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When it comes to easy appetizers when grilling up a meal, these Grilled Steak Bites are the answer. Seasoned with savory spices and finished with a red wine pan sauce, they are irresistible! Use sirloin for a beefy and affordable cut, or your favorite cut of beef.

When we are spending an afternoon outside, grilling, we love to add some simple appetizers since our grill is already on (why not use it for the appetizers too?!). These steak bites are an easy way to get the most of the grill, but of course could be easily adapted to cooking on the stovetop too.

Steak Bite Cut – Sirloin

For the steak cut our favorite go to is sirloin. The flavor is beefy, the marbling is nice and tender, and it is more affordable than other cuts. Other alternatives could include Teres Major from the shoulder, NY Strip if you have a bigger budget, or even Tri Tip (also from the sirloin).

Seasoning

For the steak bites seasoning, we’re using a simple combination of five ingredients all built to be savory.

• Chili Powder
• Kosher Salt
• Coarse Black Pepper
• Granulated Garlic
• Smoked Paprika

If you like heat, then add some cayenne to the rub to spice up the flavor.

Supplies for Grilled Steak Bites

We use a 10-inch cast iron pan. High heat gloves are really helpful when moving the pan around on a hot grill.

Steak Bites Recipe

This meal comes together quickly. Some prep helps to make it an easy cook.

1. Start with combining all the rub ingredients in a small bowl.
2. Next cut the sirloin into 1-inch cubes and place in a separate large bowl.
3. Pour olive oil and steak seasoning in the bowl and stir to incorporate. You can season right before cooking or up to 24 hours in advance.
4. Prepare the pan sauce ingredients and have a clean serving platter ready to reserve the steak when it’s done.

Preparing the Grill for the Steak Bites

1. Prepare grill for direct heat targeting 400 degrees Fahrenheit in the cooking chamber. As the grill warms up, place a cast iron pan (or other grill safe pan) in the grill to warm up as well.
2. Add olive oil to the hot pan and then add the seasoned steak pieces. It will sizzle quickly, be sure to move the steak around so it’s all touching the pan. Close the lid and let the steak bites grill for 3 minutes. After 3 minutes, start moving the bites around in the pan with tongs. Continue grilling another 3 minutes. Take the temperature of a few of the steak pieces using a good quality instant read thermometer like the Thermoworks MK4 Thermapen. It should ready close to 125, if it’s under 125 then keep turning until they reach the range of 125 – 130 degrees Fahreheit. Then remove steak and place into the clean bowl.
3. Now it’s time to make the pan sauce in the same cast iron pan that the meat was cooking in.

Note: The pan will likely have liquid from the fat rendering out of the beef. That is normal. If you don’t want the fat, discard it before making the pan sauce (but it adds a lot of flavor).

Red Wine Pan Sauce

The goal is to deglaze the pan, and use all the fat and trimmings from grilling the steak. Then when the sauce is done, add the steak back into the pan.

1. Add butter and shallots to the pan and stir while the pan remains on the grill. This will start the deglaze process. After 3 – 4 minutes, when shallots are soft, add the garlic and stir for 1 minute.
2. Add the wine and balsamic vinegar and continue to stir until all the flavor bits in the pan are scraped off and the sauce is incorporated together.
3. Add the steak bites back into the pan, toss together and then place them in a serving bowl.

The consistency of the sauce is meant to be thin, not thick. A serving dish with depth is best to maximize sauce flavor and the steak. Or just serve out of the pan!

Alternatives

If you want to keep it really simple and avoid the red wine pan sauce, then substitute the wine pan sauce for your favorite barbecue sauce. The sauce will still deglaze the pan and the sugar will make a thick coating for the steak bites. Plan 1 cup of sauce, quickly stir in the pan to deglaze, and then add the steak bites back in to coat.

No Grill? You can also make these steak bites on the stovetop. Instead of cooking on the grill, set the pan to medium-high heat, and adjust the heat as needed while the meat cooks on the cast iron pan.

Serve the steak bites with toothpicks or portion out. Either way they make for a simple yet flavorful steak appetizer.

Other Grilled Appetizer Ideas

• Steak Skewers – Using Teres Major
• Wine Marinated Beef Skewers
• Grilled Bacon Wrapped Dates
• Steak Lettuce Wraps