The steak itself is dead simple, the fries are really easy to make, but the sauce is really where this recipe shines. Marchand De Vin is basically a wine and stock reduction fortified with the sauce espagnole that takes hours to make. It's a long process, but the results are absolutely worth it. The truth is, you could skip the sauce and have a steak dinner ready in like 30 minutes, but why miss out on the best part.
Prep Time | Cook Time | Serves |
3 hours (for sauces) | 40 minutes | 2 |
Broiled Steak
1 1/2 Inch New York Strip (from the freezer)
Oil
Salt
Baked French Fries
Sauce Espagnole - Enough for multiple servings of Marchand De Vin
Marchand De Vin - Serves 2
Step 1: Make The Sauce Espagnole
This takes the longest but it's absolutely worth the work. It’s one of the French mother sauces, which means it's a base for a lot of other sauces. For aromatic flavor chop 1 whole yellow onion, 1 large carrot, and 1 large celery stick. Pour your gelatin packet into a few tablespoons of cold water so it can begin blooming. This will make it easier to work into the sauce.
In a large pot, begin melting 55g of butter until it’s foamy. Do this over medium high and add in your mirepoix. Let this cook for a few minutes, until the onions have taken on a bit of color. Add in 55grams of flour and then mix that into fully incorporate it into the butter. Cook this until the roux has taken on a light brown color. Add your beef stock slowly in stages while mixing. You just need to make sure there aren’t lumps in the roux. Add in your tomato puree here as well. Add in 5 peppercorns along with 2 bay leaves and then a bunch of parsley. You’re gonna strain this in the end so don’t worry about all these large bits. Add your gelatin mixture and bring this up to a simmer. Turn this down way low, as you don’t want it reducing too fast over the long cooking process.
This needs to reduce this by about half in the course of the next two and a half hours. As this cooks, you do need to stir it every now and then and make sure it’s not bubbling aggressively, it’s important to not over reduce or burn this. After it's cooked for two and a half hours (and it's reduced by about half), this can be strained and cooled and set aside for use later. This is crazy delicious on its own, but it hasn't been seasoned for final eating, as this is still going to go through another process.
Step 2: Make The Marchand De Vin (Steak Sauce)
To turn the Espagnole into the final sauce, start by thinly slicing 70grams of your standard button mushrooms. Begin melting 30 grams of butter in a saucepan and add your mushrooms. Cook this over medium until the mushrooms have cooked off all their water and begin to brown in the butter. To this, add 120g of red wine and cook this until most of the wine is gone. This takes usually 5-10 minutes. Now add in 120g of beef stock and 240g of that prepared espagnole. Add a few sprigs of thyme, and simmer for the next 20 minutes or so. The thickness of the final sauce is up to you, but think of something that’s gonna cling to your steak super well. Pass this through a sieve if you want it really smooth, or leave the mushrooms in for a more rustic vibe. If you’re like my dad you’re gonna want to strain it. He still hates mushrooms. The flavor in this sauce is absolutely unreal. It has all of the depth of a long cooked sauce with the tartness from the wine. It’s aromatic and perfect to really upgrade any steak. Season this with salt and pepper and keep it warm on the stove so you can finish up the dish. You’ll be left with some espagnole that you can freeze and save for your next steak night.
Step 3: French Fries
This is a really easy way to make super delicious fries without the actual frying. Heat your oven to 425 convection and place your tray in the oven to heat with it. This makes such a huge difference and makes the browning happen in about half the time. Start by washing and peeling 2 large russet potatoes (1-2 per serving), and then slicing them into large-ish fries. These need to be large enough to not break in the oven, they’re not gonna be shoestring. Place them into cool water after slicing them to wash off the starch and keep them from browning. At this point, take your steak out of the freezer, yes I said freezer, this is designed around a colder steak than usual.
Drain the water out of your potatoes and place them into a microwave save bowl with a lid and a little bit of water. Be sure your lid doesn’t fully seal them, so if you use cling wrap, be sure to poke a few holes. This will go in the microwave on high for 1 minute, and then you’ll mix. Another minute, another mix, and then 1 more minute. So that’s 3 minutes in total. Basically this is just cooking the inside so they can get extra crisp in the hot oil. Drain the water that’s in them and then toss them in a small sprinkle of potato starch and a drizzle of oil. The starch and oil create a coating that crisps up beautifully in the oven. Season these with a ton of salt now and then pull your tray out of the hot oven. Put a small layer of oil down just so they don’t stick and then drop on your potatoes. It’s good to try and get them in a single layer here. Place them in the oven and set a 7 minute timer. Do these in small increments so they can get an even texture on all sides. At the 7 minute mark, check to see if the first side has gotten any color, light brown is great here. If not, let it go for another 3 minutes. If it’s brown, give them a flip and do another 7 minutes. Do this 3 times so they can get brown on almost all sides, but they get too dry if you cook them longer than like 25 minutes total. Keep an eye on how they’re browning once you get up to 20 minutes. At the 21 minute mark these should be nice and crunchy on all sides. If they’re not, keep them cooking for a few minutes just to make sure. Fries can be really messy to make, but this to me makes them just as easy as opening a bag from the freezer. Toss these in some fine salt for the perfect fry flavor. Totally beautiful.
Step 4: Cook The Steak
The last and easiest step is actually the steak. This needs to be at least 1 1/2in thick to work well under the broiler. Anything thinner is gonna end up close to well done before a crust can form. The fact that it’s frozen matters a lot, this will allow you to create a nice crust on the outside before the inside overcooks. It’s been sitting out for 20 minutes, so it’s slightly defrosted but not completely. Turn your broiler on high, and make sure there’s a rack near the element. Rub your steak in olive oil and load on the kosher salt. This will season the dish and help set the crust. Set the steak on a tray with a rack to raise it up so that air can flow underneath it. Place this under the broiler and set a 3 minute timer. This is gonna be enough time to start the crust formation but it won’t be nearly cooked. Take it out once the timer goes and then flip it. Place it back under the broiler for 3 more minutes. Take it out flip it and 3 more minutes. Take it out and place one last little bit of oil on this top side, (DON'T FLIP IT) and then back in for 3 more minutes. So far, that's 12 minutes of cook time.
Take this out and let it rest for around 10 minutes. Keep the broiler on as the cook isn't quite finished. Flip the steak over and slice it quite large (you'll notice it's pretty rare). Place this back onto the tray (with the crusted side on the bottom) and keep the cut pieces close together. Place this back under the broiler for 3 more minutes (or until it's cooked to your desired temp). This gives you a delicious crust on both sides with the ability to control your cook more easily.
My main issue with general steak cookery is how messy and greasy the whole thing is. My stove is going to get absolutely destroyed with splatters, and the final result is slightly too buttery for me. Sometimes I really enjoy that, but sometimes it covers the flavor of the meat itself. This works so much better with a sauce in my opinion, cause the flavor is just clean beef and salt.
Plate this with your sliced steak and fries on the same plate. Pour on that glossy Marchand De Vin and enjoy the best at home Steak Frites. Cheers!
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