French · Main
Steak Frites
Dry-brined ribeye, twice-cooked frites and a cognac-cream pepper sauce built in the steak pan — the bistro benchmark, executed without shortcuts
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 40 min
- Serves
- 2
Ingredients
- Ribeye steaks, 3 cm thick — 2 (300 g each)
- Fine salt — 8 g
- Black peppercorns, coarsely crushed — 8 g
- Neutral oil — 30 ml
- Unsalted butter — 40 g
- Shallot, minced — 40 g
- Cognac — 40 ml
- Brown veal stock — 100 ml
- Double cream — 120 ml
- Dijon mustard — 8 g
- Maris Piper potatoes — 700 g
- Frying oil — 2 L
- Fleur de sel — 2 g
Method
- Salt steaks 1 h ahead; rest at room temperature. Cut potatoes into 1 cm frites; rinse until water runs clear; dry.
- Blanch frites at 140 °C oil for 6–7 min until soft, no colour; drain, rest 15 min (or chill).
- Press crushed pepper onto both steak faces.
- Sear in oil over high heat 2 min per side; add butter, baste 1 min; pull at 50 °C core for medium-rare. Rest 8 min on a rack.
- Sauce: in the same pan, sweat shallot 2 min; add Cognac, flambé; add stock, reduce by half; add cream and Dijon; reduce to nap. Season; add resting juices.
- Second fry: 180 °C for 2–3 min until golden and rigid; drain, toss with fleur de sel.
- Slice steaks or serve whole, sauce spooned over half.