Steak Frites Recipe
My steak frites pairs a pan-roasted New York strip, twice-fried russet potatoes, and a whipped lemon-herb butter that melts down the meat the second it leaves the pan. The whole plate hits the table in about 30 minutes. Bright, beefy, and crispy all at once.
Ingredients
For the Butter:
- 3 softened unsalted sticks of butter
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh thyme
- ¼ cup sliced green onions
- 2 finely minced cloves of garlic
- zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 2 teaspoons coarse salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
For the Fries:
- 3 russet potatoes cut into batonnet slices
- coarse salt to taste
For the Steak:
- 2 12- ounce New York strip steaks
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 8-10 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 8-10 garlic cloves
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- coarse salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Butter: Add the butter to a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and whip on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5-7 minutes.
- Next, add the rosemary, thyme, green onions, garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and pepper until combined. Set aside.
- Fries: Add the fries to a container of cold water and move them around with your hands to remove some of the excess starch.
- Drain and rinse the potatoes again and drain off any excess water.
- Place them in a deep fryer or a pot of oil at 300° for 3 minutes. Remove them from the oil and set them on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper. They can hold for several hours like this.
- When you're ready to serve them, turn the heat to 350° and cook for 3-5 more minutes or until well browned and crispy. Toss them with salt in a large bowl and serve.
- Steak: Season the steak on both sides with salt and pepper.
- Add the oil to a large frying pan over high heat. Once smoking, add the strip steak and turn the heat down to medium. Press down on it using tongs or a spatula for 15 to 20 seconds. Then, let it cook untouched for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Flip the steak over, add the thyme, garlic, and butter, and cook for 2-4 minutes while basting it with a spoon.
- Rest the steak for 3-4 minutes before slicing and serving with some the butter and fries.
Notes
The steak frites order on a brasserie line looks easy on paper and is a timing puzzle on the line, because the fries and the steak both want to land hot at the same second. The fix is the two-stage fry: blanch ahead, rest the potatoes on a sheet tray, and only finish them while the steak is resting.
Oven roasted fries: If you do not want to fry them, coat them in 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil and bake them in the oven at 425° for 18-20 minutes or until browned and cooked.
Hot pan, then drop the heat: Searing on screaming-high heat the entire time will burn the butter and turn the herbs bitter. Sear hard for the first contact, then drop to medium so the basting butter foams instead of smokes.
Rest is non-negotiable: Three to four minutes off the heat is what lets the juices settle back into the muscle. Skip it and half the steak ends up on the cutting board.
Salt the fries off the heat, in a bowl: Salting them in the basket means most of the salt drops through to the bottom. Bowl, salt, rock, plate, that is how every fry gets seasoned.
Make-Ahead: The lemon-herb butter can be made up to 3 days ahead and held in the fridge. The fries can be cut and held in cold water in the fridge for up to 3 days, then drained and rinsed before cooking. Steak is best seasoned and cooked the day of, but you can pull it from the fridge and pat it dry 30 to 45 minutes before searing.
How to Store: Cover any leftovers and refrigerate for up to 3 days. The fries will not stay crisp once they are wrapped, so store the steak and the potatoes separately if you have a choice.
How to Reheat: This dish is meant to be eaten hot off the pan. If you have to reheat the steak, sear it briefly in a hot pan with a film of oil until just warmed through, no longer. For the fries, spread them on a parchment-lined sheet tray and bake at 350°F for 3 to 6 minutes, or refry at 350°F for 1 to 2 minutes until crisp.
How to Freeze: Skip the freezer for cooked steak or cooked fries, because both lose their texture on the thaw. The lemon-herb butter, on the other hand, freezes great for up to 3 months in a sealed log of parchment and foil.
Nutrition
Calories: 528kcalCarbohydrates: 33gProtein: 25gFat: 34gSaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 110mgSodium: 1227mgPotassium: 1030mgFiber: 3gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 528IUVitamin C: 17mgCalcium: 73mgIron: 3mg