Bourbon Glazed Grilled Steak for Father’s Day Cookout
My husband never asks for much, but every June he mentions this steak about three days before Father's Day, which tells me everything I need to know.
The glaze is four ingredients and comes together in 5 minutes on the stove. The grill does the rest, and the smell alone will pull everyone off the porch without you having to say a word.
Bourbon Glazed Grilled Steak for Father's Day Cookout
A smoky, caramelized bourbon glaze that turns a good steak into the kind of thing people talk about on the drive home.
Ingredients
Steaks
- 4 ribeye or New York strip steaks, about 1 inch thick , roughly 10 to 12 oz each
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper, coarsely ground
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp neutral oil , canola or avocado oil
Bourbon Glaze
- 1/2 cup bourbon , use something you'd actually drink
- 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 tbsp soy sauce or tamari , tamari keeps it gluten-free
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
Instructions
Make the Bourbon Glaze
Season and Grill the Steaks
Tips & Notes
- If your glaze thickens too much while it sits, warm it briefly over low heat with a splash of water and it will loosen right up.
- Bone-in ribeyes take about 1 to 2 minutes longer per side. Use a thermometer: 130 degrees F for medium-rare, 140 for medium.
- Make the glaze up to 3 days ahead and refrigerate it in a jar. Reheat before using.
- Don't skip the rest. Cutting too early loses the juice that makes the whole thing worth doing.
Nutrition per serving · estimated
Why the Glaze Goes On at the End, Not the Beginning
Bourbon glaze has brown sugar in it, and brown sugar burns fast over high heat. If you brush it on at the start, you'll get char before you get a crust, and the steak underneath won't cook evenly.
Adding it in the last 2 minutes gives you that deep, sticky caramelization on the outside without scorching. The steak is already mostly cooked by then, so the glaze has just enough time to set and darken without crossing into bitter territory.
That second brush right before serving, off the heat, is the one that makes it look like something from a restaurant. Don't skip it.
Choosing the Right Bourbon for Cooking
You don't need the expensive bottle, but you do need something with real flavor. A mid-shelf bourbon with vanilla and caramel notes, like Maker's Mark or Bulleit, gives the glaze a warmth that cheap bottles just don't have.
The alcohol cooks out completely during the simmer, so what's left is the flavor. A bourbon that tastes harsh going in will taste harsh in the glaze. Use something you'd pour into a glass on a Friday night and you'll be fine.
