When you know what you’re doing, you don’t have to pay Michelin-star prices to enjoy restaurant-quality steaks. With a little effort and finesse, a steak night from the comforts of your own kitchen can be as satisfying as dining at a top-tier chophouse. Although there are dozens of ways to achieve a sumptuous steak, caramelizing it facilitates a deep, rich, and unforgettable flavor. Of course, there’s no ingredient better suited for steak caramelization than honey.
With its sweet and fragrant flavor, honey mingles with the meaty machismo of a steak like a culinary yin and yang. As a honey-tinted steak sears, the sugars in the bee-made relish begin to caramelize. When exposed to heat, the fructose and glucose in the honey break down and form new compounds that produce a rich, deeply browned exterior crust on the surface of a steak that gives way to a juicy, succulent interior. The caramelization process also imparts steak with a subtle, floral sweetness that amplifies and mingles with the savory notes of the steak. Honey-seared steak also triggers the Maillard reaction — a chemical heat reaction in food between amino acids and sugars that facilitates browning and an even deeper, toastier, and more complex flavor profile. Together, these two processes work in harmony to create a crispy, flavor-forward coating that jazzes up the taste and mouthfeel of your average at-home steak.
Tips for making a honey caramelized steak
Perfecting a honey caramelized steak can be tricky, so it’s important to keep a few tips in mind to preserve the integrity of this delicate dish. Although it would be easier if you could, haphazardly dunking a cut of steak into honey and searing it is a disaster waiting to happen, so it’s best to introduce honey into a carefully crafted meat glaze or marinade. A glaze is a thick, sticky, and flavorful coating that’s applied to a steak towards the end of searing. A marinade, on the other hand, is a liquid mixture used to submerge a steak for an extended period to tenderize and infuse the meat with flavor from the inside out. Although both can caramelize a steak, a honey-infused glaze will develop a more prominent caramelization.
To prevent burning, it’s important to introduce a honey-kissed glaze at the very end of the cooking process. Otherwise, the sugars in the honey can scorch, ruining the caramelization and leaving behind a bitter taste. Similarly, only cook a honey-glazed steak until it’s browned — any longer and it can burn. Combine a honey glaze with ingredients like soy sauce, garlic, or Dijon mustard to diversify the flavor profile and improve the glaze’s consistency for smoother application. Once you’ve perfected your honey caramelized steak, wash it down with a heaping glass of red wine for the complete steakhouse experience.
