Filet mignon may get more love in rap songs, but if you learn to properly handle its tougher cousin the skirt steak, you’ll never have to spend more than ten bucks for a mouthwatering piece of beef again. This steak recipe is ah-mazing; after marinating, coming to room temperature, quickly grilling, and resting before being sliced, this beef turns into the amazingly flavorful, soft-as-butter steak of your dreams. And I mean it - you can cut into it with a butter knife, it’s so tender.

Caramelized onions are an unparalleled ingredient. The transformation from crisp and pungent to pasty and sweet - with the help of butter, olive oil, salt, sugar and gentle heat - is truly magical. And sharp, salty blue cheese is a perfect complement to their sweetness.

If you’re not as into sandwiches as I am, serve the steak sliced and topped with onions and blue cheese, which a side of mashed taters or atop creamy polenta.

(Yield: 4 sandwiches)

Steak ingredients:

1 lb skirt steak
1/3 c balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tsp dried rosemary
Coarse salt + freshly ground black pepper

Caramelized onions:

3 yellow onions, sliced
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp sugar
1/3 tsp salt

Plus:

4 tbsp crumbled blue cheese
1 baguette, cut into 4 pieces
4 tsp brown mustard

Procedure: In a bowl, combine vinegar, olive oil, garlic and rosemary. Beat with a fork to combine. Place skirt steak into a flat container and pour marinade over the top, making sure it’s covered evenly. Cover tightly and place into refrigerator for 45 min.

In the meantime, prepare onions. Heat a large skillet over low heat and add oil and butter. When butter is melted, add onions, sugar and salt. Stir with a wooden spatula and cook for about 40 min, stirring frequently to ensure that onions are slowly and evenly browning. After 40 min, the onions should be golden brown and almost pasty in texture.

After the steak has marinaded for 45 min, take it out of the fridge and leave out at room temp for another 15 min. Then, place a large grill pan over high heat and lightly coat with cooking spray or olive oil. Pat steak dry on both sides and season with coarse salt and pepper right before grilling to ensure that the salt doesn’t draw out any moisture from the steak. Grill for 3 min, flip with tongs and cook the other side for another 3 min for medium rare. Place steak on a cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes to allow juices to redistribute. Then slice steak against the grain into 1/2″-thick slices.

To prepare sandwiches, scoop out some of soft inside of the baguette to give the fillings more room. (Save the remains for croutons or bread crumbs, or if you’re like me, just eat ‘em!) Then spread 1 tbsp of mustard on the bottom of each sandwich, and layer steak slices, onions and 1 tbsp of cheese crumbles into each sandwich. Serve hot or at room temp.