First, I need to qualify. This is steak frites, but it is steak frites without a grill, decent broiler, or deep fryer. I suppose I could have deep fried the potatoes in a pan, but I don’t like using all of that oil for a single meal. I suppose I also could have used a propane torch on the steak, but the frying pan does a pretty respectable job, and gives me fond for the sauce. Also, I wouldn’t normally use white wine, but I had a bottle already open, and I really just needed the alcohol for the deglazing.
Sorry I didn’t get more pictures. Frying the steak can get pretty messy even with a mesh guard, and I was just trying to manage the oil flying around the kitchen. But here’s how I made both parts, which turned out quite well.
The fries
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Slice one russet potato into 10-15 pieces; don’t peel it. Soak the slices in cold water for about 10 minutes and dry thoroughly. Put the slices into a Ziploc bag with about a tablespoon of sunflower oil, seal, and shake until all pieces are coated.
Now, here’s the fun part. The depth of the flavor using only sunflower oil is pretty shallow, so dice a slice of raw bacon, add it to the bag, and shake some more. Dump it all out onto a foil-lined baking sheet, bacon pieces and all, and bake for about 35 minutes. I added salt and pepper about 10 minutes before the potatoes were done.
The steak
With about 15 minutes left on the potatoes, heat a frying pan on high. Meanwhile, take a nice thick rib eye, dry it with paper towel, and rub in salt, pepper, and real maple syrup. You can also use sugar, but maple syrup adds a little bit more flavor.
Once the pan is hot, add sunflower oil and a piece of butter to the pan in roughly equal amounts. Judge the amount so that the pan bottom is just covered. When the oil/butter mix is hot, gently add the rib eye. Depending on thickness and desired doneness, cook the rib eye 3-4 minutes on each side. I go for 3 minutes a side, which puts a thick rib eye at medium-rare and is short enough that the oil won’t start to smoke.
The finish
By now, you should have a cooked steak on a plate and potatoes nearly finished, but still sizzling in the oven. Take the steak pan, pour off most of the oil, and put the pan back on the burner. At this point, you’ve got a lot of options on how to do the reduction. I added about an ounce of white wine, sliced portabella mushrooms, and a tablespoon of sour cream. Stir and scrape until you’ve got a nice sauce, and pour over the steak as desired. Pull the potatoes out of the oven, and you’re done!
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