Pan Seared Flat Iron steaks with Shallots and Compound Butter, and homemade Fries

[Hingle McCringleberry]

This reads way harder than it is. This is not a melt in your mouth kind of dish, it is meat and potatoes. Flat Irons can be chewy, although the ones I get from Leon's tend to be very tender, the flavor is massively beefy, and very satisfying on a cold night. The preparation is classic French, lots of oil and butter, the whole thing just asks for a nice Baguette as well, to suck up the juices. I honestly think serving this has gotten me sex...

 

EDIT: Also the total cost of making this is around 25-30 dollars, with making the fries, including the oil. I dare you to find any meal, in a restaurant, that tastes this good for less than $30 a person.

 

The fries take a lot of time since they need to be cut, soaked, and cooked twice, and the timing can be tricky.

 

For the Steaks:

 

2 10-ounce flatiron steaks

Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Canola oil, or other neutral oil

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup shallots, chopped

1 teaspoons fresh thyme, minced

2 ¼ to ½ inch thick rounds of compound herb butter (recipe to follow)

 

Process:

 

Take the steaks out and let them come to room temp, about 30 minutes, go ahead and season them now. Really load up on the salt and pepper, it will need to be enough to season the shallots. Preheat the oven to 450

 

Heat a large skillet on high, until pistol hot

 

Once hot add about 1/8 inch of canola oil, putting cold oil into a hot pan works better than cold oil cold pan, it helps form a non-stick layer, how, I dont know, just do it.

 

Once the oil is hot (shimmering, just as the oil starts to smoke) place the steaks in the pan, and add the 1 tablespoon of butter, reduce the heat slightly, and cook for 1 minute.

 

After 1 minute, flip the steaks, baste the top of the steaks with a spoon, about 1 minute. Drain off any excess oil, and add the shallots, thyme, and remaining butter. Cook about 2 minutes, until just past rare. Transfer the steaks to a baking sheet. Continue cooking the shallots until soft, another 2-3 minutes. Spoon the soft, cooked shallots over the steaks and place the steaks in the oven for about 5 minutes for medium-rare and 8-10 minutes for medium. These steaks are a tougher, chewier cut, so medium-rare or medium is best. Once done put a large piece of the compound butter on top of each steak, and return to the oven until the butter just starts to melt. Remove from the oven put on plates and arrange with the fries.

 

Compound Butter:

 

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature (it’s essential the butter is at room temperature)

1 ½ teaspoons Italian parsley, finely chopped

1 ½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1/8 teaspoon kosher or sea salt

 

Process:

 

Stir the soft butter with a wooden spoon in a small bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine. The fancy way is to roll this into a log, I dont do that, I just smooth it into a small bowl and put in the fridge for a few minutes to firm it, it goes really quick, just a couple of minutes. You will have leftovers, I put it on toast, or use it in the pan when making omelets.

 

French Fires:

 

These are a lot of work, but the end result is amazing. It is hard to time the steaks with the fries. I've found if you finish the steaks first, then cook the fries, the steaks will still be warm, and the fries will be super hot. Move quickly! Figure out how much heat to maintain the oil temp while doing the steaks, once the steaks are done drop in the fries. Do not over load the pot, I have a 7 quart dutch oven and each batch equals one serving. I would recommend making the fries on there own once, so you can figure out the heat levels and refine your technique.

 

One very important thing: Have a FIRE EXTINGUISHER at the ready, not under the sink, but sitting on the counter, if you dont have one do not make these.

Large russet potatoes (2 per person), washed

Peanut oil for deep-frying

Kosher salt

 

Process:

 

 

Set out a large bowl of cold water. Using a potato cutter, a mandoline, or a knife, cut each potato into sticks ¼ inch thick and 4½ inches long and place in the water. Discard any cuts that are irregular; they'll cook unevenly. When all the potatoes have been cut, change the water several times until the starch has been rinsed from the potatoes and the water remains clear. (The potatoes can be refrigerated in the cold water for several hours.)

 

Fill a large heavy pot with 3 to 4 inches of good peanut oil for the best flavor and heat to 320°F.

Remove the potatoes from the water and drain well on paper towels. Place a handful of potatoes in the hot oil, using a basket insert if you have one; shake the basket a few times or stir the potatoes. Do not crowd the potatoes; there should be at least twice as much oil as potatoes. Fry until the potatoes are cooked through, 5 to 6 minutes; they shouldn't be any darker than a very pale gold. Remove the fries from the oil and drain on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining potatoes. (The blanched potatoes can be held for 2 to 3 hours at room temperature.) Reserve the oil in the fryer or pot.

 

Reheat the oil to 375°F. Add one portion of the fries at a time and fry for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the potatoes are a deep gold with a crisp exterior. Quickly drain on paper towels, sprinkle with salt, and serve.

 

 

Finally:

 

Put it all together, place the fries on the plate with the steak. If you've done everything right you should have this.

 

 

Your kitchen will smell like oil for a few days if you do the fries, we actually had more than this, but we ate most of them before we took pictures. If you skip them serve a salad, it will help keep this dish from being such a heart stopper, and anymore I find a loaded potato kinda gross with meat, but maybe that's just me.

[rawhide]

yup, just you steak and taters all the way. Don't wanna fill up on wabbit food.

 

Sounds great. Although my wife will not eat any steak unless it is cooked to resemble shoe leather I use separate areas of the grill.

 

Thanks, gonna have to try that when I cook a bachelor meal.

 

GBR

[ShawnWatson]

Have a fire extinguisher ready?! Jesus man what are you cooking on.

 

Steak looks great though, I may have to add some Gorgonzola cheese to this.

 

I will add though my favorite potatoes to make fries out of are Yukon gold potatoes.

[Hingle McCringleberry]

Have a fire extinguisher ready?! Jesus man what are you cooking on.

 

Steak looks great though, I may have to add some Gorgonzola cheese to this.

 

I will add though my favorite potatoes to make fries out of are Yukon gold potatoes.

 

My range is heart stopping in it power. I can maintain the fry oil at 400 and the knob is two clicks above low! So I am ready, just in case the pot goes over and flames up.

 

The cheese would be good, I love Gorgonzola, are the Yukons really starchy? I've seen them, but haven't really messed with them. I think I tasted them, and they are kind of sweet, IIRC

[Conga3]

bookmarked. wanna try this. thanks.

[walksalone]

I had flat iron steaks for the first time last summer, and they were f'n amazing...

[irafreak]

I'm actually surprised to see a recipe on here by someone other than roxy

[BigRedBuster]

I honestly think serving this has gotten me sex...

 

 

 

I'm sold.

[ShawnWatson]

Have a fire extinguisher ready?! Jesus man what are you cooking on.

 

Steak looks great though, I may have to add some Gorgonzola cheese to this.

 

I will add though my favorite potatoes to make fries out of are Yukon gold potatoes.

 

My range is heart stopping in it power. I can maintain the fry oil at 400 and the knob is two clicks above low! So I am ready, just in case the pot goes over and flames up.

 

The cheese would be good, I love Gorgonzola, are the Yukons really starchy? I've seen them, but haven't really messed with them. I think I tasted them, and they are kind of sweet, IIRC

 

Yukons are pretty starchy, but if you soak them over night in ice water it fixes that.