Top a Steak Just Like Fancy Restaurants

I love a great steak! Especially if its on sale at the supermarket and I can cook it even better than the expensive restaurants. Ok, confession….I mean, “WE” can cook it. Husband cooks meat. Wife prepares sauce. Together we make this.

The kitchen is my domain. The BBQ grill is another story. I am only allowed to uncover the grill, turn on the propane tank and preheat. Thats it. Any more and I’ve violated Section 10.4.5b of our Marital Contract. Just kidding. But really, its as if Husband rearranged the kitchen and co-mingled my Tupperware collection with my knife drawer. So, I leave the grill alone.

The secret to cooking steak just like the restaurants this:

1) good quality of meat (I like the Angus Prime at Sweetbay Supermarket)

2) room temp meat (leave meat at room temp for 30 min) + high temperature on the grill (preheating gas grill on high for at least 15 minutes)

3) an instant read meat thermometer

4) an awesome sauce

I’m not going to write about how to cook the meat – since obviously I’m not the authority on the grilling. Husband is, and he’s playing poker right now. All I know is that I like medium rare. How do you know its medium rare? Because the thermometer doo-hickey says so. I got Husband one from Brookstone. Its worth the $50. I’m sure there are cheaper ones out there. Brookstone isn’t known for their bargain bins. There are numerous sites out there that can teach you how to cook a perfect steak. I can talk about the perfect steak sauce.

The sauce that I love combines sauteed mushrooms, beef stock, wine and demi-glace. Demi-Glace is a fancy French word for a super-concentrated veal/beef stock and wine. Its time consuming and complicated to make. But its the base for many, many restaurant sauces, especially for steaks. If you want your steaks to taste like the $25 steak at the steakhouse, use Demi-Glace. Most chefs just use a Demi-Glace concentrate that is diluted with water – they don’t even make it from scratch! You can find at your local upscale supermarket in the canned broth section or even on Amazon.com.

The Perfect Steak Sauce
(enough for 4 steaks)

1 pint of Crimini mushrooms (or white mushrooms or baby portabella or mixed gourmet mushroom blend), sliced
2 T canola oil
2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 cup organic beef broth
1/2 cup red wine
1/4 cup prepared demi-glace
2 T butter
splash o’ Cognac
freshly ground pepper

In large saute pan with oil, fry mushrooms on medium-high heat for 3 minutes, until soft. Add garlic, fry additional minute. Add beef broth, wine and demi-glace. Turn heat to low and simmer until sauce is thick and reduced by half, about 5-7 minutes. Add butter, stir. Add splash o’ Cognac and pepper. Remove from heat and serve with perfectly cooked steak!

Saveur Magazine’s Perfect Steak Sauce
(serves 4)

5 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 shallots, finely chopped
1 lb crimini mushrooms, sliced
1 cup red wine
1 cup chicken stock
2 teaspoons, cornstarch, mixed with 1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons mixed, chopped chives and parsley
2 tablespoons sherry

In a skillet on medium-high, add 1 tablespoon butter and 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil.  When butter and oil hot, add shallots and cook 1 minute.  Add mushrooms, cook 5 minutes.  Add red wine, bring to a boil.  Reduce to medium and cook until syrupy 8-10 minutes.  Add stock, reduce slightly, 4-5 minutes.  Whisk in cornstarch mixture; bring to a boil.  Add sherry, cook until thickened, 2-3 minutes.  Remove from heat; whisk in remaining butter, herbs, and salt/pepper.