Steak Sandwiches with Cowboy Butter

Steak sandwiches with cowboy butter take one of my favorite foods, steak on the grill, and makes it into a finger food. Thick cut bread slathered with zesty garlic aioli, arugula, sun dried tomatoes and melty provolone cheese make this an extraordinary steak sandwich.

What You’ll Need

You can easily find all of these steak sandwiches ingredients at your local grocery store or market.

• Seasonings – I used a simple blend of coarse kosher salt, ground black pepper, dried rosemary and dried basil to season the steak.
• Orange zest – This is optional, but I love the freshness and flavor a little bit of fresh orange zest adds to the steak.
• Sirloin steak – This is my favorite cut of beef to use for a juicy steak sandwich. However, you could also use flank steak, NY strip, filet or a ribeye if you’d like to.
• Cowboy butter – This is a type of compound butter — it’s basically garlic butter taken up a few notches. In addition to garlicky goodness, it’s spicy and bright and incorporates a variety of different herbs, too
• Italian bread – I like to slice my bread decently thick so that it’s able to soak up all the juicy goodness without becoming too soggy. You need something hearty for this sandwich. Sourdough is another good pick.
• Sundried tomatoes – You can find these in a jar at your local grocery store. If they are in oil, make sure you drain them first and maybe even blot them dry. I don’t care for the dried ones in a bag, they get too leathery.
• Garlic aioli – Aioli is really just a fancy mayonnaise. Grab a jar at the store or try your hand at our homemade garlic aioli recipe.
• Baby arugula – Instead of using traditional lettuce on this sandwich recipe, peppery arugula adds a bit more flavor and bite.
• Caramelized onions – This is truly an elevated sandwich, so instead of using raw onions, we caramelize them a bit for extra flavor. Gourmet stores and specialty markets sell these in these, but you might need to make your own caramelized onions.
• Provolone cheese – You could really use any cheese that you’d like to, but I think the provolone really complements the other flavors well.

Variations

There are plenty of ways to make these steak sandwiches your own. Here are a few suggestions.

• Bread – Instead of Italian bread, you could use something like a baguette, burger buns or even ciabatta, or as mentioned, sourdough.
• Veggies – If you aren’t a fan of sweet caramelized onions but still want that onion flavor, try red onions, even pickled red onions, or raw. You could also add sliced fresh tomatoes.
• Cheese – Instead of provolone cheese, you could use something like white cheddar or pepper jack cheese for a kick.
• Sauce – You could swap out the garlic aioli for something like dijon mustard, plain mayo, creamy horseradish sauce or tiger sauce instead.

How to Make Steak Sandwiches

The time it takes to make these sandwiches is totally worth the tender, juicy end product you get!

1. Season and marinate steak. In a small bowl, combine the salt, pepper, rosemary, basil and orange zest. Dab the sirloin dry and rub all over with the steak seasoning then cover with plastic wrap. Allow to marinate for up to one day.
2. Prepare grill. Heat the grill, either charcoal or gas, to medium-high heat and oil grates with cooking spray or vegetable oil. Alternately, you can use a grill pan on an indoor burner.
3. Grill steak. Grill the steak for a few minutes on each side. The total time will depend on your desired level of doneness, but also the thickness of your steak. When in doubt, use a meat thermometer. Allow the steak to rest before cutting it into thin slices against the grain.
4. Toast bread and add cheese. Toast the bread on both sides under a low broil in the oven. Once the bread is toasted, baste both sides with the melted cowboy butter, reserving the leftover butter. Add two slices of provolone cheese to four of the slices and return to a warm oven to melt the cheese.
5. Assemble sandwich. Generously slather the non-cheese bread with the garlic aioli, topping with arugula, sun dried tomato, caramelized onions (if using) provolone and slices of the sirloin steak.
6. Serve sandwich with melted cowboy butter. Serve the reserved melted cowboy butter on the side for dipping, if desired.

