Chili Oil Steak Pinwheels
These chili oil steak pinwheels are sweet, savory and simple to make — perfect for family dinner or a special occasion.
Prep Time30 minutes mins
Cook Time1 hour hr
Marinating Time4 hours hrs
Total Time5 hours hrs 30 minutes mins
Course: Dinner, Lunch, Main Course
Cuisine: American, Chinese
Servings: 4 people
Author: Derek Wolf
Pinwheels:
- 10-12 Mozzarella Cheese Slices
- 1.5 cups Chopped Green Onions
- Kosher Salt as needed
- Black Pepper as needed
- Garlic Powder as needed
- Oil as needed
Chili Oil:
- 1.5 cups Canola Oil
- 4-5 Star Anise
- 2 whole Cinnamon Sticks
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 3 crushed Garlic Cloves
- 3 tbsp Sichuan Peppercorns
- 3/4 cup Sichuan Chili Flakes
- 1 tsp Kosher Salt
Chili Oil:
Preheat a grill for medium heat (around 325F) for direct cooking.
Add a cast iron skillet to the grill with your canola oil and bring the oil to 225-250F.
Add the star anise, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, crushed garlic and sichuan peppercorns to the oil. Let fry in the oil for about 30 minutes making sure to stir occasionally.
In a mason jar or heat safe bowl, add your sichuan chili flakes. With a colander over the top of the bowl of chili flakes, pour in your herb infused oil over the chili flakes and stir. Then let cool.
Steak:
Lay your steak out on a cutting board and cover it with parchment paper or plastic wrap. Using a heavy mallet or food mallet, hammer the skirt steak until it is less than ½” thick.
Add to a food safe bowl or bag and cover in my Tiki Tiki BBQ Sauce. Cover and place in the fridge for at least 4 hours but ideally overnight.
Pull the steaks out of the marinade. Next, add a layer of sliced cheese followed by chopped green onions. Carefully roll the skirt steak up lengthwise to create the pinwheel. Secure the roll with two strings of butcher twine and slice between them to make two separate pinwheels.
Slather with oil on the outside and generously season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Repeat this with the rest of the skirt steak for all of the pinwheels.
Preheat your grill for a two zone high heat temperature (around 400F).
Add your pinwheels to direct heat on the grill to sear each side for 1 minute per side or until they have developed a nice crust. Once they have a nice crust on the outside, pull the pinwheels over to the cool side of the grill to cook indirectly until they reach 125F internal (about 10-15 minutes more).
When the steaks are done, pull them off and let rest for 10 minutes.
Top each of your steaks with some of the chili oil, slice, serve and enjoy!
A Note About Sichuan Peppercorns
Sichuan peppercorns are a really interesting ingredient. Instead of being ridiculously spicy, they actually create a numbing, tingling sensation when you eat them. That comes from a chemical compound called hydroxy-alpha sanshool, which causes mini vibrations in your mouth. The peppercorns are one side of the numbing and spicy Sichuan flavor profile called málà — and because of the numbing effect of the peppercorns, many believe you can eat more chile peppers! The great Anthony Bourdain (RIP) explored this aspect of Sichuan cuisine and more in his Parts Unknown episode about the region.
Calories: 1423kcal | Carbohydrates: 91g | Protein: 46g | Fat: 105g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 28g | Monounsaturated Fat: 61g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 109mg | Sodium: 2918mg | Potassium: 1930mg | Fiber: 21g | Sugar: 52g | Vitamin A: 13930IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 305mg | Iron: 13mg