Best for: Trail-hand eating — a bold coffee crust on a workingman’s cut of beef.
The record credits Charles Goodnight with one of the great inventions of the American West: in 1866, facing the first long cattle drives, the Texas rancher rebuilt an old army wagon with a slanted food box and water barrel and called it the chuck wagon. It became the drive’s kitchen, office, and gathering place, and its cook — the “coosie” — grilled steaks over open fires for men who’d been in the saddle since before dawn. Coffee was the trail’s fuel, and it had a way of getting into everything.
Our grilled take rubs chuck steaks with the coosie’s staples — coffee, brown sugar, salt, and pepper — and grills them the trail way, hard and fast over direct fire.
Grill: Direct medium-high heat. Equipment: Grill or cast-iron skillet over the fire, instant-read thermometer. Course: Main dish.
Ingredients
Rest: 10 minutes Total: 37 minutes
The coffee rub
- 2 tablespoons finely ground coffee (not instant)
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
The steaks
- 4 chuck steaks, about 3/4 inch thick (8 ounces each)
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil
Directions
Stir the trail rub. Mix the coffee, brown sugar, salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder until the coffee runs through it all like dark sand.
Rub the steaks down. Brush the chuck steaks with the oil and coat them heavily on both sides with the rub, pressing it on with your palms. Rest them 20 minutes at room temperature — a trail cook never had longer, and the rub doesn’t need it.
Grill them hard. Cook over direct medium-high heat 5 to 6 minutes per side, one flip, until a dark, fragrant crust forms. The sugar and coffee will char at the edges — that’s the flavor talking.
Cook to the number. Pull the steaks at 145°F for our recommended doneness, rested and juicy. (Personal-preference note: chuck steaks are also widely loved at 130 to 135°F for medium-rare — pull there if that’s your table, and rest them just the same.)
Rest by the wagon. Rest the steaks 10 minutes, tented, while the beans or potatoes finish.
Slice against the grain. Chuck’s grain runs long — slice thin across it, fan the slices on warm plates, and spoon any board juices over the top.
Grilling tip: Chuck is a hardworking cut that rewards a bold rub and a thin slice. The coffee doesn’t make it taste like breakfast — it deepens the beef and builds a crust like bark.
