BBQ (or Broiled) Pomegranate Beef

Like the taste of pomegranate, but hate messing with all those seeds?  Then get ready to be wowed:  tender cubes of beef, drizzled with a honey-kissed pomegranate sauce ... with nary an aril in sight!

The secret is pomegranate molasses, a fancy term for pomegranate reduction.  Which is an even more fancy-schmancy phrase for simmering pomegranate juice until it reduces down to a thick as molasses syrup.  The bottled stuff most likely has lemon juice and sugar added.  You can make it yourself, but it needs careful watching for like 30 minutes of cooking, and if you're like me, something will distract you just right before it's ready and within nanoseconds you'll be wondering why the smoke detectors are blasting away.  So look for bottled pomegranate molasses in your local middle-eastern grocer or international gourmet shop. You might see pomegranate syrup, but it's much thinner in consistency, so keep hunting.

Add pomegranate molasses to anything that needs a colorful tart kick, like roasted carrots (coincidentally in the photo above ...  I roasted cut-up carrots along with the beef).  Simply sub in the pomegranate molasses instead of whatever sweetener is in whatever sauce you usually drizzle on after roasting.

Or you can try this kick-@ss grilled beef.  I first experimented with chuck steak.  Big mistake.   While the marinade and drizzle were delicious, the chuck was anything but tender.  I strongly recommend a more tender cut, like minute steak or rib-eye. 

While there are dairy-free brands of soy yogurt, try a carton of vegan (parve) coconut yogurt instead.  The coconut taste is very mild, and the two types of ground pepper help to cover up its coconutty flavor.


Grilled (or Broiled) Pomegranate Beef
Adapted from: Food Republic
Yield:  4 Servings

1 lb. (minute or rib-eye steak, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes (no need to be exact)
1 container plain parve (dairy-free) coconut yogurt
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
grated peel from 1/2 lemon
1 Tbl. olive oil (plus more for oiling)
1/2 tsp. kosher salt (use 2 tsp. if using non-kosher meat)
2 Tbl. pomegranate molasses
2 tsp. honey
juice from 1/2 lemon
1/2 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper

Whisk together the yogurt,  crushed red pepper, grated lemon peel, and salt in a large bowl.  Add beef cubes and toss in the yogurt mixture.  Set aside for 15 minutes to marinate (can do this in advance: cover and refrigerate up to 8 hours).

For barbecuing:
Preheat BBQ to high.  Remove beef from marinade; discard excess marinade.  Place cubes on lightly oiled grill.  Cover and cook for 3-4 minutes per side or until charred to your personal preference, turning the cubes often to avoid burning.

For broiling:
Preheat broiler to high.  Remove beef from marinade; discard excess marinade.  Place cubes on lightly oiled broiler pan.  Broil on center rack in oven for 8-10 minutes, turning cubes after 4-5 minutes, or until cubes are lightly charred.

While the BBQ (or broiler) is heating up, whisk the sauce:  whisk together the pomegranate molasses, honey, lemon juice and black pepper. 

Divide beef cubes among 4 dinner plates.  Drizzle each serving with pomegranate sauce.  Serve hot.