Txuleton a la Brasa (Basque-Style Grilled Rib Eye Steaks)

Name: Txuleton a la Brasa (Basque-Style Grilled Rib Eye Steaks)
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 4 serving(s)
Ingredients: 2 bone-in rib eye steaks, 2 inches thick (about 2 lb. each); Extra virgin olive oil; 1 small white onion; 1 tbsp. sherry vinegar, divided; Kosher salt; 1 head butter lettuce, cored, leaves separated and rinsed well; 6 piparra peppers; Flaky sea salt; Freshly ground black pepper; 12 pimientos del piquillo confitados

The results are tender, incredibly juicy, and perfectly cooked edge to edge.

By José AndrésPublished: May 22, 2026

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Grilled rib eye steak served as the main highlight

Joan Pujol-Creus

Yields:

4 serving(s)

Active Time:

20 mins

Total Time:

1 hr 30 mins

Txuleton, as the Basque spell it, or chuleton in Spanish, is a thick rib eye that you’ll find in steak houses and cider houses across the Pais Vasco. The most common cow you’ll find in Spain is Rubia Gallega, the beautiful Galician blond cattle native to the northwest. You can find Spanish-style txuleton online in the U.S., but if you can’t, ask your butcher to cut a rib eye thick—I’m talking 1 1/2 inches minimum.

The main trick when you’re cooking a txuleton is to temper it the whole way— otherwise you'll never be able to get the inside cooked to medium rare without charring the outside. Leave it in a warm place long enough so that the whole steak is able to come up to temperature—the top section of your grill would be perfect if it’s about 100°F to 110°F, or you can invest in an adjustable grill rack. Then when you put it closer to the coals, you can get your extra 20°F to 25°F on the outside while the inside stays beautifully pink. Now that’s a txuleton!

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Ingredients

2 bone-in rib eye steaks, 2 inches thick (about 2 lb. each)
Extra virgin olive oil
1 small white onion
1 Tbsp. sherry vinegar, divided
Kosher salt
1 head butter lettuce, cored, leaves separated and rinsed well
6 piparra peppers
Flaky sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
12 pimientos del piquillo confitados

Directions

1. Place the steaks on a clean work surface or platter and let them come to room temperature. No need to salt them—you’ll add a nice shower of flaky sea salt right before serving. Heat up a grill, preferably charcoal, until the coals are glowing and hot. Set a grate or rack a foot or two above the coals—you want the temperature at the rack to read 120°F to 130°F on an instant-read thermometer, no hotter. Brush the steaks with olive oil and set on the grate to slowly cook, flipping them over after 15 minutes or so, until the interiors reach 105°F on a meat thermometer, 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the temperature and the meat’s proximity to the flame. (You can also temper the meat in a cast-iron pan in an oven set at 250°F for about 30 minutes, until the meat reaches 105°F. Flip the steak after 15 minutes and start checking the temperature after about 25 minutes.)
2. Meanwhile, cut the onion in half; peel one half and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Reserve the other half of the onion for another use. Soak the onion slices in cold water for 15 minutes, then drain and toss them with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1/2 tablespoon of sherry vinegar. Season the onions with kosher salt and set aside.
3. Once the steaks have reached 105°F, remove them from the grill and set aside on a platter. Increase the heat on the grill, or add more coal to your embers, and place the grates closer to the fire. Add the rib eyes back to the grill and sear them over high heat on both sides until they form a nice crust, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove the rib eyes and set aside on a platter to rest for 10 minutes. (If tempering the steak in the oven, you can finish cooking it on the stovetop. Set the steak aside and wipe your cast-iron pan clean, then heat it over high heat until it’s smoking. Sear the steak as above.)
4. To serve, put the onions, lettuce leaves, and piparra peppers in a large salad bowl. Add another 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the remaining 2 tablespoon of sherry vinegar to the bowl that held the onions and any dressing remaining in that bowl. Whisk together to emulsify, then toss with the onions, greens, and peppers in the salad bowl. Season with flaky sea salt and black pepper.
5. Slice the rib eyes and place the meat on a platter. Generously season with flaky sea salt and pepper. Serve with the green salad and confited piquillo peppers.

In the north of Spain, it’s very common to be able to find vaca vieja, literally “old cows,” ones who have lived their lives of service and are slaughtered at a ripe old age, usually eight to 14 years. The steaks are then dry-aged for another month or two, and carefully, lovingly grilled over wood for the very best steak imaginable. In the U.S., you can find older cows in some parts of the country—at Bazaar Meat, my steakhouse concept, we’ve been able to get our vaca vieja from Mindful Meats in California’s Bay Area. Ask your butcher if they’re ever able to find it—the more we demand these things, the more likely it is that we will have a future with the kinds of foods we love to eat!

From Spain My Way: Eat, Drink, and Cook Like a Spaniard by José Andrés with Sam Chapple-Sokol. Copyright © 2026 by José Andrés. Excerpted by permission of Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

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