I was in a restaurant in Martinique where this sauce—which translates as “dog sauce,” for reasons I don’t want to know—was served on everything, from kidneys to chicken to vegetables. I liked it best on steak. As with so many Caribbean dishes, this would be served with Coconut Rice and Beans (page 516). Other cuts of meat you can use here: almost anything, from liver to bone-in dark-meat chicken, to pork chops or ribs.

　　

Ingredients

makes 4 servings

　　1 tablespoon peeled and slivered or minced garlic

　　6 scallions, trimmed and minced

　　1 jalapeño or habanero (Scotch bonnet) chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced, or chili paste or hot red pepper flakes to taste (start with about 1/2 teaspoon)

　　Salt and black pepper to taste

　　1/2 teaspoon ground allspice, or to taste

　　1 tablespoon peanut or neutral oil, like corn or grapeseed

　　1 1/2 to 2 pounds skirt, sirloin (New York) strip, or ribeye steak

　　Juice of 1 lime

　　

Step 1

Start a charcoal or gas grill or preheat the broiler; the fire should be moderately hot and the rack about 4 inches from the heat source. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce: Combine the garlic, scallions, chile, 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper, the allspice, and the oil in a small bowl. Add 1/2 cup boiling water; stir and let sit.

　　

Step 2

Sprinkle the meat with salt and pepper and grill or broil it, 3 or 4 minutes per side for skirt steak, somewhat longer for sirloin or ribeye, turning 2 or 3 times, until cooked through, about 15 minutes. Taste the sauce and add more chile, salt, pepper, or allspice if needed. Stir in the lime juice. Serve the meat hot or at room temperature, passing the sauce at the table.

　　The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved.MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.