Chef Mik's Entrcôte with Sauce Béarnaise

One thing I really love is a good hearty steak! Here in the States there is a long tradition of eating beef ranging from American style grilled and b.b.q steaks and roasts to the burger. One thing is for sure the States does red meat well!! Outside the States there are many places such as Argentina also known for their love of beef. But as a people our love affair with cooked meat goes all the way back to our ancestors in Africa. In fact it’s suggested had it not been for our ability to cook and preserve meats we would never have been able to walk out of that continent. That said Europe has a long tradition of its own with restaurants, taverns, and pubs offering an array of steaks, roasts and stews. Unfortunately do to lack of refrigeration and other means to preserve the animal protein, often times the meat would be past its prime. This led to the use of sauces and heavy seasoning to cover the taste of the tainted meats. In large part those days are well behind us with advancements in preservation and quality control. But what came out of this earlier grouping of meats and sauces was a culture devoted to the combo which lingers on to this very day.

A favorite cut known as Entrcôte which is a steak referred toas as a ribey here in the States, from the contre filet or loin located on the saddle of the animal. This is a very tender cut of meat and lends it self well to grilling or broiling, however it is wonderful simply pan fried in an iron skillet. Often times it will be accompanied by herb butter one in particular that comes to mind is Café de Paris which has everything known to man in it. But as for today I will be serving my entrecôte with the classic sauce béarnaise. This sauce belongs to a family of sauces known as the emulsified sauces, which include hollandaise, mayonnaise among others. This family of sauces unlike its fellow primary sauces which use a roux as a thickener instead employs a combination of air, a binder such as eggs or mustard along with butter or oil to thicken it and create a base sauce just waiting to be seasoned. In the case of béarnaise a derivative of Hollandaise which traces their roots to the late 1500’s to the early 1800s respectively. Both use clarified butter which means it most be kept at a warm enough temperature to assure the butter fat will not solidify, this however presents certain health risks do to the raw egg, one way to help save off potential bacteria growth such as salmonella is by adding cayenne pepper to your sauce, however it is highly recommended that the sauce not be held at room temperature longer then 3 hours.   

Cooking tip: Classically when preparing sauce béarnaise or most any emulsion based sauces such as this a balloon whisk was the instrument of choice. Although with the advancement in kitchen appliances many chefs will use a mixer, food processor or in my case a hand held emersion blender. But if you are a stickler for tradition by all means go ahead knock yourself and use a whisk!

Shopping List

Entrecôte (ribeye steaks)

Butter

Eggs

Vinegar

Shallots

Tarragon

Parsley

Chervil

White pepper

Salt

Pepper

Clarified butter or other fat for pan frying

My Mad Method

Choose good quality steaks with plenty of marbling which will help assure a moist tender result

Season the meat with sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper, cover with plastic wrap and let stand 30 minutes at room temperature

Begin sauce by melting 450g unsalted butter when melted skim away or filter off as much milk fat as possible only the butter fat remaining

For reduction: ½ dl red wine vinegar, 1 tsp water, 1 TBSP chopped shallots, 1 tsp cracked white pepper, tarragon, chervil and parsley stems to taste.

Reduce your reduction by ½

Combine 4 egg yokes, the reduction in a bowl

Wisk to combine

Transfer egg- reduction mixture to an upright blender or food processor and slowly start adding your butter

The sauce is now ready and will be finished with a touch of salt along with chopped tarragon, chervil and parsley

Heat an iron skillet and add clarified butter or oil and heat to smoking point, add the steaks presentation side down

After about 3 to 4 minutes depending on thickness flip the steak and continue to cook it until blood has just begun to surface, this will be medium rare

Present steak however you like with the sauce béarnaise and serve

I am presenting mine tavern or pub style with the addition of pommes julienne