Steak with Red Wine Sauce Recipe

This Steak with Red Wine Sauce recipe is a steakhouse-style dinner I love making from scratch in my own kitchen. I reverse-sear New York strip steaks and serve them with a rich red wine and beef stock pan sauce. If you want a meal that cooks in just 45 minutes and is impressive enough to serve to guests, this is a must make.

Steak with Red Wine Sauce

Steak with red wine sauce is a seared steak served under a glossy pan sauce of reduced red wine and beef stock. It is the home cook’s version of the French bistro classic sauce marchand de vin, which means wine merchant’s sauce.

This exact recipe is not something I cooked verbatim in a restaurant, but it is very much a restaurant-style steak and sauce, and I have done things like it plenty of times. The short version is dry brine the strips a day ahead. Then, reverse sear them low in the oven, then sear them hard in beef tallow. Finally, finish a red wine pan sauce right in the same pan.

I love the fact that I can adapt this recipe with other cuts too. At home, I do this same recipe with one swap. I use filet mignon instead of the New York strips, because my wife and daughter go for the trimmer, less-marbled cut. They absolutely love it. My wife always says, why would I ever eat out at a restaurant again, and the fact that I can get my daughter to eat this says it all.

Do not miss out on this one. I hope you give it a try the next time you want dinner to taste like a night out. Just follow my directions and cooking tips below, and you’ll be all set.

Ingredients and Substitutions

To make this Steak with Red Wine Sauce recipe, I use the ingredients listed below. I also give the best substitutions that won’t compromise the flavor of your dish.

• New York strip steaks – I love New York strips because to me they have the perfect ratio of meat to intramuscular fat. They are usually reasonably priced. Get them at least an inch thick. Ribeye or filet mignon would both be great if you want to spend a little more.
• I used beef tallow for its flavor and high smoke point, but olive oil or avocado oil are great substitutes.
• Butter – I always use unsalted to control the sodium, and it adds an incredible amount of flavor basting the steak. It also finishes the sauce with a beautiful sheen and body. While it looks like a lot, you are not eating all of it.
• Garlic adds incredible garlicky flavor to the butter while basting the steak. I use it in the sauce for those same notes.
• Shallots – These bring a good onion umami to the baste and are a real game changer in the sauce. You can swap in a red, white, yellow, or sweet onion in the same amount as the shallots.
• Anchovy paste – Optional, but an easy, cheap, Michelin-level trick, and wow does it make a difference. It is the same thing folks love in Worcestershire, which is fermented anchovy. It adds unbelievable umami to the sauce. Use a little tomato paste if you do not have it.
• Herbs – I use fresh thyme when basting because it adds earthy flavors to the steak. I also mince a little with flat-leaf Italian parsley to finish the sauce, though that part is optional.
• Red wine – Use a good wine, and by that I mean something you would actually drink. Cabernet Sauvignon is best for its acidity and fruit, but a Merlot or Cabernet Franc works too. This is where so much of the sauce flavor comes from.
• Beef stock – Use a good gelatinous beef stock. It needs to reduce and thicken, and a simple thin broth will not get you there. Homemade beef stock is great, or a quality boxed brand.
• Lemon – Probably one of my favorite secret ingredients in any sauce. It brightens everything up, kills any bitterness, and makes the whole thing more delicious, so do not skip it.
• Salt and pepper – I pretty much only use Diamond Crystal kosher salt these days, and I freshly grind my peppercorns.

How to Make Steak with Red Wine Sauce 

Dry brine the steaks: Pat the steaks dry on all sides, set them on a rack over a sheet tray. Season them well all over with salt. Refrigerate uncovered for 4 to 24 hours. This lets the salt penetrate so even the innermost part is seasoned. It also dries the surface into a sticky film called a pellicle that gives you a better sear. It is optional if you are short on time.

Reverse sear in the oven: When you are ready to cook, set a thermometer into the center of a steak. Roast them all on the rack over the sheet tray in a 250°F oven with no fan. Cook until they reach 100°F internally for a finished medium rare, about 35 minutes. This is the most foolproof way to hit the exact doneness you want, and it warms the steaks so the final sear goes faster.

Reduce the wine and stock: While the steaks roast, add the wine to a medium saucepot. Reduce it by half over medium heat, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the beef stock and reduce by half again, another 5 to 7 minutes, then remove it from the heat. Use the last few minutes to prep your garlic, shallots, and butter.

Rest, then heat the pan: Once the steaks hit 100°F, take them out. Let them rest briefly at room temperature. Add the oil to a large sauté pan over medium-high heat until it just begins to lightly smoke.

Sear the fat cap: Take two steaks, squeeze them together side by side with tongs, and stand them on their fat cap in the pan for 1 minute.

Pro tip: This is a method I learned from a great chef years ago. Pressing them together forces a brown maillard crust across the curved edge a flat pan cannot reach.

Sear the sides: Lay the steaks down and leave them untouched for 30 seconds. Flip and cook 30 seconds. Then, flip back and move each steak in a small circle for another 30 seconds to brown more of the surface. Then, flip a final time. Season with pepper and drop the heat to low.

Baste the steaks: Add some of the butter, half the smashed garlic, the thick-sliced shallots, and the thyme, and spoon the foaming butter over the steaks for 1 minute. Set them on a rack to rest, then repeat the whole searing and basting process with the other two steaks.

Start the sauce: In the same pan, drain off all but a thin layer of fat. Add the small-diced shallots and cook 1 minute, then add the minced garlic and anchovy paste and cook 30 seconds.

Deglaze and finish: Pour in the reduced wine and stock. Cook over medium to medium-high heat until it thickens, about 3 to 4 minutes. Strain the sauce, then finish it off the heat with the remaining butter, the lemon juice, salt, and pepper, plus an optional spoonful of minced thyme and parsley.

Slice and serve: Thinly slice the rested steak, drizzle the red wine sauce over the top, and serve.

Serving Suggestions

This is a steakhouse plate, so I serve it like one. A scoop of garlic mashed potatoes under the sliced strip soaks up the extra red wine sauce. I like to open the meal with a classic Caesar salad the way a good chophouse would. On a night I want to go all in, creamy potatoes au gratin go on the table instead of the mash.

For something green and quick, sauteed asparagus cooks in the same few minutes the steaks are resting. Sometimes I like to prepare a quick mixed greens Italian salad. Whatever sauce is left in the pan gets spooned over a second helping. Any seak that survives dinner gets thinly sliced and served cold for lunch the next day.

Make-Ahead and Storage

Make-Ahead: I really mean it when I say this one is meant to be eaten as soon as it is done. The steak will overcook if it sits.

How to Store: I cover the steak and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Keep the sauce separate for up to 5 days.

How to Reheat: There’s no perfect way to reheat a steak already cooked to temperature. I either re-sear it for 60 to 90 seconds a side in smoking-hot oil, or set it in a pan on a middle rack of a 350 F oven for 5 to 7 minutes until warm. I heat the sauce in a small pot over low heat with a splash of water if it is too thick.

How to Freeze: I do not think this freezes all that well, because the steak loses a lot of moisture and dries out on the reheat. What I do instead is cut the beef into smaller chunks and freeze it up to 3 months for soup down the road. The sauce freezes well covered for up to 3 months.

More Delicious Steak Recipes to Try

• Steak Frites
• Pan-Seared Ribeye Steak
• Tri Tip Steak
• Garlic Steak Bites
• Steak Kebabs