What to Serve with Steak Sandwiches

You can serve these sandwiches with just about any side dish you’d like to! If you need some inspiration, here are some of our favorites:

Storage and Freezing

How to Store Steak Sandwiches

You can store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. I would be sure to store the components separately so that the bread doesn’t get soggy.

Can I Freeze Steak Sandwiches?

I would not recommend freezing these sandwiches. They will be quite soggy upon thawing.

More Delicious Steak Recipes

Who doesn’t love a good, juicy steak? Here are some of our favorite steak recipes that we know you’ll love too!

Beef Main Dishes

Carne alla Pizzaiola

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Beef Main Dishes

Lomo Saltado

5 from 7 votes

Beef Main Dishes

Easy Beef Stroganoff Recipe

4.82 from 50 votes

Steak Sandwiches with Cowboy Butter

5 from 3 votes

Steak Sandwiches with Cowboy Butter use seasoned sirloin steak thinly sliced on toasty bread with provolone, sun dried tomato, arugula, zesty garlic aioli and cowboy butter. The best steak sandwiches you’ve ever eaten!

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 20 minutes mins

Total Time: 30 minutes mins

Servings: 4

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Ingredients

Steak:

• 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon orange zest , optional
• 2 pound sirloin steak

Cowboy Butter:

• 1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks , room temperture
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest about 1 lemon
• 4-5 cloves garlic pressed or grated
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh chives minced
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 3/4 teaspoon coarse Kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Sandwich:

• 8 slices Italian bread thickly sliced
• 1/4 cup sundried tomatoes , drained if in oil
• 1/4 cup Garlic Aioli
• 1/2 cup arugula , packed
• 1/2 cup caramelized onions , optional
• 8 slices provolone cheese

Instructions

Steak:

• In a small bowl, combine the salt, pepper, rosemary, basil and orange zest. Dab the sirloin dry and rub all over with the steak seasoning then cover with plastic wrap. Allow to marinate for a minimum of 10 minutes, but up to 24 hours.
• Heat the grill, either charcoal or gas, to medium-high heat and oil grates with cooking spray or vegetable oil. Alternately, you can use a grill pan on an indoor burner.
• Grill the steak for 3-4 minutes on each side. The total time will depend on your desired level of doneness, but also the thickness of your steak. When in doubt, use a meat thermometer. Pull it off at 140°F for medium rare. Allow the steak for 10 minutes before cutting it into thin slices against the grain.

Cowboy Butter:

• In a medium mixing bowl, combine the butter, lemon, garlic, parsley, chives, mustard, salt, paprika, red pepper flakes and cayenne pepper. This works best to mash with a fork or the back of a spoon. You can also combine it using a paddle attachment on a stand mixer.
• Place the butter in an airtight container or roll into a log on parchment or wax paper and refrigerate for 1 hour before using.
• Melt the butter in a small saucepan or microwave.

Assemble the Sandwich:

• Toast the bread on both sides under a low broil in the oven. Once the bread is toasted, baste both sides with the melted cowboy butter, reserving the leftover butter. Add two slices of provolone cheese to 4 of the slices and return to a warm (but not on) oven to melt the cheese.
• Generously slather the non-cheese bread with the garlic aioli, topping with arugula, sun dried tomato, caramelized onions (if using) provolone and slices of the sirloin steak.
• Serve the reserved melted cowboy butter on the side for dipping, if desired.
• If you’ve tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or star ratings.

Nutrition

Calories: 955 kcal, Carbohydrates: 29 g, Protein: 68 g, Fat: 61 g, Saturated Fat: 29 g, Cholesterol: 212 mg, Sodium: 978 mg, Potassium: 1202 mg, Fiber: 2 g, Sugar: 17 g, Vitamin A: 960 IU, Vitamin C: 3.3 mg, Calcium: 506 mg, Iron: 5.6 mg

Author: Chef Jessica Anne

Calories: 955

Course: Main Course, Main Dish

Cuisine: American, Italian

Keyword: steak sandwich, steak sandwiches

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