#1 Best Black and Gold Steaks for Pittsburgh Sports Parties

Celebrate the black and gold of your favorite Pittsburgh sports teams when you make the easy DIY black and yellow rub recipe for the best black and gold steaks for Pittsburgh sports parties from tailgating, to at-home Steelers, Pens, and Pirate parties. Using well-marbled cuts of steak, and an incredibly versatile black and gold rub, you’ll not only tenderize your steak, but you’ll create a juicy cut of black and gold beef, bite after bite, with a textured exterior crust that remains intact before and after grilling offering an earthy and peppery flavor, yet the rub can be spicier or more docile depending on you and your taste preferences.

Our Pittsburgh gameday foods are important as the black and gold sports team games we all adore!

I’ll share the one special and easy-to-find ingredient that absolutely is a game-changer for beef and other meats you will grill or sear (tailgating, grilling, or pan-searing at home) so you can score a touchdown with your culinary skills and a Pittsburgh Steak! Black and gold beef will absolutely be the all-star of any food offered at your party!

Plus, as an added bonus, I’ll share where to buy some great steaks at some fabulous local butcher shops in Pittsburgh too so you’ll be able to stock up ahead of the football, hockey, and baseball games and keep our local businesses thriving!

Why You’ll Love The Black and Gold Pittsburgh Steak Recipe

The black and yellow-themed entree is one you’ll want at any of your Pittsburgh sports team parties but it’s also fabulous for any night of the week or any other occasion like birthdays, and Father’s day.

If you live in Pittsburgh or are a Steeler, or Pens fan, you already know that we Pittsburgh, fan-loving foodies famously tailgate and party before, during, and after all of our sports teams, and games.

Did You Know That Team Pittsburgh Has A Black And Gold Beef For All Other Teams Out There

You saw what I did there right? We have a ‘beef‘, haha!

As funny as it might sound, it is true because we are black and gold die-hards to the end and each of us has black and gold blood running through our veins, making us each important parts of every sports game we attend, or watch just in case you don’t know us, Team Pittsburgh!

Our black and gold colors are where it’s at and you are kind of contractually obligated the moment you move here to be part of Team Pittsburgh forever more!

First, if you have not experienced our grocery stores and warehouse clubs both the day before a game (for tailgaters going to the parking lots of our stadiums and arenas) or the morning right before the games (for at-home Steeler and Pens game parties) you’ll see us wearing our Steeler, Pens, and Pirates shirts, shopping hard before the games, loading our carts with all of our official gameday eats, creating long lines, and talking smack about the other teams and about our fabulous plays that have to be made by the players while we are in line with anyone we can engage with.

I caution you to stay out of our way though because we have one thing to do and even our local priest at church recognizes the passion for sports and keeps mass short when there’s a game about to happen (true story) so we can get home, prep our food, and get to the game or have our family and friends over to watch the game with us.

You’ll find plenty of seating, either in our homes, or at the parking lots, beer, specially crafted drinks, and food that keeps us fueled up!

Why? Come on now, we are Pittsburgh die-hard fans that may be doctors, utility line workers, bus drivers, lawyers, wine, and so on, but that’s our day jobs and we keep our second job a secret until it’s not: we are the extra coaching staff and the referees, albeit unpaid, it is our Pittsburgh duty to call out plays, address calls made by the refs + umpires (football, baseball, and hockey) that we feel are not really the right play for the situation or call for the play!

We are a solid sea of black and yellow at any game and we eat to stay fueled up so our mouths can run, our Terrible Towels can fly and so that we can support our guys, loud and fricking proud and we do it united from the east to west, north, and south (no bridge crossing required, lol) with TVs on, big screens out, tents, chairs, at parking lots, in backyards, bars, family rooms and basement across and around Pittsburgh we tune in and tune the world out!

And now I am sure you are going to be making my coffee rubbed black and gold steak because it is a winning recipe that fits any sports party!

Why You’ll Love The Black and Gold Pittsburgh Steak Recipe

The grilled black and gold Pittsburgh steak recipe shares how to make ribeye steaks (or any steaks) that are tender, and juicy with an earthy lightly smoked taste, that is unique while also providing a bit more of a textured crust, that can be spicy or not, all inside a cut of steak!

Discover and prepare a delicious ribeye steak, prepared in a whole different way than you are used to and it is easy and so tender!

• the ribeye steaks for Pittsburgh sports parties are easy to find
• you can and should prepare the black and gold beef ahead of time
• the ingredients that make create the black and yellow steaks are easy to find
• the black and gold ribeyes can be grilled or pan-seared with fabulous results
• the black and yellow steaks can use ribeye steaks, t-bone, filet mignon, porterhouse, or New York Strip steaks
• the steaks are easily transported to wherever you are going
• this recipe is a Pittsburgh perfect meat choice for tailgating and parties at home
• the DIY coffee rub for meats is easy to spice up or tame down so it will be perfect for any meat-eating party-goer!
• Black and yellow steaks match the Steel city colors perfectly and therefore all party themes!

Equipment Needed To Make The Black and Gold Pittsburgh Steak Recipe

The kitchen essentials for the black and yellow steaks are basic and uncomplicated.

• small mixing bowl
• shallow rimmed oval bowl
• a basting brush
• grill or a frying pan with a lid

Ingredients For Your Best Black and Gold Steaks For Pittsburgh Sports Parties

Here is where you’ll discover what makes those beautiful, juicy, and tender black and yellow, almost Pittsburgh-famous steaks that you can sizzle via pan searing in your kitchen or on the grill when you are at home or tailgating!

