back to basics

Have you ever wondered why steak or chicken tastes so delicious in a restaurant, and you try to recreate the dish at home, without much success? With the advent of nonstick cookware, we’ve lost the ability to make a delicious pan sauce. All of those little brown pieces that stick to the bottom of a stainless steel frying pan or roaster can be utilized in a pan sauce; those little brown bits are what give the sauce a great depth of flavor, a richness.

For a simple steak recipe, you’ll need two steaks (tenderloin or
New York strip will work wonderfully for this). While you prepare the steak, heat about a tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat in a stainless steel frying pan.

Brush both sides of the steaks with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Just before the oil smokes, add the steaks to the pan and give it just a quick little horizontal shake. Now don’t touch it! Don’t be tempted to move the meat or peek; let it sit in the pan for about four minutes on the first side. With a tongs, see if you can easily lift the steak. If it sticks, let it be for another minute. When the steak is perfectly browned, it will release easily from the pan.

Flip the steaks over, give the pan a quick shake, and again, leave it alone for four minutes. While the steaks are searing, you can prepare what you need for your pan sauce. A simple sauce can be made from four sliced shallots, along with some beef broth, a little brandy or whisky (if desired), and a tablespoon of butter or cream.

After the four minutes is up, check on the steak. If the internal temperature is 130 F (this is between medium rare and medium), remove the steaks from the pan to a plate and cover with foil.

Add the sliced shallots to the pan and sauté until browned. Add a cup of beef broth and raise the temperature to high. Reduce the sauce by half and remove from the heat. Add about 1/3 c of brandy or whiskey (always add alcohol off-heat). At this point, you can either return the sauce to the stove to cook off the alcohol, or you can light it on fire to burn off the alcohol and enjoy the pretty flame. Personally, I like the burn it, because it puts on a show for my guests, but obviously there are risks involved when lighting your dinner on fire, so do take care.

Remove from heat. Add a tablespoon of butter and mix it into the sauce. Poor the pan sauce over the steaks. This is especially good served with crusty bread or potatoes to mop up the extra juices.

This dish is so good, you may never go to a restaurant again. Then again, that’s kind of the point! Learning a few restaurant-quality dishes to make at home can enrich your family life (assign everyone a kitchen task), and give you more time to linger over your meal. It’s cheaper, it’s healthier (you control what goes into the dish), and it’s more pleasant because there’s no couple at the next table, fighting.

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