside diners began to add it to their breakfast menu.

BEST CUT OF STEAK FOR STEAK AND EGGS

Of course, choose the steak you enjoy most! A ribeye, strip, or sirloin, about 1-inch thick will do! If you buy a prime steak versus a choice steak, there will be a higher percentage of marbling or flavorful fat! Nevertheless whatever grade of beef cut you buy the seasoning can be quite simple! I simply seasoned the steaks with Jack Daniel’s Steak Seasoning. Western BBQ Steak Seasoning and Western BBQ Smoking Chips can be found at most grocery stores, online, and local hardware stores that sell grills. 

WHY YOU WILL LOVE STEAK AND EGGS

IT”S NOSTALGIC: Steak and Eggs is a classic taking you back to roadside diners’ menus that made you drool! Even if you didn’t order the dish, because it was too expensive or too big, you still imagined taking that bite of charred seasoned steak with golden yolk magic. In other words, you probably have a food memory about Steak and Eggs! 

SMOKY FLAVOR: In my recipe, a smoker box or packet filled with Western BBQ Hickory Smoking Chips is the flavor booster! You see, there is a difference in flavor between char and hickory smoke! A hickory smoked ribeye has depth of flavor throughout. A charred steak has a lot of flavor on the outside but it doesn’t necessarily penetrate to the center.

SEASONING: Ribeye is generally the juiciest and most marbled steak you can buy, and so it does not need a lot of seasoning. I love Jack Daniel’s Steak Seasoning on both the steak and eggs! Hello, I just said you only need one seasoning!

IT’S EASY AND IMPRESSIVE: Okay, so you are convinced that steak and eggs is a quick breakfast or brunch dish because it requires only a few ingredients. Plus, the time it takes to smoke and grill a steak is under 15 minutes, and you know how many minutes you like your eggs cooked! But then…you brighten the dish with mini peppers and crispy golden hash browns with pops of poblano, and oh my gosh you just made an impressive eye-catcher!

RECIPE PREP TIPS

• REMOVE the frozen hash browns from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before turning on the gas grill. 
• THAW the potatoes in a colander, and patted dry with a paper towel. Since potatoes take time to crisp, and benefit when the delicious flavor hickory is absorbed, get the potatoes grilling about 10-15 minutes before the steaks. 
• CHOOSE 2 grill safe cooking surfaces. For the hash browns, a cast iron skillet or pizza pan works well. For the peppers and onions, a cast iron skillet is great! The steak should be patted dry before placing it on the grill. My grill is well seasoned so I do not need to oil the grates, plus the ribeye is super fatty!
• SEASON with Jack Daniel’s Steak Seasoning both on the steaks and the eggs! Super easy! 

RECIPE GRILL TIPS

• SMOKE the steak with Western BBQ Hickory Smoking Chips. However, pecan, maple, or mesquite smoking chips are a substitute. 
• START with steaks directly from the refrigerator! That’s right a cold steak means you will not overcook the steak while it smokes and sears. 
• DRY the steak! Pat the steak with a paper towel before grilling. In fact, add the seasoning and let the steaks rest uncovered in the refrigerator overnight! Consequently, when surface moisture evaporates from a steak, searing is more effective. 
• REST the steaks 5-7 minutes before slicing.  
• ADD flavor boosts that satisfy your eating experience! For example, crush garlic butter, chopped smoked jalapeño for spicy heat, hot sauce, or Chimichurri.

TIPS FOR USING A SMOKER BOX OR PACKET ON A GAS GRILL

• FILL a smoker box with about 2 cups of smoking chips. Otherwise make a heavy duty foil packet with about 1 1/2 cups smoking chips then poke about 8 holes on top. Lastly, if you have a fancy new grill that has a built-in smoker box fill it as instructed in the grill’s manual. 
• PLACE the smoker box on the grill grate above the hottest burner. Always close the lid of the grill when smoking, as much as possible, to capture the drifting smoke. Furthermore once the smoking vessel is releasing smoke, position it away from the vent. On my grill, after I see blue smoke, not gray, coming from the smoker box I should move it to the front of the grill. The vent system on my grill is in the back. I say “should” because sometimes I don’t have space in the front. 
• START the smoker box, warming cast iron or grilling surface, and the onion and peppers for the hash browns at the same time. This way the aromatics soften as the pan heats up for the potatoes. Once the grill pan is hot, the wood chips will smoke. By the way, hash browns love a hot surface. Just be sure to add cooking oil to the pan before the “dry” hash brown goes on.

ADDITIONAL TIPS

• SMOKE on a lower temp grill, preferably indirect or have the meat on a rack. A grill rack is handy to smoke meat because it is elevated. Remove the meat from the grill when its internal temperature is 15 degrees below the serving temperature. Increase the heat in the grill to blazing hot, 450°F to 600°F! Char the meat for 1-2 minutes on each side. 
• LOWER temperature on a grill is achieved by turning center burners off. An effective smoking temperature is 225°F to 300°F. At this low temperature, meat can smoke longer, and allows for moisture to be absorbed into the tissues. 

IDEAL RIBEYE INTERNAL TEMPERATURE

Relax! The internal temperature of a rib eye is forgiving due to the fat! Yep, the ribeye in my Steak and Eggs did hit 140°F! Even so, the ribeye was super delicious and extra juicy! In the end, I am glad I did not take it off the grill at 125° F. Note: It did help that the steak I chose was a Prime. 
 
Rare ribeye (125-130°F)
 
Medium rare ribeye (130-140°F)  
 
Medium ribeye (140-150°F) 
 
Medium well ribeye (150-160°F)

LEFTOVER IDEAS

Leftovers? What leftovers? Ha ha! First, chop the leftover ribeye, and peppers. Second, heat a skillet on medium-high. Add 1-tablespoon of cooking, and once it just begins to smoke, reheat the hash browns for 2 minutes. Only turn the hash browns once to develop crispiness. Quickly stir in the chopped peppers and steak. Finally, garnish with fresh herbs. If you want an egg, fry a fresh one! 

Another idea is to stuff all of the leftovers in a flour tortilla and fold into a burrito or Chimichanga. The burrito can be warmed in the microwave for 90 seconds; cheese and beans are a nice addition too. 

Check out more smoky deliciousness:

Here are some handy links to more smoky delicious Western BBQ recipes!
Western BBQ Premium Products recipe website
Western BBQ Instagram
Western BBQ Facebook

For a tasty smoked brunch side dish try Grilling Grandma’s Maple Smoked Corn!