• cornmeal – this is the fine ground brand I use, so it is not gritty but its texture blends well with all the other items
• espresso coffee – I use this espresso brand because it is economical and flavorful
• mustard – you can use honey mustard, yellow mustard, dijon, whatever you have in the house
• onion flakes – the onion I use is this and it makes the flavor soar!
• ribeye steaks – or porterhouse, New York Strips, T-Bone and filet mignon are all beef cuts that can be used as well
• black pepper – you can use freshly milled pepper or regular ground black pepper
• brown sugar – to help caramelize your crusty dry rub exterior
• smoked paprika – you can use any brand you wish I swear by this brand of smoked paprika for all my recipes
• garlic powder – totally optional but for a nice flavor profile this plays nice with most ingredients
• smoke flavor – (optional) if you crave smoky flavors but you don’t want to use a smoker and then clean out your smoker, use this instead
• cayenne pepper – optional but gives a nice kick of controlled heat

How To Make the Best Black and Gold Steaks For Pittsburgh Sports Parties

My rub is not lightly applied it is applied as a crusty coating and will remain such when you cook it as my images show.

In fact, the DIY steak and beef coffee rub provide something different than your everyday steak and Pittsburgh has extraordinary sports teams so I went ALL in when creating this black and gold Pittsburgh rub.

The black and gold steaks for Pittsburgh sports parties when fully cooked stay intact with their Pittsburgh steak rub and the cornmeal gives it a nice texture so that each bite requires nothing more than a fork and knife to cut it, instead of dips, and sauces.

If you prefer less you would then just dust your steaks with the mixture rather than really getting in there and pressing the black and yellow steak rub on.

I’ll move through the easy steps to the beef so that you can see how quickly you can assemble this.

Also note that these steps are all done while the grill is heating, and I am not adding that step here.

Do note that you can prepare the steak and transport it to wherever you are going and then grill it on location as well.

Step 1: Prepare the black and yellow steak rub recipe

There’s a recipe within a recipe here and the recipe for the steak rub is what makes this both crunchy and juicy.

You’ll mix cornmeal, dried onion flakes, smoked paprika, brown sugar, black pepper, and garlic powder into the espresso coffee.

Combine and set it aside.

Step 2 Creates the Most Juicy Black and Gold Beef You’ve Ever Experienced

Remember at the beginning of the article I said there is a magical ingredient in this recipe that you can take away and use in all of your grilled meat recipes whether you are preparing a BBQ or a rub and grilling them?

You’ll use mustard to coat your ribeye steak, or your porterhouse, T-bone, New York Strip, or whatever cut of beef you have chosen.

Also, you might notice I didn’t use other sodium sources in the coffee rub mix, and that is because the salt content in the mustard adds the salt content you need, without adding more and I’ve experimented with adding garlic salt and sea salt and I will tell you it gets too salty tasting doing that, so I eliminated it after many variations!

In Step 3 You’ll Use The Black and Yellow Steak Rub Recipe To Coat The Steak

You’ll place the black coffee rub over the steak and flip it and repeat the coating all over the steak, from the edges to both sides.

Once you are done, you are ready to grill or pan-sear the steak, your choice.

Step 4 – Grilling The Coffee Rubbed Black Coated Steaks For Pittsburgh Tailgating Parties

Cook your steak to the preferred steak cooking temperature that you like to eat your steak when prepared: rare, medium, medium rare, medium-well, and then you will stripe it with gold (yellow) sauce.

Then serve it!

What Ingredients Can You Substitute Or Change For The DIY Steak and Beef Coffee Rub?

There is a lot of room for play within the ingredient set and taste profile of the basic earthy and smoky taste I’ll share that now.

• Spicier? – make the black and gold coffee rub spicier by adding chili powder, red pepper flakes, more ground black pepper, or cayenne pepper.
• More texture? – add in a bit more coarsely ground sea salt or freshly milled pepper or use whole grain mustard as your baste instead of plain mustard
• Smokier flavor? – use this smoke ingredient to increase the smokiness profile as much or as little as you prefer or you can use smoked paprika in increased increments beyond what I have shared in the recipe.
• Exchange your mustard base, instead of yellow mustard, use a dijon to add more tang or Chinese mustard for a bigger kick of heat.

The Gamechanger Ingredient For Your Black and Yellow Steaks and All Of Your Meats

Mustard is the game-changing ingredient you’ve been missing every time you pan-sear, grill, or coat your food with anything!

Any mustard choice is fine, you are using it to protect the interior meat from the heat.

Feel free to use name brand mustards, or generic and store-brand, any will do, but don’t skip this step!

Look in your fridge for whatever mustard you have, here’s a list of what you might be seeking:

• dijon – is nice and tangy and you might know the brand Grey Poupon
• spicy brown mustard – it’s definitely got a little heat in it and tang
• whole grain mustard – bitter, sweet, tangy it just depends on how it was flavored & coarse and thick, with viewable seeds
• yellow mustard – a most common find in fridges as it is the most popular mustard
• chinese mustard – it’s got a kick and it might even help your nasal passage (some are like wasabi, ow!)

Mustard clings to meats of all sorts and provides a light and smoky taste and it locks in the juice and protects the meat from cooking too fast and then drying out, so this is your touchdown, goal, score, homerun, in one simple exterior baste!

You’ll use the mustard of choice and brush it on the black and gold beef you are making (ribeyes, Porterhouse, New York Strip, Filet Mignon, etc) and then apply your DIY steak coffee rub that you have prepared.

Doing this will help the black and yellow rub (or any rub) cling solidly to the meat. Mustard is a binder and you want your rub to bind and stick so that it can be crusty and tasty and you can experience all the flavor profiles you built into it!

Black and Gold Pittsburgh Steak FAQs

Where To Buy Those Pittsburgh Steaks from?

You can support the local businesses buying steaks from any of the following:

• Jo-Mar
• Tom Friday’s Market
• Strip District Meats