Steak Frites
The other day, a friend asked me for more “meat and potato” dishes…well, here you go. In this recipe video, I make a classic French brasserie dish…Steak Frites; or in simpler terms, steak and fries. It’s a wonder, simple combo, that is at once rustic and sophisticated. It’s also not all that complicated to cook. Cooking steak, while intimidating to some, is actually quite simple, straight forward and doesn’t take much time. Homemade fries, do take a bit of time and effort to make, but much of the process can be done ahead of time; so when it comes time to put everything together, you’ve got about 10 minutes of work left. I think this makes for a great menu on a special occasion night, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Recipe Overview and Keys to Success
To make the best Steak Frites you can, just follow those couple rules:
- To follow the most traditionally route, use a flank steak as your cut of meat; I use a porterhouse, and I think you can use whatever you’d like; but we should be aware of the tradition
- Make sure to get a good sear on the steak, and follow the five rules to making a perfect steak
- Timing is key with French fries. Fresh they are great. 15 minutes old…they are soggy. You can do all the work up until the final fine, a couple hours ahead of time. Then finish them up as your steak rests.
RECIPE FOR STEAK FRITES
Ingredients (for 2 people)
- 1 16 – 20 Ounce porterhouse steak (or other cut of your choice)
- 2 russet potatoes
- 1 gallon of vegetable oil for frying
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Making the Steak Frites
- Before doing anything on the steak, you’re going to want to get the fries 90% done
- You can head over to the French Fry recipe page, but I’ve summed up the steps here
- Peel and julienne cut your potatoes
- Soak them in cold water that you change at least twice, for about 20 minutes
- Heat the vegetable oil in pot, that is only half full of oil, to about 300 degrees
- Drain, and dry the potatoes well, fry them for 7 – 8 minutes until tender, but not golden brown or crispy (we are going to fry them again)
- You can do the above steps up to 2 hours ahead of time, and just set the potatoes to the side
- When you’re ready to cook the steak, take it out the fridge about 30 minute prior to cooking, and season generously with salt and fresh ground black pepper
- Heat a heavy bottomed frying pan over the heat until very hot; slightly smoking
- Add olive oil to the pan, and place the steak into sear it on one side; don’t move it for at least 3 – 4 minutes
- As the steak cooks, heat the vegetable back up to 400 degrees
- Once seared, flip the steak over, and put it into a 425 degree oven for 6 – 8 minutes, or until the desired doneness
- Remove the steak from the oven, and cover tightly with aluminum foil to rest
- Put the once fried potatoes into the 400 degree vegetable oil to finish frying
- They should take 5 – 7 minutes to get golden brown and crispy (the perfect steak resting time)
- Remove the fries, and put them in a bowl; season with salt and pepper
- Unwrap the steak, you can slice it up and serve, or just pile on the fries
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